Introduction to Manipulation: Goals

There are countless techniques and methods of manipulation, but very little is said about the actual goals behind manipulation. You might ask, “Why do we need to talk about goals? Isn’t it obvious? To get more money, to seduce someone, or to enjoy other perks of life.” That’s clear enough. But what if I told you that by manipulating people, you could achieve even more in your interactions with them—often without even realizing it? The key to this is understanding your goals.

When we interact with certain people, we usually have a clear idea (though some may not) of why we’re communicating: to get a discount, to persuade someone for sex, to negotiate with a dealer about weight and bonuses, and so on. These goals are optimal for us—they are both our weakness and our strength. Why weakness? Because we haven’t planned for what we might intentionally give up in order to reach the optimum. And if we have planned for the optimum, we understand the minimum in relation to it. Besides, we often don’t consider what more we could get if the person goes along with us. If things are going your way, why not take advantage of every opportunity that opens up?

The formula is simple and can be applied right after reading this. You need to start by setting your goals.

Types of Goals

• Minimum Goal: This is the bare minimum you want to achieve in the interaction and what you cannot leave without. In the future, you can freely sacrifice this achievement to reach the optimum.
• Optimum Goal: Here, you gather everything you set out to achieve in this interaction. This is your main goal.
• Maximum Goal: In the maximum goal, you include what you don’t expect from yourself or what you’d like to get from the person but lack the courage or skills to ask for.

I personally recommend thinking through and planning every step before interacting with the person you need. Run through different scenarios and anticipate their reactions to certain phrases or gestures (or a combination of both). After this analysis, always aim for the maximum goal. When you achieve the maximum, the optimum and minimum goals are automatically met as well.

For everyday conversations, mental planning is enough. But for work or serious meetings, I recommend writing your goals down at least twice. After the first time, you’ll have a clear picture of your actions; the second time, you’ll notice what you missed and can correct it.

Set your goals, manipulate, and influence people, but remember: “When a person is focused on something, their attention is scattered everywhere else.” Stay alert, and good luck with your manipulations.