Humans logo

How One Can Attain Power Through Displaying Vulnerability

Ever wondered how you can be superior to people through basic manipulation? No? Well, here's a guide anyways.

By Alice StanleyPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
Like
Source

We all like to feel the occasional sense of control. This feeling rises in a multitude of scenarios, such as the relationship between a mother and her child, an employer and his status of superiority over his employees, or even being the decision-maker in a friend group. However, people don’t commonly analyse the importance of these encounters or grasps of power in our everyday life, which is where I believe people make their initial fundamental mistake in the surge for power.

Vulnerability, in my opinion, is ironically the fishing net that is yet to be unleashed in the stream of power, available to anyone who is skilled enough to utilise it to their own advantage. In simpler words, vulnerability is what one has to display if they want superiority over others. This, however, is commonly not considered, as logically, displaying power should eventually lead to superiority over others.

However, if one dares to analyse the way human interactions dance around themes of trust and relatability between others, one will realise that trust can only be accessed by putting yourself in the situation of the other. The other will most commonly, even if they are known to be in a position of power, view themselves as being under some form of superior being too. This is because in the chain of relationships between humans there can be no ultimate ‘supreme-superior’, as there will always be someone else that portrays more power in one way or another. Therefore, everyone secretly feels vulnerable, due to their status not being the outermost superior being.

By becoming a relatable person through a shared sense of vulnerability to the targeted person of superiority, one will gain trust. This is because humans are sociable animals and constantly want to believe that there are people out there whom they can trust due to their likeness in behaviour. This trust is established because a likeness, or relatability, creates the illusion of predictability in behaviour, which is ultimately what we search for in relationships of any kind. Predictability means that we don’t have to be in a constant state of caution and can therefore rely on the other, while working as a ‘team.’

Once this trust is established, the person will most likely still feel slight superiority above you, if they were in a state of superiority above you beforehand. However, this is what you want them to feel like. If the other feels secure in their state of power, yet also trusting towards you, it means that they have let down their guard. The trick to manipulation is then to make oneself more vulnerable, in order to let them know that they are in control. This false sense of control felt by the other can be used as one’s own potential grasp to power.

One example of this could be Kevin Spacey’s character Roger in the film The Usual Suspects. This is because, throughout the entirety of the movie, Roger is portrayed as the loser-type character, a useless protagonist, who idolises other superior characters, while displaying vulnerable characteristics, such as bodily impairments and low intellect. The plot twist of the movie, however, is that Roger had solely pretended to be an inferior character to the police, who had craved a sense of power. By supplying these inferior characteristics to the police, they had let their guard down and eventually trusted his made-up story. This whole story, however, was a lie, only made trustworthy due to Roger’s display of vulnerability towards the ‘superior’ policemen. Therefore, this made Roger superior, as he got away with a crime. Finally, this is because the key to power is not letting anyone know that you have power, i.e. displaying vulnerability.

In conclusion, vulnerability and the ability to display it is essential in building trust between humans. This can then be used to one’s advantage if needed. This manipulative technique must therefore be used with caution, as a careless approach might result in worse matters.

how to
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.