I have a similar anecdote in which the manipulation was completely unintentional. As a teenager, I was home alone in my parents’ house when a woman rang the front doorbell. When I answered it she brusquely invited herself inside, acting as though she had every right to come in and that of course I would know that. I can’t fully reconstruct what I was feeling but I guess I was flustered and intimidated. She entered, then announced that she’d be taking a tour of the house. She proceeded to wander through every room, commenting occasionally, then thanked me and let herself out. I was stunned—both concerned over what had just happened, and mortified that I had just let it happen. As it turned out, she was a real estate agent who was supposed to be assessing my neighbor’s house and got the wrong address. Her air of absolute confidence that she was allowed to do this and that she was in too much of a hurry to confirm that she had permission was unfeigned.
Yes! That’s the exact feeling. 1) Getting a bit shocked out of your element, 2) The confidence leading you to follow along and then 3) Puzzlement as well as not even quite understanding what just happened.
I have a similar anecdote in which the manipulation was completely unintentional. As a teenager, I was home alone in my parents’ house when a woman rang the front doorbell. When I answered it she brusquely invited herself inside, acting as though she had every right to come in and that of course I would know that. I can’t fully reconstruct what I was feeling but I guess I was flustered and intimidated. She entered, then announced that she’d be taking a tour of the house. She proceeded to wander through every room, commenting occasionally, then thanked me and let herself out. I was stunned—both concerned over what had just happened, and mortified that I had just let it happen. As it turned out, she was a real estate agent who was supposed to be assessing my neighbor’s house and got the wrong address. Her air of absolute confidence that she was allowed to do this and that she was in too much of a hurry to confirm that she had permission was unfeigned.
Yes! That’s the exact feeling. 1) Getting a bit shocked out of your element, 2) The confidence leading you to follow along and then 3) Puzzlement as well as not even quite understanding what just happened.