Do you know of any mind-boggling ways to influence others' minds?

No. Sounds like manipulation and I despise manipulative people.

Yes. Present reasoned, well thought out premises without any hint of derision, mockery, or condescension.
That would be mind-boggling.

Edit to add: I’m afraid I don’t understand your details. Sorry if I’m missing an obvious reference.

Sure when someone shows signs of road rage at you, blow them a kiss,THAT really fucks with their head,most have no idea on how to react to it.

I think tone of voice is really important. I try to speak calmly and make it seem like I don’t have a prepared speech.

I don’t get ’“Grate quest, John.”? either. It makes no sense to me.

My ex-husband had the gift of being able to listen well without saying anything. As headmaster of a school filled with smart, articulate and assertive people, he could sit through a facultiy or board meeting and say nothing for two or so hours. At the end he would thank everyone and usually do what he had planned pre-meeting, but everyone felt his voice had been heard. It was a gift. I would have been interupting and shouting.

I didn’t fully comprehend the question either. Persuasion is a far cry from manipulation.
I also sgree wholeheartedly with @dxs tone of voice is everything.

I think it’s a subliminal way to get every one to award this post a Great Question (grate quest john).

I personally use a cocktail of Flintstones chewables and peyote. Works like a charm,

Become a politician

Thanks, @Blondesjon. I am too dense to get stuff like that. Which is sort of comforting in a sad, sad way.
And no, I didn’t GQ this. :-p

By behaving in a way that they aren’t expecting or used to. I had a daycare dad who owed me money. I finally had to go so far as to sue him. After he got the papers he sent some thug over with my money. Pretty sure the thug was supposed to intimidate me. However, I really threw him off balance by warmly welcoming him into the house, thanking him for bringing the money over, and just overall being gracious and polite. His scowl quickly turned to confusion, then he relaxed all together and we parted on friendly terms.

I see you people are too smart too get caught up in my brilliant scheme. ~

Let’ s end this on a positive note… a crook is not necessarily a bad guy. Sometimes, a cook is. ..simply misunderstood.

We need to ask Karamom if cooks are misunderstood!

What was your scheme?

It boggles my mind how Fox “News” influences people, but I guess that if you shout something loud enough and often enough, it becomes fact even if it’s not true.

Photoshop, when done well, fools a great many people. It isn’t just used for model bodies.

I don’t know if it’s mind-boggling but here’s something I do to influence some people: I try to be dumber than I really am. I put on a “silly-girl-who-is-just-too-honest-and-gullible-and-gentle” mask for a certain amount of time, enough for people to think I’m really what my “mask” tells. After that I can do some “shady” things without being suspected. Hell, how could a honest silly girl ever do that? :p

I’ve done that too @Mimishu1995! It’s almost expected, where I came from (60’s and 70’s.) If they want to suck into it, then I’ll use it against them.