Think before you speak. This is a very competitive world. If you want to be ahead of most people, what will distinguish you from the rest is how you present yourself, not just physically but also in terms of how you communicate. Most of us invest so much in just trying to look good, but very few try to enhance or work out elements of their personality. Here are a few tips you could use to appear smarter.
Practice clear speech.
Each word should be spoken distinctly. Choice of words is important. You can speak quite fast but if people do not understand what you mean, you will only look foolish. If you wish to be taken seriously, see to it that your words portray sufficient grace like your appearance. No matter how good looking you are, if you cannot speak well, you will never be able to hold a place. Avoid pausing in between sentences for long. You can try formulating the entire sentence before you blurt it out. It is difficult to attract people’s attention if your sentences seem broken or delayed.
Be very specific about your vocabulary.
Avoid using very difficult words or those that people are not quite familiar with. Either you will appear all- knowing or a show off. This isn’t quite a great idea. Familiarise yourself with a better knowledge of the language, try not making grammatical errors. Instead of saying, ” He is a good man”, you could trying being more particular about his qualities, like, “He is a generous and an honest human being”. Also, rather than simply saying, ” It was a boring movie”, you could try pointing out what made the movie boring. This makes a much better impression that being quite general in your conversation with a person.
You do not need to be a walking encyclopaedia.
It is great to be aware of facts. But you will sound knowledgeable if you can analyse and contribute to the facts. That sounds like an intelligent approach to any topic you deal with. Question yourself, could the facts be explored in a different angle? In fact, work on why people should take your inputs to a topic seriously. Also, acquaint yourself with what’s happening around you. There’s no point speaking mindlessly about old, irrelevant facts when a burning issue today is what you should be aware of.
Be humble.
Most us can talk but very few can listen. Many speak, even if they don’t possess any knowledge about the topic. That’s quite frustrating and least appreciative. If you do not listen to what people’s opinions are, you can never contribute meaningfully to a conversation. Only when you listen, you enhance your knowledge. You will have queries which you would like to have answered. Unless you can express your humility, people would only consider you a snob. If your character is unappealing, your smartness holds no value.
Have a proper body language.
If your body language doesn’t appeal, people will be least bothered. A smart person constantly works on delivering his/ her speech confidently. An eye- to- eye contact is extremely necessary. If you don’t have anything to contribute or if you are scared of speaking publicly, avoid starting your sentences negatively, like, “I don’t know” or ” I am quite unsure”.
