Saima Ikram
It isn’t easy to appear intelligent when you really aren’t. It seems like the library is always shut when you happen to walk past and the most clever-sounding books seem always out of reach. But sometimes, you need a quick fix before a job interview or work meeting. Intelligence may sound hard to pin down but according to smart people, thinking smart is as important as how smart you actually are.
It may not be possible for you to alter your genetics but you can appear smarter with the help of some of the proven strategies. Following are the strategies that can make a greater difference:
1. Use your middle initial:
Using a middle initial holds a great importance among so many people. According to experts, it not only enhances your perceived social status but also improves expectations of intelligence capacity as well as performance. John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt and others used their middle initial for a perceived IQ boost.
2. Stick with graphs:
According to experts, people are more compelled to trust a source that contains graphs. An experiment was conducted containing two similar reports. The only difference between the two was that one of the reports contained graphs. The results indicated that 96% of the participants believed the claims in the report with graphs. On the other hand, only 67% of those who read the document without the graph believed the same. The graphs have to be accurate and nor very complex to understand.
3. Be confident:
Researches have shown that believing in you is the most important thing in projecting intelligence. It helps to improve your performance in cognitive tasks which can be impaired when you get involved in self-doubt.
4. Don’t show off:
Using complex words does not make you seem intelligent; it makes you run the risk of going wrong. Therefore use simple words to express your opinions and focus on effective communication.
5. Manage your eye contact:
The studies have proved that participants who manage their eye contact during an interview or a meeting are perceived as highly intelligent. It makes them seem confident in their abilities and ready for challenges ahead.
6. Dress up accordingly:
Dressing up well directs people towards your personality rather than your mind. If you are dressed well, people will consider you more intelligent. a well-dressed person is perceived to perform better in tasks as compared to others.
Via: Forbes
