9 ways to appear smarter than you are

Being smart is great. But intelligence is such a thing that is sometimes difficult to recognize right off the bat. And in many cases, making the impression of an intelligent person is much more important than actually being one.

Of course, you cannot change the innate characteristics of your brain and grow yourself an exorbitant IQ. But you will probably be able to look smarter. There are at least nine strategies for this, the effectiveness of which has been confirmed by experts.

1. Do not hold a glass of alcohol in your hand

A joint study by the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania showed

Scott I. Rick, Maurice E. Schweitzer. The imbibing idiot bias: Consuming alcohol can be hazardous to your (perceived) intelligence / Journal of Consumer Psychology: when others see that a person is holding a glass or glass in his hand, they automatically consider him less intelligent.

And the point is not even that it seems to us that stupid people are more fond of alcohol. It's just that the link between alcohol consumption and intellectual disability is so strong and obvious that we assume there are such impairments, even if they are not. It is common cognitive distortion, which has a funny name - "bias towards idiots."

2. Believe in yourself

Nothing shows intelligence more than confidence.

Research confirmsBelieving You Can Get Smarter Makes You Smarter / American Psychological Association: people who believe in their minds begin to better cope with various intellectual tasks. On the other hand, uncertainty worsens these results, makes them more likely to make mistakes. To make matters worse, the people around you pick up that you doubt yourself, and for this reason they think you are less intelligent.

If you want people to believe in you, first believe in yourself.

3. Speak emphatically

Communications expert Leonard Mlodinov, book authorLeonard Mlodinov. (Un) conscious. How the unconscious mind controls our behavior “(Un) conscious. How the unconscious mind controls our behavior, ”says: if two people say the same thing, the one whose voice sounds more expressive will seem to others smarter than the second.

To look smarter, control your speech. Change the pitch, volume, speed and energy with which you say certain words.

4. Write simply

It just seems that the more smart words you use, the smarter you look. True intelligence speaks for itself, so you don't have to brag about an impressive vocabulary.

Moreover, there is always the risk of being wrong. And if you use a complex term incorrectly or unnecessarily, out of context, others will seemDaniel M. Oppenheimer. Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: problems with using long words needlessly / Cognitive Psychologythat you are not an intellectual, but just show off.

If you want to sound smarter, just focus on getting your message across to the other person.

5. If you need to tell about something, use graphs.

StudyAner Tal, Brian Wansink. Blinded with science: Trivial graphs and formulas increase ad persuasiveness and belief in product efficacy / SAGE Journals Cornell University (USA) shows that people trust the source of information more if it contains graphics.

So, in one experiment that is mentioned in this scientific work, people were asked to read a document describing the effectiveness of a new cold medicine. Half of the subjects were given a report, inside which were charts. The rest is just text. Bottom line: 96% of the volunteers from the first group found the statements in the document logical and correct. In another group, only 67% of the participants came to the same conclusion.

Next time you need to tell something, draw graphs. This will make you more convincing and smarter.

6. Look people in the eye

This is generally a sign of good form. But among other things, when you do not look away, you seem smarter to the interlocutor.

In researchNora A Murphy. Appearing smart: the impression management of intelligence, person perception accuracy, and behavior in social interaction / Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin Loyola University (USA) participants who intentionally kept eye contact while talking received higher scores for perceived intelligence This is the level of intelligence, as the interlocutors assess it. .

7. Wear glasses

Has your mom ever advised you to keep good relationships with nerds because one day you will be working for one of them? If so, she clearly knew something.

Research showsHelmut Leder, Michael Forster, and Gernot Gerger. The Glasses Stereotype Revisited / Hogrefe eContentthat people who wear glasses, especially those with thick, heavy frames, seem smarter to others.

So if you need to look intellectual (for example, when giving a presentation), remove contact lenses and put on your glasses. Use them even if you don't need them at all.

8. Keep up with the crowd

Yes, literally. StudyCarey K. Morewedge, Jesse Preston, Daniel M. Wegner. Timescale Bias in the Attribution of Mind / Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Boston University confirms that it is important to move at the same pace with those around you. This is called timeline bias and refers to the human habit of assigning higher intelligence to people who are doing something at about the same speed as most.

To look smarter, you need to stop slowing down. But it's just as important not to fuss like a crazy robot.

9. Dress smartly

Numerous studies show 1. Sandra M. Forsythe. Effect of Applicant’s Clothing on Interviewer’s Decision to Hire / Journal of Applied Social Psychology
2. V. Ann Paulins. An analysis of customer service quality to college students as influenced by customer appearance through dress during the in-store shopping process / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services
3. Tracy L Morris, Joan Gorham, Stanley Cohen, Drew Huffman. Fashion in the classroom: Effects of attire on student perceptions of instructors in college classes / Communication Education: Your dressing habits affect how people see you.

A quality tailored suit makes you look smarter. A lot of bare skin, on the other hand, makes people perceive you a little frivolous, as their attention is focused on your body, and not on the mind.

Not only that: your clothes also affect your performance at work. One recent study showedHajo Adam, Adam D. Galinsky. Enclothed cognition / Journal of Experimental Social Psychology: People are better at intelligence and concentration tasks if they wear lab coats.