Eye contact.

It is an idiotically simple thing, but it remains one of the most impactful life hacks around.

There are many great answers to this question, but the one that can be picked up in literally five seconds, requires no practice or special skill, and which will serve you the rest of your life is simply a commitment to eye contact.

No matter what anyone ever tells you, the most attractive quality in a person is confidence. But "be confident" is not very good advice. Instead, find the best proxy for confidence, in terms of interactive behavior. And that's eye contact.

Start this right now. Next person you talk to, commit yourself to meeting their gaze and looking right in their eyes. This doesn't mean staring at them without blinking, just look at them as they look at you. Will yourself to do it, if you have to. Make a game of it. But every time you interact with somebody, try looking them dead in the eye as you do.

Here is what you will find.

• You will quickly be able to identify those who feign confidence but don't actually have it.
• You will quickly be able to identify those who believe what they say, or those who don't.
• You will quickly be able to find those who have faith in you, or who don't.
• You will quickly be able to find those who believe themselves superior to you, and those who are just faking it.
• You will come across as somebody who has confidence in what they say.

And here's the really great thing:

• The more you come across as somebody who has confidence in what they say, the more you will BE a person who has confidence in what they say.

It's almost like a magic trick. You pretend to be self-assured and collected, and you may find yourself suddenly self-assured and collected. All it takes is making eye contact. When the person looks at you, make sure you look at them back.

Everybody else has such great advice on this one. You should consider all of it.

The difference between this bit of advice, and the other social skills mentioned?

Try mine for literally just five minutes.

It's testable. It's easy. It requires no special skill.

When you get up and leave, commit yourself, in your next social interaction, to make good eye contact. See how it works. Don't avoid any gaze. Meet it. Invite it.

Thank me later.