Are You Being Manipulated?

Are you someone’s drone? Do you know?

Most drone’s don’t know when they are being manipulated by someone else. By design, drones are followers. This is quite the opposite of leaders. Leaders look for drones simply because they want followers and they want to advance their ideals. Why else do you think most sales people are A personalities? They have a skill that lends to herding followers and manipulating them.

In an article that may be a Top 5 candidate for me this year, Mark Dykeman from SocyBerty shares some great insights on how manipulators act and how to tell when you are being conned.

Here is one of his points but I really want you to visit his site and read more.

Manipulators Act Differently Toward You When They Want SomethingWatch for sudden changes in the way that a requester (a potential manipulator, someone who wants you to help them for selfish purposes) behaves toward you:

• They compliment you more often (assuming they ever did), particularly with regards to your valuable skills, knowledge and experience.
• You suddenly become this person’s “buddy”, “pal” or “friend”. They might use your first or last names more often than normal. The requester smiles at you more often, but the smile never reaches their eyes.
• They seem interested in what you are doing. However, these are often shallow expressions of interest followed by impatience and rapid shift of subject or attention. Manipulators are always looking for opportunities and can be distracted rather easily.
• They seem eager to please you. You’ll get the occasional gift or freebie from a manipulator. Just remember that a manipulator is too smart or cheap to invest a lot of money in you at this point, so they probably didn’t pay for the gifts.
• The requester makes public expressions of support and need for you. Can you say “flattery”?

This positive behavior ceases after you are no longer needed or useful. If they are looking for long term help from you, the good times may roll on for some time.

Is it me or is some of this eye-opening stuff? If you read his article you will easily notice that a lot of this happens to you in the course of a week. I don’t want to make you paranoid but it makes you wonder what intentions exist.

Read Five Danger Signals That Warn That You Are Being Manipulated by SocyBerty.