Psychology of conversation!

A Psychological Trick to Evoke An Interesting Conversation

Use this human disposition to affect behavior mid-discussion.

Imagine you pass by a question that asks “the Titanic got invaded by aliens, right?” On one hand, you’re holding in a chuckle and slightly in disbelief; on the other hand, you went through the pain of researching and answering the question in such enormous detail. So, what happened?

The answer is pretty simple. It’s a weird social media experiment that shows unusual findings when you — in willful ignorance — ask something completely wrong.

Generally, our minds tend to correct things as we float through life. According to a researcher, this human tendency to correct others can be used as a strategic tool to increase the engagement of students by 80%.

Strangely enough, this can be applied outside of academia and it’s not just questions but actions too. For example, when my younger self didn’t want to do my chores, I would fumble around like an idiot until my mother would get frustrated and do it for me. Depending on how you use this clever trick, it can make for an unforgettable discussion or a useful tool in getting what you want.

But how is saying the wrong thing supposed to increase more conversation? The phenomenon is called “Cunningham’s Law,” and it is perceived to affect human behavior mid-discussion.

Ask Dumb Things to Get Smart Answers

Cunningham’s Law works because sometimes you can be pulled out of your reverie with a fraction of probing or with contradictory data, which results in engagement.

Even Sherlock Holmes in The Great Game says, “people do not like telling you things; they love to contradict you”. Therefore if you want smart answers, do not ask a question. Instead, give a wrong answer or ask a question in such a way that it already contains the wrong information.

People will likely correct you.

Written by: shahzaib70