Social Engineering - Christopher Hadnagy [126]
Transforming someone’s frame is not easy; it is one of the most complicated alignment tactics to put into practice because it can take:
Time: Changing someone’s whole belief structure is not a quick process and can take the usage of other alignment techniques and lots of time to make it work.
Effort: Knowing where the target is coming from and where you want him to be are just the initial steps. What will be his objections and mental blocks? Finding out these things will take some work.
Education: Knowledge is power. You must help the target understand the new frame you want him to “convert” to.
Logic: The education must be logical and not all emotion. The target must be able to reason and rationalize the action he is about to take. The only way he can do that is with logic.
Deep emotional ties: Knowledge is what prepares a person for action, logic convinces him the action is good to take, but emotion is what makes the action happen. If you are emotional about your “cause” the target will feel that emotion. Just make sure the emotion you are expressing and feeling matches the pretext. If your pretext is a guidance counselor and you come in like a cheerleader you will offset the target’s ability to align.
Being able to align others to your frame and align yourself with theirs can give people incentive to do the things you ask. Although using any of the four framing methods is powerful, a social engineer who is successful in frame transformation has endless power.
Read on to find out how to apply these framing techniques as a social engineer.
Using Framing as a Social Engineer
Throughout this section I mentioned many ways a social engineer might use framing as a technique. Some of these methods are so powerful that perfecting them can turn you into a master influencer.
To truly use framing as a social engineer you must understand four things about framing. These four things will help you to understand clearly how framing works and how to use it as a social engineer.
Remember what a frame is. A frame is a conceptual structure that our minds use in thinking. This is a vital piece of information because your goal is either to create a new frame, align with a person’s frame, or bring the target into your frame.
One of those three goals needs to be outlined with the following four rules in order to master framing as a social engineer.
Rule 1: Everything You Say Will Evoke a Frame
People’s minds work by picturing things. This natural fact cannot be altered, but you can use it to your advantage.
If I start to talk to you about your boss, your mind will picture him. If I paint a picture with words about how he was outside on the cell phone and he was angry, your mind will start to picture his angry face, body language, and words. You will not be able to control this and that mental frame will cause emotions and reactions.
Painting a picture with words is a powerful way to use framing. By choosing your words carefully you can cause a target’s mind to picture things you want him to picture and start moving him to a frame you want.
Have you ever heard someone who you thought was a great storyteller? Why? What made her great? She was able to paint a mental picture, make you see things in your mind, which intrigues you and gets you involved. This skill is very important for a social engineer. It doesn’t mean you talk as if you are telling a great story all the time, but you want to keep in mind the words you choose because those words hold the power to paint pictures in the minds of the targets.
Here is a simple example: I can tell you that I had spaghetti for dinner last night. If you are not a foodie or not Italian, maybe the last time you had spaghetti it wasn’t that pleasurable. Your mental frame is not that strong and you might be turned off.
What if I told you that last night my wife made a sauce of vine-ripened tomatoes and basil she grew in the garden? It also had chunks of fresh garlic and oregano in it, as well as a hint of red wine flavors.