When I start my lesson, if the students are talking loudly and making noise,
I use a lower level of voice than usual; the (counterintuitive) result
is that my voice is actually heard, as the students are curious and they
stop talking almost immediately in order to hear.
I think that many skilled politicians know quite a bunch of counterintuitive tricks
to make people think their lies are the truth.
Nature offer several counterintuitive facts, that human theories about nature
are still conquering, with new physical models and explanations.
Examples:
a) the global warming (greenhouse effect) will bring a warmer climate,
but also more rain.
b) as a consequence of the global warming there is a high chance that
England will actually lower its average temperature and become ice covered (this as the Gulf Stream might change its course or even vanish --- now it has a flow of approx. 30 million tons of water per second -- ).