How to sound smart in five simple steps
Before I came to Cornell I had this foolish expectation that everyone I met here would sound smart. The reality is that while everyone here is smart (not all to the same degree, I admit), there are a lot of students who don't sound very smart at all. It's also not too hard to sound smart even if you aren't… masters of such would be actors, CEOs and politicians.
The simple truth is that the techniques by which one can sound smart are things anyone can do. Not convinced? Read on:
- Fix your posture. The majority of social communication is body language. How you say things is as important as what you say. If you have a tendency to slouch people will think of you as lazy, boring or shy. Roll your shoulders back and keep your chin up in the company of others. Make eye contact with people and convince them that you are confident and enthusiastic about what you are saying. You'll be surprised how differently people react when you talk to them.
- Avoid using both "colorful" and "useless" language. Colorful language would include all of those dirty "cuss" or "curse" words that mommy told you not to use. Useless language includes "like," "you know," "yeah," etc. Compare the following sentences:
- That was so, like, awesome as s***!
- That was awesome.
- That guy is such a, you know, f***ing moron.
- That guy is a moron.
- Read the news. People associate being up to date on current events with being smart. By "news" here I'm not talking about pop culture or sports… that stuff doesn't make you sound smart. You have to read about social issues, politics and world events. Random trivia about what's going on in foreign places makes for great table discussion and convinces others that you are a citizen of the world. (Bonus points: form an educated opinion about the news you read… but please, know what you are talking about.)
- Stop stuttering and don't say "um." Stuttering is a serious speech problem, and I believe the tendency to say "um" and "uh" are part of that too. I used to suffer from stuttering and I overcame it by doing two things: speaking slower, and thinking up entire sentences in my mind before saying them. If you find yourself stuttering, stammering, or just plain stuck, stop, think about what you want to say, then say it. Avoid drawing out your sentences with "um" and if you must, speak as slowly as you need to. You might sound slow, but people will have a much easier time understanding you.
- Back up your statements with facts. Someone who does nothing but express opinion doesn't exactly sound like a scholar. I know we are talking about ways to sound smart and not necessarily be smart, but if you've accomplished all of the previous tips and you are looking for a challenge, this is my advice: don't just tell people what you think, but tell them why. Use information that you know to be true and tell others how they can find that information too. Obviously you don't have to be an expert to have an opinion on something, but it helps to be able to argue your points and explain to others why you believe what you believe.
Now you might be wondering, "this guy is a such a pompous arrogant jerk. Who does he think he is, writing this stuff?" That would be the wrong way to look at this. I just figured it would be fun to put all these tips together. After all, someone out there might actually find this stuff useful… go out there and give it a try.
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20 Comments
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While I wouldn't like to behave like that when chatting with friends, these are some interesting tips to have in mind when in a job interview, right?
Yep, I've heard these tips one time or another in reference to job interviews and business meetings. This stuff doesn't make you sound cool, but in a really professional situation sounding cool is usually a bad thing.
Hi, your point sounds correct fo me, i agree with you. what language we need to learn in this globlization time?
Great stuff. Once you stop uming, you'll suddenly notice everyone else doing it more often than you'd ever believe.
Being smart is about reading between the lines, analyzing and synthesis.
Music, books, art, sociology, philosophy, … raise your standard. Dont just imitate but create.
doubledouble: In Denmark everyone learns English because that's the best way for the Danes to help their little country succeed in this global market. For people who are native English speakers, I would say learn at least two more languages. As for which two, it just depends on where you want to go.
Johan: true, but this isn't an entry about being smart. It's about sounding smart. I think it has a lot of relevance to smart people… some people are highly intelligent but no one takes the seriously or treats them with respect. For people like that, these tips can change that.
highly intelligent is an asset but is surely does not mean you are emotionally intelligent, true.
it could be true also that a lot of intelligent people communicate more difficult, but could be naive because of a high dose of empathy?
Naivety is definitely common among intelligent people; many grew up and still live in a bubble in which they are surrounded by other intelligent people all the time. Not everyone knows how to communicate their ideas and arguments in plain English or how to work with people. Fortunately I tried to keep myself out of the bubble as much as possible when I was in high school and I learned a lot.
Some people call it "street knowledge" vs. book knowledge. It's all social skills and leadership.
Sorry for the late comment; rather behind on my feeds here. At any rate, I agree with you about 90 percent of the way. Why only 90? Because I think you left out the element of reading people.
I don't know about cursing, but in some cases, being a bit more laid back–depending on the person you're speaking to–can be more beneficial to you. Some people you encounter may even associate a somewhat brash attitude with honesty, and a more reserved/polite attitude with dishonesty.
My family always taught me that if you want to make a really good impression on the Average Joe, you reflect what the person before you is like, and you ask about them; let them take the floor. One of the places I worked in the past was made up of an odd mix of folks. One very prudish and uptight old woman, a broad of a gal in her 40s, a quiet working mom, and a loud- and foul-mouthed guy in his 40s, to name a few. Language is a powerful thing. Being very formal with the old woman, sweet with the working mother, and a bit rough around the edges with the man and woman who were that way proved beneficial. I was still myself in all situations. I said the same things, just in different ways. I reflected their style a bit more, mainly to make them feel comfortable around me, and it worked. I don't think there can be a set way to behave around people. What you listed are good general rules, I definitely agree, but there are of course always exceptions.
Some people probably disagree with my take on things, saying that you lose an element of yourself in the process of reflecting others to make them feel comfortable, but from my experience, I've not found that to be true. It's like anything else. There are some people you tell all jokes to, and others that you only tell the clean jokes to. Conversation is really no different. It is the art of figuring out the person before you and bringing out the best of them–even if their best isn't all that great in your opinion!
Good point Lelia, I'll admit I've done that a lot in the past. I even had a family friend pick on me for it, but he said it was a good way to figure people out
So that's #6. Reading People.
I think that this tip is actually a great way of being able to cummunicate with people and maintain a balance of respect(if you respectfully talk right and or if you have the abillity to publicly be respectfull). It's not only better for you but others around you when one can take a hold of something in their life and appropreitely hanndle it, so i think if one can take others opinons respecfully and be respectfull about them, then they can absolutly be that person everyone looks up to in high school.
I find that this was actually incredibly useful,
so useful that i decided to read the comments!
This makes sounding smart seem easy, thank you for writing this.
u know what i really dont get is your not suppose to sound smart all the time but i guess if u want 2 impress somebody u should sound smart but around my buds i dont sweat it. but i think in order 2 sound smart u have to write smart and in my opinon that should be rule #7. Write smart!( like right now i am sooooooooo not writing smart).
also rule #8 should be know your stuff in order to sound smart sometimes and i am saying sometimes u have to well, be wise and smart or( this is rule #9) 4 hard words u dont know always carry a dictionary with u.
hello sound smart!
Great article.
reading this actually made me laugh so much. i do tend to say like and you know alot! but im fifteen so im sure over time, ill overcome that and hopefully sound abit more intelligent. and thankyou for all the helpful tips! i always tried to sound smart by just using long words… but now i realise theres more to it than just that!
hey i lolve tis artickle…but it is kind of cheezy..