10Research-Proven Tricks to Seem Smarter Than You Are

In many cases, how smart people think you are is just as important as how smart you actually are.

Intelligence only explains about 20 percent of how you do in life much of the other 80percent comes down to emotional intelligence (EQ). Experts say 90 percent of top performers in the workplace have high EQs, and people with high EQs make $28,000 more.

The hallmark of emotional intelligence is self-awareness, which involves not just knowing how you are but also how others perceive you. People with high EQ are masters of influence. They’re skilled at altering their behavior to make the most of a given situation.

You might not be able to alter your genetics, but there are some proven strategies that can help you appear smarter. Some of these strategies may seem arbitrary, but research shows they make a massive difference.

1. Use a middle initial. 

JohnF. Kennedy. Franklin D. Roosevelt. It turns out there might be a reason that somany people who hold a prominent place in history used a middle initial. It enhances your perceived social status. It also boosts expectations of intelligence capacity and performance. In one study, participants were asked to read and rateEinstein’s essay on the theory of relativity, with authorship attributed to either David Clark, David F. Clark, David F. P. Clark or David F. P. R.Clark. Not only did David F. Clark get higher ratings than David Clark, DavidF. P. R. Clark outdid them all.

2. Make graphs. 

Research conducted at Cornell suggests that people are more likely to trust a source if it contains graphs. In a study, participants read a document describing the effectiveness of a new cold medication. One contained a graph the other didn’t. More people believed the one with a graph.  

3. Skip that drink. 

That’s not just because people tend to do stupid things when they’ve been drinking. A joint study conducted by the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania revealed that merely seeing someone holding a drink is enough to make them seem less intelligent. It’s not that we assume less intelligent people are more likely to drink it’s that the perceived correlation between drinking and cognitive impairment is so strong that we assume impairment even if there isn’t any.

4. Believe in yourself. 

Nothing projects intelligence quite like confidence. When you believe in yourself, it shows, and research supports the idea that believing in yourself improves your performance on cognitive tasks. Self-doubt impairs performance. This makes you appear less intelligent to people. If you want people to believe in you, you have to believe in yourself.

5. Write simply. 

True intelligence speaks for itself, so you don’t have to show off your impressive vocabulary. And, you always run the chance of being wrong. Using a big word incorrectly makes you look, well, not so smart. So if you want to appearmore intelligent, stop studying the dictionary and just focus on communicating effectively.

6.Speak expressively. 

Communicatio nexpert Leonard Mlodinow makes the case that even if two people say exactly the same thing, the one who says it more expressively will be perceived as being smarter. If you want to come across as more intelligent, modulate your speech by varying your pitch, volume, speed and energy level.

7. Look ’em in the eye. 

In a study conducted at Loyola University, participants who intentionally managed their eye contact scored significantly higher on perceived intelligence.

8. Wear nerd glasses. 

Research shows that people who wear glasses  especially thick, full-framed ones are perceived as more intelligent. So, if you want to seem smarter(when you’re giving a presentation, perhaps?), leave the contacts at home andwear your glasses.

9. Keep pace with the crowd. 

I mean this one literally. Research conducted at Boston University backs it up. It’s called the “timescale bias”.  It refers to our tendency to attribute greater intelligence  based on mental attributes such as consciousness, awareness and intention  to people who do things at about the same speed as everyone else. If you want to look smarter, you need to stop dawdling, but you also need to stop scurrying around like some crazed robot.

10. Dress for success. 

Extensive research shows that how you dress affects how people see you. Dressing well makes you seem more intelligent, and showing skin makes you seem less intelligent. But did you know that how you dress also affects your performance? A recent study out of Northwestern University found that wearing lab coats improved subjects' performance in tasks that required intelligence and concentration.

ArticleSource: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275715

ImageSource: https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/t/smart-student-9708058.jpg

Vocabulary:

1.perceive [v]- interpret or look on(someone or something) in a particular way regard as.

2. alter[v] - change or cause to change incharacter or composition, typically in a comparatively small but significantway

3.arbitrary [adj] - based on randomchoice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system

4.cognitive impairment [n] - when aperson has trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating, or makingdecisions that affect their everyday life

5. dawdling [gerund] – wasting time, beingslow

6. scurrying [gerund] - moving hurriedly (with short quicksteps)

Questions forDiscussion:

1. According to the article, why do we need to look smart? Do you agree?

2. Among those mentioned in the article, which ones do you actually do?

3. Among those mentioned in the article, which ones do you think are hard to do?