How to Manipulate a Conversation
The first playbook about manipulation you'll be able to apply the second you finish it
You won't learn anything new here.
Let’s be real. Every manipulation tactic under the sun has been trotted out and recycled to death on the internet. Odds are, you’ve already scrolled past them all.
But let me ask you, how many of those tactics have you ever pulled off in real life?
How many have you actually countered in the heat of the moment, with your heart pounding and your reputation on the line?
Yeah. Not many.
See, most of what’s out there is just regurgitated Machiavellian gobbledygook. Same old Robert Greene tricks—chewed up, spit out, and fed back to you like cold leftovers.
This? This is going to be different.
Some Context
I’ve been there more times than I care to count. Sitting across from someone, sweating bullets, praying they don’t steer the conversation into that one shameful corner I’d rather die than visit.
Look, I’m no saint. But I’m not the devil, either.
So I Bet a Lot of You Guys Have Been in the Same Position
That weekend bro trip you “forgot” to mention to your girlfriend because if you brought it up, she’d want in, and you’d have to say no.
Or that dead-end job you’re stuck in, the one you’re a little too embarrassed to talk about with your friends so you just stay quiet and hope nobody asks.
We’ve all spun a little white lie or tucked something away, hoping it’d never see daylight. But then, boom, someone hits that touchy subject dead-on, and suddenly you’re staring them in the eyes with your secret hanging in the air.
Now you’ve got two choices, and trust me, neither one’s gonna make you look good.
Option 1: You suck at lying, and the whole thing blows up in your face.
Option 2: You pull it off. You lie like a pro. But that secret, now buried a little deeper, turns into a ticking time bomb. Because the longer it stays hidden, the more damage it does the day it finally explodes.
“What about just telling the truth?” you ask, as if that’s some get-out-of-jail-free card.
Cute. But honesty doesn’t erase the fact that you hid it in the first place. That’s when the trust issues start.
Hang on.
There Is a Third Option
And It’s not some Machiavellian Jedi mind trick. It’s something simple you can start using today. And it’ll save your skin more than you think.
Drown the Fish
In French, we say “noyer le poisson”
It means confusing someone in order to make them give in or forget something.
This Is the Third Option Nobody Teaches You
Don’t let yourself get boxed into that damned corner in the first place. Forget picking between a clumsy lie, a flawless lie that festers, or baring your soul and nuking the trust. Just make sure the spotlight never lands on your skeleton.
How?
Simple.
The moment you feel them inching toward your danger zone, you hit them with a flood—jokes, wild stories, curveball questions. Whatever it takes to reroute the conversation.
And remember what I promised?
Simplicity. Efficiency. Tricks you can actually use.
So forget racking your brain for clever distractions. Truth is, you don’t need inspiration because the best distraction in the world… is them.
Hand them the mic:
“Oh hey, didn’t you say you had that train to catch for Sevilla?”
“By the way, how did that doctor’s appointment go?”
“Wait, did you ever end up seeing that movie everyone’s raving about?”
No matter how much they care about digging up your dirty laundry, nothing on earth matters more to people than talking about themselves. Watch their eyes light up the second you toss them the mic.
All you have to do now is follow along, keep the questions coming, and show genuine curiosity. Let them run with it, and before you know it, that awkward topic about you is ancient history.
Conversation steered.
Disaster dodged.
Now it’s your turn.
🫱 🎤
Oh, and before I forget…
Ever caught someone trying to drown the fish on you? Because once you know the move—and now you do—you’ll spot it a mile away when someone suddenly steers the convo off a cliff just as things get uncomfortable.
So tell me. When’s the last time you saw someone scrambling to change the subject?