Pssst. Wanna know a secret?
It’s so easy to look smarter than you are.
How do I know that?
I’ve been doing it for years!
No, seriously. I have been. Though I’ve never measured it I’m pretty sure my IQ leaves something to be desired. Let’s just say I barely cracked a grand on my SAT’s and was never invited to join a “talented and gifted class.” LOL!
On the other hand I’m smart in other ways you can’t measure as quantitatively, or that wouldn’t show up on any “test.”
I realized long ago it’s not what I know, it’s what I do with what I know, and what I see happening in the situations around me. And that’s where my sweet spot is. I guess I think of it as a “contextual IQ.” Is that thing? Well, if not, I just made it one.
Find your way to shine.
When I joined a big corporate team, the guy who hired me got a perfect score on his GMAT’s (seriously). As you can imagine, it’s somewhat intimidating to be around that kind of brainpower.
I had to quickly figure out how I could add to the equation, and complement his seriously hi-cred intellect, while not crying… er, I mean, looking like I was trying too hard.
There are numerous ways I found, through trial, error, and observation, to do that. In the next few weeks I want to share these ways I found to look smarter with you. See if any of them resonate with you.
These are the things I found that allowed me to complement the team, and, grow in my own strong suits. Maybe some of these ideas will help you too.
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The power of your voice.
When I first joined said company, I ran for the Board Vice President on a major national association with a couple thousand members. My own team told me I probably wouldn’t win the election, because I was running against someone from New. York. City.
She’d been around longer, knew more people, and worked for a recognized consumer products company that made a famous brand of toothpaste.
All things considered, it was a fair conclusion. Still, not a reason to give up easily.
Then came the annual conference when elections were traditionally held. At the voting members breakfast, all candidates were required to make a presentation to the group, after which voting commenced and lasted through the duration of the conference. On the last day, the new officers were announced.
I spoke first. I gave a great speech. I thought I made good points and delivered it pretty well. I was certainly passionate about the business of the organization and had clear ideas on how I thought I could make it better. And, as with most speeches, I was very happy when it was over.
She spoke second. She also made good points about the business of the organization and had clear ideas on how she thought she could make it better.
Her delivery, not so much; it was halting, and she didn’t seem confident. I was surprised, as it was such a contradiction to the way I perceived her.
I won the election.
And I won that election for one reason and one reason only: I gave a better speech.
That was years ago. And I’ve never forgotten that lesson.
The ability to present your ideas clearly, effectively, and passionately is powerful. It is A power.
The perception of smart.
People formed an idea about me, and her, based on – not necessarily the ideas we had – but the way we each presented them.
I soon realized that whether I was dealing with executives, suppliers, my team, or others, the power of my delivery was an immense asset I held in my collection of non-IQ related skills.
Whether you’re a total smarty pants or not, you can up your professional IQ by devoting yourself to mastering the power of presenting your ideas.
Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ok, now, what do you think of this idea? Is this something you’ll be working on in your professional plan?
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The gift of fluent speech may not be as rare as the perfect GMAT score, but it’s a lot more valuable. Your story illustrates that, while the networking introduction I recently mangled demonstrated the exact opposite.
Thank you for a great article and a very compelling story!
I’d say the ability to present our ideas clearly is just as important to success as the ability to have them. You can’t expect other people -coworkers, peers and executives alike- to understand your ideas and your value if you can’t properly convey your arguments or demonstrate passion and competence in your speech.
It’s definitely one of the most important skills for career success, and as any other skill, it gets better with practice (and yes, it’s in my professional plan!).
ialbeldar Thanks for saying, I appreciate it. Agree, the quality of delivery is as important as the message itself.