Do you think someone you know might be a narcissist?
You don’t need a long psychological quiz to find out, you just need the right questions.
Comically, narcissists often reveal themselves when caught off guard, especially by things that challenge their ego or force genuine reflection.
With a few little prompts, you can uncover their true nature in minutes, and I’m here for you all trying!
These 5 simple questions will quickly expose a narcissist. You want sharp, subtle, and seriously effective, and you’ve got it.
Exposing Feels Good
I know pretty much all of you will agree with me when I say how good it feels to finally expose a narcissist.
They finally get what’s coming to them, and you know you’re the one who has unleashed it.
However, it doesn’t have to always be so pushy or direct. You can have innocent, simple conversations with them to help get to the bottom of what they’re really like as people. It’s only then you’ll start to see the cracks very quickly appear.
And suddenly, they’re left wide open without any protection from the elements of truth.
#1 “Can you admit when you’re wrong?”
Prepare for a look, because it’s coming! That wide-eyed disbelief of a person who knows you are onto them, and has no idea how to answer without sounding like a further piece of shit.
In truth, no, narcissists will never admit when they’re wrong. To do so would be to throw a layer of disingenuity over them and create whispers of distrust within their circles. For that reason, they’re perfect – nothing more, nothing less.
Any admission of wrongness is practically an admission of fault – again – never going to happen.
So instead of wondering for yourself, asking them outright can be all the information you need, especially when they look as shocked as they’re likely to look when you pose the question.
#2 “How do you handle criticism?”
Oh, things just got interesting, didn’t they!
Asking a narcissist how they handle criticism will send them into an absolutely fluster and flurry of emotion, and they will struggle to retain and manage that.
Criticism is the one thing narcissists dish out every single day to people they want to erode, yet the second a fragment of it comes back to them – they will fall apart.
This is one sure-fire way of really knowing who a narcissist is, and speaking to them openly about what criticism looks like for them is a sure way to set up an own goal for them.
Those who don’t handle criticism well will also see this question as a criticism within itself.
It’s like you’re sniffing them out before they’ve had a chance to think how to answer to appear the good guy.
#3 “What’s something you’ve learned from a past mistake?”
How funny to think of a narcissist either learning something through self-reflection, or thinking about any mistakes they’ve made in their lives.
I don’t actually know which one seems more impossible, which is why this question is one of the best ones to fire at a narcissist when you want to quickly expose them.
The more covert of the pack will probably talk nice and slowly, really savoring the moment where they can pretend to be something they’re not – but their eyes will tell a panicked story.
Overt types of narcissists will just shrug and say they don’t know, while almost looking at you like you’ve asked them what the time is in Mandarin.
Either way – if you look closely, you will see a narcissist becoming rapidly exposed.
#4 “What do you admire about your closest friend?”
Hold on a second…
…Did you say closest friend?
I think we could just stop there, couldn’t we?
Narcissists don’t have close friends. They may have people they’re close to – but that doesn’t mean the same as it might for you.
Friendship that close involves a huge amount of vulnerability and loyalty, and narcissists just aren’t wired that way.
They’re more, ‘use you until I don’t need you’ kinds of people. The more you adhere to them, compliment them, and appease them, the more they will stick around.
The moment that changes or shifts? You can forget it.
Asking a narcissist this will reveal everything I just wrote in one, slightly fearing look.
And it is pretty amusing!
#5 “Can you describe a time you put someone else first?”
Come on, narcissist, the clock is ticking, we don’t have all day.
Why is it taking so long to answer this?
Narcissists will literally freeze under the pressure of this question, and will simply not know how to answer it.
As they rack their brains for an appeasing answer, they will give their toxic character away during the time it takes them to answer.
They don’t put people first. They put themselves front and center in every situation, so if you’re looking for a time when they were kind, compassionate and sensitive, you’re going to be looking for a very long time.
It shouldn’t be about exposing them, it should be an innocent question that gives you an insight into the way they treat people.
But, seeing as they treat people like garbage, you’re not going to be very lucky in their answer – and they will immediately expose themselves as a result.
I will say though, it’s pretty comical waiting for them to respond.
What Asking Does
If you’re asking questions, you’re looking for answers. And there are a plethora of questions you can ask the narcissist where they can wriggle out of the truth and give you what you want to hear because it pacifies you.
In fact, I’d go as far to say how well the narcissist rehearses certain answers, knowing they can keep pretending to be a version of themselves they want you to see at that time. It’s quite frightening, really.
However, these kinds of questions I’ve written out are prime examples of how you can corner a narcissist and give them no way out.
Leaving them in temporary fear of now knowing what to say, narcissists will panic and be left at a huge risk of being exposed.
And guess what? For once, you’re the one doing it. You’re the one pulling the strings and not giving them any room to push back and do a thing.
Even if the narcissist can’t answer what you ask, that in itself is a strong sign you’ve exposed them.
Honest people give honest answers, and will allow for your questions to be a get-to-know-you opportunity. They will willingly give you what you need to know.
On the flip side, the narcissist won’t have answers, because they didn’t put anybody else first.
They can’t even pretend to know how to handle criticism. It’s hilarious trying to see them in real time think up an answer that will suit and give you what you need.
So I ask you:
Watch out for the signs.
Sense the subtleness of their panic.
Observe how they act with you after the question and their attempted answer has died down and the dust has settled.
Because I guarantee this – it’s going to be very interesting.
