Human psychological capabilities depend on the senses, which provide input. These are used to form a perception of reality. This natural phenomenon categorizes the human senses into sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, balance and acceleration, temperature, kinesthetic, pain, and direction. The utilization of these senses effectively develops and maintains the method in which we perceive the world.

From a social engineering perspective, any information retrieved or extracted from the target via the dominant senses (visual or auditory), eye movements (eye contact, verbal discrepancies, blink rate, or eye cues), facial expressions (surprise, happiness, fear, sadness, anger, or disgust), and other abstract entities observed or felt, may add a greater probability of success. Often, it is necessary for a social engineer to directly communicate with the target in order to obtain confidential information or access restricted zones. This communication can be performed physically, or by using electronically-assisted technology.

In the real world, two common tactics are applied to accomplish this task: interview and interrogation. However, in practice, each tactic includes other factors, such as environment, knowledge of the target, and the ability to control the frame of communication. These combined factors (communication, environment, knowledge, and frame-control) construct the basic set of skills for an effective social engineer to conduct a social engineering attack. The entire social engineering activity relies on a relationship of trust. If you cannot build a strong trust relationship with your target, you will most likely fail in your endeavor.