Maybe you want to look smart in front of your boss. Perhaps you have an upcoming presentation and want to sound more professional, or you'd just like to improve your communication skills as a whole.
Two simple tips can help you in all of those circumstances, says Matt Abrahams, a strategic communications lecturer at Stanford University and author of ″Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot."
If you want to appear highly intelligent and more confident in professional settings, Abrahams says you should:
- Steer clear from big words.
- Slow down your speech.
Here's why.
Complexity doesn't equal confidence
Large, complex words may make you feel smarter on the inside — whether you're speaking or writing — but that's not how you're coming across to other people, says Abrahams.
"The origin of the word communication comes from 'to make common.' And if you're trying to make things common, you really have to put them in a way that people can understand," Abrahams says. "There are a lot of things that people can do to put on false pretenses to try to make themselves look better, sound better, etc. that get in the way."
Research backs that up. In a 2006 study, researcher Daniel Oppenheimer asked Stanford University undergraduate students to respond to different writing samples in five different experiments. He found that writers who used gaudy fonts and big words needlessly were seen as less intelligent than those who used simple words with plain text.
"It is best to be conversational," says Abrahams. "There are certainly times where formality matters, like if you're in a courtroom. But for the most part, being conversational, using accessible language, language that's not jargon-filled or highly acronym-laden [makes you seem smarter]."
Slow and steady wins the race
Everyone has a natural speaking cadence, and it's hard to alter — especially when you have a lot of information to convey or you're passionate about the subject matter. But beware: Talking too quickly can make you come across as nervous or curt.
"Speaking more slowly feeds into perceptions of thoughtfulness, of focus, of being really concerned," Abrahams says.
Don't go overboard, he adds — dialing your pace back too much can be perceived as patronizing. When coaching professionals or students to speak slower, he advises them to do these three things:
- Breathe lower and slower. "The faster you breathe, the faster you speak," Abrahams says. "Your voice is a wind instrument."
- Sync your voice with your gestures. Try making bigger hand motions, or walking more slowly while speaking. "Anybody who speaks quickly gestures fast. The vast majority of people sync those up," says Abrahams. "If you're a fast talker, try to gesture more broadly."
- Use your imagination. Specifically, imagine you're talking with people who speak your language fluently, but aren't native speakers. "We tend to slow down when we speak to non-native speakers, almost instinctively," Abrahams says.
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