Confidant Guide Persona 5 Why This Method Works Amazingly Fast

So I’ve been messing around with this whole “Confidant Guide” thing from Persona 5, trying to make actual friends and get ahead at work faster. Yeah, sounds weird, right? Like, video game tactics in real life? But honestly? It freaking worked, and way quicker than I thought. Let me spill it all.

The Starting Point: Pure Awkwardness

First off, I just felt awkward. Trying to ‘guide’ conversations? Like what the hell does that even mean? I started simple. There’s this guy, Mark, in the office cafe every Tuesday. Always says hi. So one Tuesday, I bought two coffees. Stood there like an idiot. Went up and shoved one at him. “Hey man, extra coffee if you want it.” Felt stupid as hell. He looked surprised but took it. We stood there sipping, talked about the crappy weather for like 30 seconds. Small win, I guess. Felt less robotic.

Building the Freaking Spreadsheet (Yeah, Seriously)

Remembering details? Haha, no. My brain is like a sieve. Saw how the game tracks stuff, so I thought, screw it, let’s go full nerd. Made a stupid spreadsheet on my phone:

• Name: Mark
• Where/When Met: Office Cafe, Tues ~9am
• Stuff He Mentioned: Likes hiking, dog named “Bear”, hates sushi
• Next Talk Goal: Ask about his dog’s name story

Started doing this for a few key people – my boss (Sarah), the quiet IT guy (Raj), and this woman (Chloe) I wanted to collaborate with on a project.

The First Big Disaster (And Fix)

Okay, it went wrong fast. Tried using Mark’s dog detail next Tuesday. Went up like: “Hey Mark! How’s Bear? Still hiking with him?” Sounds okay? Nope. Came out weird. Forced. He kinda mumbled “Yeah…” and bounced. Facepalm moment. Realized I sounded like a creepy stalker quoting a script.

Fixing my shit: Ditched the interrogation vibe. Next week, saw him, just said “Mornin’! Brutal coffee queue today.” Waited for him to talk. He mentioned the dog himself because Bear ate his shoe! BOOM. Natural opening. Laughed about it. Key learning: Use the notes to listen better, not to launch questions. Wait for the opening they give you.

Actually Getting Traction

Started applying it everywhere:

• Raj (IT Guy): Saw him struggling with a laptop. Remembered he hates the new ticket system. Said, “Ugh, still fighting with that thing?” He actually groaned and vented for 5 minutes. Felt like he finally saw me as human.
• Sarah (Boss): Spotted her stressed before a big meeting. Knew from notes she loves black licorice (gross, but hey). Had some jellybeans left in my bag. Offered her the black ones saying, “Licorice attack fuel?” She cracked a smile. Tiny thing, but she noticed.
• Chloe (Project Collab): Saw her alone at lunch reading a sci-fi book. Knew she loved that genre. Casually asked, “Anything good?” Spent the whole lunch break talking books. We clicked.

Why It Blew Up So Fast

Three things made it rocket fuel:

1. The Notes Killed My Laziness: Couldn’t pretend I “forgot” what people cared about. Had it right there. Made me actually pay attention.
2. Actions > Words: Coffee, specific jellybeans, acknowledging their struggle. Tiny, cheap actions based on what I knew meant way more than smooth talk.
3. Consistency (Without Stalking): Just showing up reliably where they were (cafe, lunch spot) and being a little bit present regularly built familiarity fast. No grand gestures.

The Payoff Happened Scarily Quick

Within like, 2-3 months:

• Mark started grabbing coffee with me, introduced me to his hiking group. Free weekend trips!
• Raj fixed my laptop issues same-day, no ticket needed. Bless.
• Sarah assigned me the high-visibility project. Basically said, “You actually pay attention to people. Lead this.”
• Chloe and I are pitching our project together next week.

Still feels like some weird voodoo. It’s not magic. It’s just forcing yourself to be less self-centered, actually notice stuff, do tiny nice things, and show up. Game logic works IRL. Who knew? Now I gotta find more free labor… I mean, build more awesome connections.

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