How to Sound Smarter

There are times in the lives of most people when they wish that they were, in some way or ways, smarter than they believe they really are. There are moments when we wish we knew more than we do or were in a position to sound well informed about something we are actually somewhat ignorant about. There are times and situations where we all want to be experienced as being - at least as sounding smarter than we really are. Hope is at hand! It is, indeed, possible to sound and come across as being a lot smarter than you really are. Here is an important tip that should help most people pull it off.

You may remember the film starring Peter Sellers, "Being There" (1979.) In this movie, Sellers plays a simple minded fellow named Chauncey Gardner. He says very little and people who encounter him interpret his simplistic, concrete one-liners as deep wisdom. The character is not deceiving anyone deliberately - He is being honestly who he is.

But, in his relative silence, he becomes a creation of the projected ideas of those around him. Ultimately, this probably mildly mentally retarded fellow is considered a good candidate for President! (Any relationship to prevailing or past political reality is regarded as having been entirely coincidental!) His silence is credited as a reflection of his deep intelligence, depth and understanding.

My father, who quit school in the ninth grade, had a strategy of silence. Essentially, he believed that the less he said, the less apparent it would be how very little he knew. Socially, he was not much of a player - But, people DID presume he knew and understood things he knew little if anything about. Family experience comes into play yet again in the words of one of my Grandfathers, who said, "When in doubt, shut your mout (sic.)" The idea is that the less you say, the less people will know what you don't know.

So the first and major tip to sounding and being perceived as knowing more than you really know is to keep still. If you speak up and in doing so reveal the limits of either your knowledge or intelligence, the jig is up. Silence may not always be golden, but it often makes a good impression. At least it allows for those positive projections that are often stopped cold by spoken words.

In yet another famous film, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a professional impostor in 2002's "Catch Me If You Can." By appearing as would be expected and by saying very little, he succeeds in assuming many professional identities about which he knows little or nothing. The best example is his masquerading as a physician in a hospital. Standing in a group of real doctors who are discussing a case, he simply nods knowingly and says, "I concur" after whatever the physician who has spoke before him has finished. Again, less is more.

In these examples, the films mentioned have not created a reality, they have each, in their own ways, reflected one quite palpable in modern culture.

In efforts to sound smarter than one really is, we are all prone to say too much - To try to convince others via the popular social activity of "Basing" that we know about things we do not. Most often, this strategy will fail.

The key trick/technique is to bite your tongue and be still. Look attentive, dress appropriately for the situation and say as little as possible. When agreement sounds invited, by-all-means, do so. Otherwise, use a lot of quietly reflective-sounding "Uh huhs" and "Mmms" as fillers and if pushed further, stop yourself by contributing a ubiquitously respectable, "I going to think a little more about that one."

Most people will wind up respecting your intelligence whether or not it is warranted. Give it a try - You may be in for a very BIG and important surprise. People hear and see what they want to - unless we cloud their wishful thinking with reality that conflicts with it. Speak less and sound smarter.