Recently a classmate of mine responded to a TED talk that she saw about what it means to be smart. In this talk, the performer told his audience that
“he will make them feel as if they have learned something even though he himself had not conducted any research or have anything inspirational to say.”
Despite telling the audience that he was making random claims and that he had nothing to back them up with, he still managed to come across as compelling and informational. This is how he sounded “smart”:
The Steps
- Use hand gestures
- Take long pauses,
- Adjust your glasses / wear glasses
- Ask a hypothetical question,
- Tell a personal and embarrassing anecdote
Just because a presenter does any one of these things, it doesn’t actually make them any more or less smart than they already are. However, because of the stereotypes and ideas we have associated with type of people who do these things, people are able to come across as smart if they do some of them.
Obviously, nothing makes you seem smarter than actually knowing the material you’re supposed to be presenting but if you use these steps in a presentation where you know the material, I guarantee people will realize how smart you are.
