How To Act Smart With Pictures

It helps that “smart” people are generally viewed as more introverted, as inaccurate as that is. Not only will you have the benefit of the doubt, but you’ll have the stereotype on your side, too.

“Proper” here meaning by the standards of conventional American or British English (or whatever umbrella your dialect falls under). While saying “y’all” is totally acceptable and not technically incorrect in certain dialects, it’s not okay in others. In order to be truly proper, speak the kind of English they teach you in school.

“I dunno. I think I’m gonna go with ’em to the show fer ‘bout an hour,” is more intelligently said as “I don’t know. I think I’m going to go with them to the show for about an hour. " And that doesn’t take any mental work – just talking.

Seriously. Avoid the abbreviations and the acronyms (like “totes” or “BRB”). That’s text speak and shouldn’t even really be used on your phone (especially if you want to keep up the façade). Mallspeak is where, you, like, talk like this, and, umm, like, you fill the empty spaces, with, like, and, umm, rising intonation and it, like, always sounds like you’re asking questions when you’re, like, really not. Basically don’t talk like you’re in Clueless. The “valley girl” dialect isn’t viewed as particularly intelligent, to say the least.

Try to steer the conversation at hand if you’re really aching to show your stuff. Maybe you don’t know anything about the Glass-Steagall Act, but you know a tidbit or two about Roosevelt. Get the conversation about him and jump on it! Find your opening (six degrees of Kevin Bacon style) and grab the wheel. That’s how conversations progress, after all!

In case you were curious, that’s a Khalil Gibran quote. If you’re going to choose things to quote, it’s best to stick to poets, classic novelists, and prominent figures of the past – not Dennis Rodman, Michael Scott, or Carrot Top. [6] X Research source

In general, English has a lot of French and German words. Sometimes the French word is “smarter sounding” than the German. Instead of saying “to answer your question” say “in response to your question. " Instead of “begin,” choose “commence. " “Understand” is “comprehend,” et cetera ad infinitum.

You could always put on your “thinking” face. A slightly furrowed brow, squinted eyes looking up, maybe a hand near your face. Then ask them to explain further. You want the full argument before you respond.

Be comfortable with your lack of knowledge! Just because you can’t recite information about the structure of atoms doesn’t mean you’re not smart; it just means that’s specific knowledge you don’t have right now. It’s something you can learn later. Ask some questions, but not too many. Smart people know a lot, but they don’t know everything. They became smart by learning, so it’s a good idea to occasionally say something like “I’m not familiar with that, can you explain” or “I hadn’t heard that, can you tell me more”?

Think about it. Two people have the same argument – one person delivers it slow and with hesitation, fumbling with their words, and not making eye contact with you. The other argues with hand gestures, quickly and with clarity, and shows their undoubted belief in the concept through their passion. Who would you believe? Be aware of that nasty voice in your head – the one that’s trying to make you miserable and derail you from feeling smart. We all have one that’s telling us we’re wrong, beating down our confidence. That’s normal. Just know that this voice shouldn’t be paid any mind. It’s just there to annoy you.

You could be smart about nature, music, or even smart about how things move (not everyone can juggle). Maybe you’re good with numbers, fixing cars, cooking, or gardening. If you haven’t thought about it before, maybe you really are smart.

You know what that means? You can totally poke holes in their argument if you know where to look. Get confident – your argument is just as valid as theirs. They just might be more convincing with it.

We all get handed our cultures from birth. We get handed a political party, a religion, a belief system, manners, you name it, the adults in our lives shaped us from day one. Be open to the possibility that they were wrong. Consider different points of view. This will make you more confident in your belief system and better able to say why.

It’s those people who were open-minded, that questioned the status quo, that have driven every culture forward. If people weren’t, we’d still be in a very primitive society, content with where we are. Obviously nothing good about that. And it doesn’t take much intelligence to simply be open minded.

Even if you don’t have another person to bounce questions off of, you can get curious by yourself! Are you reading something online and run across a word you don’t know? Look it up. A political concept that just is totally over your head? Look it up. If you don’t know something, do something about it.

When it comes to “controversial celebrity” topics like Kim Kardashian, a smart person is really not interested enough to have an opinion – things of that caliber aren’t really interesting (or at least you don’t admit it). The talk around the watercooler is about the Bachelorette? Nope, sorry, you were watching a documentary on the Ebola crises last night or reading, you’ve never seen the show, sounds silly.

It’s totally stereotypical, sure, but it may also help you get in the zone! When we feel pretty, we get more confident – by the same token, if you feel smart, you may act smarter. If nothing else, it’s worth a shot. Don’t make it obvious that you are trying hard to look smart. This will be looked upon negatively.

Hit up CNN, BBC, or even your local newspaper. Heck, the AOL homepage. Too much work? Okay, a particularly in-tune Facebook friend’s feed. The news is everywhere – read it, form an opinion, and talk about it! It’s not about being smart – it’s about appearing well-informed.

English is so, so, so, so many words thanks to its history. A quick query into Google about “smart English words” warrants pages of results. Just make sure you use them! If you don’t, they’ll be hard to remember.

Je ne sais quoi - literally, “I don’t know what”; means an unexplainable thing Ad nauseum - to the point of nausea Carpe diem - seize the day In vino veritas - In wine there is truth Ad hoc - something formed quickly and haphazardly to address a specific problem Au contraire - on the contrary

Pick something from what you already know a little about. Maybe there was something in history class or English class that sparked your interest? A series of novels, a phase in history, a type of plant? It could be anything!

Dictionary. com has a “word of the day” you can sign up for. Stuffyoushouldknow. com is pretty self-explanatory. Get into Memrise, Khan Academy, Coursera, and even CNN, BBC, and any other website that sparks your fancy. If you’re unfamiliar, Memrise. com is games, Khan Academy is sweet videos, and Coursera are courses online you can take for free! You’re probably familiar with CNN and BBC. But heck, even Reddit’s r/explainlikeimfive is a good place to start!

Don’t know where to start? Look at the paintings of Monet, Gauguin, Dali, Pollock, van Gogh, Rembrandt, Renoir, or Michelangelo. Read Twain, Steinbeck, Shakespeare, Hemingway, Poe, Orwell, or Faulkner. Read the Spark Notes and see what sounds interesting!

So when you spend that time on wikiHow, Wikipedia, or Khan Academy, write stuff down! Try to talk about it with someone that night. Get it cemented in your brain so you can actually use it, instead of it going in one ear and out the other. It’s how we learn as children and it’s how we learn as adults. Very few things are rocket science. But maybe you’re interested in space you probably know a fact or two.