Research suggests simple ways to use your eyes and voice to appear more intelligent.
Maintaining eye contact while talking is one of the easiest ways to appear smarter.
Other common ways to give a more intelligent impression include speaking pleasantly, clearly and quickly.
The finding comes from a study in which participants were recorded while trying to appear intelligent when discussing an assigned topic.
This condition was compared to people who were given no instruction about how to act.
Judges viewed the video and rated the person’s apparent intelligence.
Maintaining eye contact while speaking was rated as giving the smartest appearance.
Indeed, intelligence tests revealed that people who maintained eye contact were actually smarter.
Judges also associated two other behaviours with high IQ:
- maintaining eye contact while listening,
- and standing upright.
However, neither of these was linked to people’s measured intelligence.
Still, you could use them, as they create the right impression.
Other ways to look more intelligent were:
- speaking for longer,
- having a self-assured expression,
- and being responsive.
People did not use these methods spontaneously, though.
The study’s authors conclude:
“Looking while speaking was a key behavior: It significantly correlated with IQ, was successfully manipulated by impression-managing targets, and contributed to higher perceived intelligence ratings.”
The authors also identify other behaviours linked to higher perceived intelligence:
“…pleasant speech style, clear or easy-to-understand communication, and faster speech rate all have been associated with higher perceived intelligence ratings.”
Related
The study was published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (Murphy, 2007).
