Social Engineering - Christopher Hadnagy [96]
Along these same lines, you can also try to listen for key phrases. People use terms like “okie dokie” or “yepper.” Listen for any key phrases, and even if they are out there, you might be able to work them into a sentence.
Once I was talking with a target who would say things like, “It’s six of one and half dozen of another.” I don’t use that phrase a lot and didn’t want to screw it up, because that would create a lack of rapport. Instead, I would mix in some of the key words of that phrase and say things like, “I must have done that a half dozen times.”
How someone talks is also an area where you should restrict your personal judgments. Some people are close talkers, some are whisperers, some are touchers—if you are not, you need to allow a person freedom to talk the way he or she is comfortable and then mirror it.
Matching Your Target’s Body Language
Matching body language is a very interesting avenue of rapport building mainly because it can work to create very strong bonds but at the same time it can kill all your rapport in a matter of seconds in the case of a mismatch.
If you notice someone standing a certain way, maybe with both arms crossed, don’t assume she is shutting you out—maybe she’s just cold. Can you cross one arm across your body to mirror her stance, or fold your hands into a steeple?
When sitting across from someone who is eating a meal you can take a few sips from your drink while he eats to mirror him. Don’t do everything he does, but make similar actions.
People like people who are like themselves. That is just human nature. It makes them feel comfortable. Bill Philips was the genius behind the Body-for-Life program that changed the way workout programs were developed. He promoted something that was heavily tied to the mirroring principle. If you are fat and you only hang out with fat people, the chance of your changing is slim to none. Why? The answer is that you are comfortable with being fat and with people who are also comfortable with it. If you want to change, then hang out with skinny people and a mental change will quickly happen.
This principle is the same in social engineering. You don’t want your targets to make a change, so you need to be like them. You want them to feel good with you.
Testing Rapport
Using these alternative rapport-building techniques as well as matching energy levels, facial expressions, and the like can build strong rapport on a subliminal level.
After trying some of these tactics you can test your rapport by making a movement, like scratching your head or rubbing your ear, and if in the next minute or two you see your target make a similar movement you probably have developed some strong rapport.
These techniques can work wonders in many parts of your life when developing, building, and starting relationships with others. Learning how to use the psychological principles included in this chapter can make a huge difference in your social engineering practice.
For years, there has been a myth that the human mind can be overwritten like a program. Is it just a myth? Can the human mind be mastered?
The next section reveals some of the most mind-blowing information in this book.
The Human Buffer Overflow
A glass can only hold so much liquid. If you have an 8-ounce glass and you try to pour 10 ounces of liquid into it, what will happen? It will overflow and spill all over the place. If you try to force the container to hold more liquid that it is meant to you can eventually break the glass due to pressure.
Computer programs work in a similar manner. Imagine you have a small program that has only one purpose and two fields: User Name and Password.
When the program opens you see a little screen where you type in admin in the User