I hate to say it, but you’ve been making conversations WAY harder than they need to be.
Most people struggle with knowing what to say or how to keep a conversation flowing, and if you don’t fix this, you’ll keep feeling stuck or lost for words in awkward silence like most people do.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
There’s an easy fix for this—one that can completely change the way you communicate.
In this video, you’ll discover 4 simple tricks that will make you sound super smart and knowledgeable EVERY TIME you’re having a conversation.
It’s so powerful that it will instantly boost your confidence, and you’ll never have to worry about running out of things to say again.
And the best part is that it’s so incredibly easy to use that anyone can do it—so you don’t need to be naturally gifted to pull it off.
So what’s the secret?
Let’s find out.
What do you think being the smartest in the room actually means?
Is it knowing more, or saying less?
Well, it’s neither.
True intelligence often shows up as great communication, and all great communication starts with…
Listening!
Most people rush to speak, but listening first helps you see the situation from different angles and say things that matter.
Plus, you’ll avoid the embarrassment of asking a question that’s already been answered.
When I say listening, I mean active listening.
Active listening isn’t just hearing words; it’s focusing on truly understanding the speaker.
You notice things like body language and tone of voice, which help you ask relevant questions and sound smarter in your responses.
It also shows that you care—when you make eye contact and give little nods or comments, you signal attention and respect, encouraging the speaker to feel valued and open up more.
So then, how can you become a better listener?
First, eliminate distractions.
Put your phone away, not just face down but out of sight.
Give the speaker your full attention.
This shows respect and helps you focus on what’s being said.
Second, show some empathy by putting yourself in the speaker’s shoes.
This helps you understand their perspective, connect on a deeper level and ask more relevant questions.
Finally, listen without judgment.
We all have our biases, but when it comes to listening, you have to set your filters aside and take in the information with an open mind.
There’s one more thing about listening that separates the average from the truly impressive in conversations, but before we get into that, I want to share a trick that’s even more powerful than just listening, and makes you come across as not only smart but REALLY smart.
The trick is to flip the script and let them do the talking, so you’re never the one running out of things to say.
But what does that even mean?
It means that you should keep listening, even when there’s an awkward silence.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO FILL THE SILENCE.
Get comfortable with making easy eye contact in silence, and let them break it.
And trust me, they will break it.
Silence often encourages the other person to elaborate or clarify, and almost forces them to reveal extra information.
My former boss would always do this.
I’d start talking about something in our weekly one-on-one, and there’d be this deadly silence whenever I stop talking.
So I would keep talking and talking to fill the silence.
I’d end up spilling everything I knew about the topic.
I would reveal way more than I planned, every single time.
Then I’d get weirded out by the silence, and ask him specifically about what he thought.
He’d start with “I don’t know much about this”, and then proceed to shower me with all the relevant information that I never had, and I would be impressed out of my mind.
He’d let me draw the outline, understand my entire perspective, and give me exactly what I needed.
I just cannot stress the importance of this trick enough.
Start trying it in your conversations, and you’ll immediately see that people are opening up way more than they would usually do.
This will give you a lot more room to say something smart that will actually help the speaker and blow their mind.
And they will make it obvious to you.
And every time that happens, you’ll feel smart as f**k.
Now, here’s the “one more thing” I mentioned earlier about listening that will move you to the A-tier of smartness.
You should repeat what you’ve learned.
You should paraphrase what the other person has said.
Not only does this show you’ve been paying attention, but it also makes you come across as sharp and insightful.
Summarizing what they’ve said helps you reinforce the key points in the conversation, and clarify things if necessary.
It also makes you look engaged and attentive, and shows them that you truly understand them.
So whenever you can, take a moment to summarize and let the other person know that you hear them.
Just make sure you don’t overuse this trick, otherwise you’ll be interrupting.
So far, we’ve been talking mostly about listening tricks.
But listening is only part of the equation.
If you really want to take it from smart to genius and level up to the S-tier, this next part is an absolute game-changer.
You need to ask a great f**king question.
People often skip this because they focus too much on what they’ll say next, but the smart ones know how to guide a conversation by asking the right questions.
A great question opens up entirely new horizons for the conversation to steer to, and MAKE THE OTHER PERSON FEEL SMART AS WELL.
This is key to being perceived as the smartest in the room.
You need to make the room smarter with you.
A well-timed, deep question will make you look wise, and show that you’re thinking critically.
It will challenge the conversation’s assumptions, and prompt the other person to do the same.
But what makes a great question?
Well, this needs its own video; but in a nutshell, it must be clear, super simple, mostly open-ended, and appropriate given the nature of the conversation.
Believe me when I say, trying to complicate your questions to sound smart will only make you look dumb.
A simple open-ended question will do just fine, and make the other person guide you towards the topics they want to talk about.
Their enthusiasm and tone of voice will reveal the best angle of conversation to continue with.
The more you’re able to keep them talking, the less you have to do so, and the smarter you become.
And since you’re still here, here’s a bonus tip for you:
Try using pauses before responding, in order to collect your thoughts.
This will show the other person how confident and composed you are while controlling the conversation.
And that is how you become the smartest in the room.
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