We all want to influence the behavior of others in one way or another. Sometimes, however, one ends up in extreme situations where one not only exerts influence on the other, but also control. This is when manipulation techniques are used that you are often not even aware of.

These mechanisms are not complex or complicated. Most of them correspond to daily behavior  and also go unnoticed.  That is precisely why they are so problematic. They often happen without you noticing.

Almost all of these manipulation techniques involve a kind of “contamination” that triggers basic emotions such as fear, anger, or sympathy. They manipulate you by awakening those feelings and emotions in you for no  real  reason  .   It is therefore recommended to know and identify them. These are 7 manipulation techniques that you often don’t notice. Are you ready to get to know them?

7 Manipulation Techniques You Are Not Aware of

1. Making someone feel guilty: one of the silent manipulation techniques

Guilt is an emotion that can be very intense. In addition, it can often generate unreasonable acts. It causes an unpleasant sensation because it actually confronts the individual with a code of ethics or certain practices that he normally accepts and values. In other words, he is confronted with himself.

People start to manipulate you with guilt when they give themselves the right to judge your behavior . They are going to determine what you do right or wrong. If you don’t have your own criteria, it’s very easy to fall into this trap. In this way, they succeed in getting you to say or do something that might benefit others and that might also benefit you. That way you are freed from the guilt.

2. Making you feel insecure

Insecurity is one of those feelings  often generated by others and is one of the most common manipulation techniques. These are situations where the other person discovers weaknesses in your beliefs or in your self-love and takes advantage of them.

Negative criticism of what you do or say, but also ridicule or exclusion are ways to manipulate you  by making you feel insecure. This also happens when people try to confuse you. Small mistakes are made bigger than they really are. They can also make you believe that they know more about yourself than you do.

3. Playing Victim 

There are people who play the victim and start using this as one of their main manipulation techniques themselves. They often pretend to be someone who is fragile or who is in a state of need, without being aware of it. In this way, they want to arouse compassion and guilt in the other.

Pretending to be someone with a permanent need for help and attention from others is one of the manipulation techniques that you are often unaware of. You go to comfort that person because you feel sorry for them, without realizing that you have fallen into a spiral where your behavior is being controlled.

4. Feeding Narcissism

You shouldn’t always believe compliments. Sometimes the point of a compliment is not to really emphasize your virtues, but to bend your defenses and will  so that you can be manipulated more easily. The one you flatter gains your trust, but often does not do it with good intentions.

The best antidote to that is to know yourself well. No one knows their strengths or weaknesses better than you. This prevents exuberant expressions of admiration or flattery from surprising you or making you “weaker.”

5. Subtle intimidation

To intimidate another person, direct threats are not always necessary. Manipulators are experts at instilling fear in others, and this often happens imperceptibly. It’s just about subtly announcing dangers in the face of certain behaviors.

For example, they manipulate you when they tell you that you ‘must’ act in a certain way or that you otherwise run the risk of an undesirable situation occurring. Apparently they appeal to reason, but essentially they are just trying to condition you through fear.

6. Creating False Conflict 

People who create conflict over everything almost always manipulate you.   They get upset about small things and are easily offended. They make others believe they should be treated in a special way if they don’t want conflict.

These types of people manipulate you because in this way they  encourage many people not to complain or point out some shortcoming. The others ultimately believe that they are the cause of the conflict and not the person responsible for the conflict. The manipulator always gets his way.

7. Playing the ‘fool’ 

Some people play the “fool” or pretend they have a flaw that they don’t really have. They will have a hard time delegating work to others, because that other person is doing better, so to speak. That is, they rely on others to rest and be free. They do this supposedly because they are ‘not as good’ as the others.

They also manipulate you when they pretend to make you believe they don’t understand what you’re saying. They act as if they don’t understand the consequences of their actions  or don’t feel involved in a problem that concerns them. In this way, others are abused and it almost always goes unpunished.

All these manipulation techniques are harmful to you and to those who use them. They only give rise to false relationships  and abuse. Under no circumstances should they be tolerated, because nothing good comes out of them.