How easily manipulatable are you?

A bet, a lot more than you think.

Remember Jim Jones? Jim Jones and his Peoples Temple offer one of the most notorious examples of cult dynamics in modern history. The Jonestown tragedy underlines the significance of psychological manipulation.

Jones was initially seen as a progressive figure—a man promising a better, more equal society. His rhetoric resonated with many who were looking for community and change during turbulent times. But over time, his personality cult grew. He demanded unquestioning loyalty, and his control over his followers deepened, both emotionally and practically.

How did he succeed, and why does it matter to you today?

It matters to you today because you are a human susceptible to manipulation just as much as his followers. Many among us are now in a different personality cult, acting on cue and ready to sacrifice their children's future for their cult leader, all along projecting fault and wrongdoing to the people who are trying to talk sense into them.

Manipulation is successful when it completely warps one's reality, makes them believe in non-existent things, paranoid, and dependent to the point of abdicating reason and personal power.

It happens to you, too—every day. No one is immune. Not even me. And I consider myself a skeptical optimist who understands human psychology, body language, manipulation techniques, and communication judo. But if you know what to watch for and how things work, you will better protect yourself from unintended consequences, snake oil salesman, unscrupulous politicians, and commitments you don’t want to make.

So, let's take a look at some clever tricks manipulators use to ensnare you into their web of deception and make you impermeable to facts and reason and eager to comply with their requests. We're humans, after all, with outdated psychological circuitry.