The most intelligent amongst us are often those of few words.

Yet their intellect still manages to shine through.

How?

Often they have underlying qualities and behaviors that show just how smart they are, without needing to say a word.

You don’t need to shout it from the rafters to prove how clever you are, just do the following things.

1) Master the art of active listening

What could be easier than keeping your mouth shut?

Well, for someone like me, it’s actually quite tricky.

But arguably saying nothing at all is something that we can all do to seem smarter.

But staying quiet is only part of it.

Not only does listening intently to others make you more likable according to psychology, but it also makes you seem smarter.

Psychotherapist Jenny Maenpaa says highly intelligent people listen and have conversations differently.

The people who “are able to perceive an interaction holistically, rather than just being in the moment and responding to the last thing you said with the first thing they thought of” are often the cleverest in the room.

This demands genuinely paying attention to what the other person is saying without interruption.

It means leaving your questions until someone has finished speaking and then asking relevant questions that encourage them to reveal more.

2) Make good eye contact

Eye contact is super powerful.

When someone struggles to hold your gaze, what is your first impression?

It’s likely that you assume they are a little nervous and uncomfortable.

In contrast, when someone can look us in the eye, we sense confidence.

Research has found that we perceive people who make more eye contact to be more intelligent, sincere, and conscientious.

Maybe that’s because there is evidence to suggest people who hold your gaze are in fact smarter.

A study concluded that maintaining eye contact while listening was linked to higher IQs.

By becoming more conscious of this non-verbal cue, we can come across as more self-assured and smarter.

3) Read the room and adjust your behavior accordingly

There are plenty of ways to be intelligent, and a high IQ is only one of them.

Impression management, mindfulness of others, and understanding others’ emotions are all a part of social intelligence.

Being able to pick up on signals and feedback and adjust yourself accordingly takes self-awareness.

It’s not that we have to overthink things, but staying vigilant to the subtleties of every social situation allows you to read the room.

Behaving appropriately is what allows us to play social roles more effectively and be seen as smarter.

4) Have confident and competent body language

It’s official, just your body language alone can make you seem smarter.

We’re talking about simple things like standing upright and having a self-assured expression, which research has confirmed creates an impression of intelligence. 

Psychologist Dana Carney says we can all learn body language tricks to boost our status.

“When we appear engaged with, stimulated by, and connected to what others are saying and doing, it tends to reflect our intelligence and it shapes others’ perceptions of how smart we are”.

She goes on to outline three 3 behaviors that will give you an intelligence boost in others eyes:

• Lean in slightly when you speak to someone
• Nod along with what they are saying
• Make affirming noises, as according to Carney “’mm-hmm,’ ‘yes,’ and ‘ah-hah’ also signal and reflect intelligence”.

5) Be open to new people, experiences, and knowledge

Something wonderful happens when we do this — we seem curious.

And there is a strong established psychological link between deep curiosity and intellect.

It’s this passion for greater knowledge and understanding that acts as fuel.

Being prepared to expose ourselves to completely new people, new environments and new activities allows us to grow.

Staying in your comfort zone can feel good, but it doesn’t push you to evolve.

Meanwhile, the more we open ourselves up to new opinions and perspectives the more it gives us to think about.

Be the person who is happy to try new things out for size.

6) Accept mistakes and failure graciously

Some of the smartest people around are often the most humble.

And it’s no accident.

Arrogance makes us head strong and stubborn. In the process, we cut ourselves off from new possibilities and the potential to learn something.

Nobody likes to be wrong or to make mistakes, that’s obvious. But there’s no getting away from the fact that we all do.

Psychologists who have studied geniuses have noted that not everything they create is great. In fact, only some of it leads to success and the rest is of little value.

But the key is that they keep on going and push past their failure.

A willingness to accept when you’ve made a mistake and see it as no big deal, and just part of learning, is a sign of not only intelligence, but also resilience.

7) Do favors, be kind and generous

It’s official, smarter people are more altruistic.

So that means they are often considerate of others and give more.

You can show this consideration in many ways. It may be by little gestures and thoughtfulness. It could be through showing empathy towards others.

But when someone sees you are kind, you instantly go up in their estimations. 

Psychologist Jeremy Dean, hypothesises that the reason intelligent people are more altruistic is because they can afford to be more generous because they have more to give.

“Altruistic people are unselfish and sometimes deny themselves so that others can have more. Intelligent people may be more generous partly because they can afford it. People with higher IQs generally have greater resources, or can expect to recover what they have given later on.”

8) Be observant by paying attention

If you want to seem sharp then you have to stay focused on the world around you.

That’s where strong observational skills come into play.

To get more information, we have to be alert to it in the first place, or things simply pass us by.

Sreenidhi Sundaran, Research Associate at Brighter Minds explains the link between high intelligence and strong observation:

“Observation is such a prime skill, it is the root to most of the positive attributes like creativity, leadership, intelligence, social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and many more because all these require us first to observe what is happening around to figure out the pattern and with experience, recognize the pattern. With consistent pattern recognition, we will be able to make the necessary connections to produce a fresh perspective or idea.”

Smart people are able to pick up on things that others miss because they pay attention.

This demands less talking rather than more, so is the perfect way to show you’re smart without saying a word.

9) Get comfortable with awkward silences

Sometimes I know I’m guilty of saying pointless things, simply to fill a gap in the conversation.

Rather than anything interesting or insightful, it’s usually trivial.

Yet silence can be very powerful when you know how to harness it.

Rather than feel the need to babble, intelligent people can confidently allow for silence without awkwardness.

This offers time for reflection and greater consideration on both sides. It shows they are engaging their brains before speaking.

Writing in Inc, Justin Bariso explains how business giants like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs are known for their excruciatingly long silences, whilst they carefully deliberate a reply.

“The rule of awkward silence is simple: When faced with a challenging question, instead of answering, you pause and think deeply about how you want to answer. But make no mistake, this is no short pause. You might go five, 10, or even 15 seconds before offering a response. Which, if you’re not used to doing it, will feel very awkward–at first.”

Rather than feel uncomfortable, we should remember that silence can be golden as it promotes calmer and more rational thought. 

10) Refrain from making snap judgments

A certain amount of gut reactions are inevitable. It’s the subconscious mind using our past experiences to form quick conclusions.

Yet intelligent people are also open-minded.

That means they prefer to take a more considered approach rather than rushing in.

This ability to weigh up the facts instead of jumping to conclusions shows others you are capable of analyzing.

You don’t let confirmation bias or a desire to be right cloud your judgment.

People can often subtly sense when we’re throwing judgment their way.

That’s why giving others the benefit of the doubt and waiting until you have more information is the best approach.

Don’t forget to be yourself

I think it’s always helpful to become more mindful of how we come across.

It can help us to learn new skills that improve our social awareness and foster stronger relationships.

But at the same time, we don’t have to be something we’re not.

Whenever we make impressing someone our priority it tends to backfire. Because authenticity is also key.

We’re all smart in different ways, and intelligence doesn’t come in only one package.

So above all else, remember to be who you truly are.

This tends to give a more favorable impression than striving to be seen as super smart.