The Art of Intelligence: How to Appear Smarter

By Ajoke Dare

Today I’m going to share a post about intelligence. We live in a world that praises formal education and the appearance of intelligence. Oftentimes, those without a formal education get branded with the “dummy” label even if many of these people are just as smart as or smarter than someone with a degree. The points I’m going to share below will help you to increase your overall intelligence and appear “smarter” to those around you.

SIDENOTE: I am in no way trying to devalue having a formal education. Additionally, information consumption does not equate to increased intelligence. Realize that whatever you learn must be retained AND practiced before you can have a complete understanding of how to do something. Let’s proceed:

READ: then when you are finished reading, read some more, and more. Reading will help to increase your vocabulary, grammar, and critical thinking skills. Additionally, I find that reading helps to exercise your imagination and some of the best ideas I’ve had came to me while reading a book. If you’re not an avid reader, start with an easy book that you think you’ll enjoy or re-read a book you’ve read in the past (maybe something from high school). You can start by reading any type of book (fiction or non-fiction) but avoid magazines, blogs (ironic, I know), and newspaper as the bulk of your reading.

Improve Your Grammar: As mentioned above, you can improve your grammar by reading. But, if you still don’t know the difference between “there, their, and they’re” it will be worth while to read a grammar book or learn via tutorials, the web is full of this kind of information.

Mental Math: Can you calculate 12 x 5 + 7 in your head (the answer is 67)? In the modern world, technology aids us to an extent that we are neglecting our mental capacity. Knowing how to calculate simple math without the help of a calculator or a piece of paper can speed up your daily processes and save you from potential embarrassment in social situations. Good mental math skills are useful when shopping or dining (calculating sales tax, tips and discounts) as well as traveling (calculating currency exchanges). There are numerous other examples I can give but the point is that math is a large part of everyday life, learn it.

Stay Current with World Events: Read the Newspaper, watch the news. Get various perspectives on situations happening in our world right now. Having a good sense of what is going on in the world is an excellent way to make yourself a better conversationalist and makes you a more well-rounded individual.

Learn a New Skill: Become an “expert” at something. Everyone has their strengths, learn to develop your natural talents and people will respect you for mastering your area of expertise. You’ll become the “go to” person for whatever you chose to excel in. As the saying often goes, “Jack of all trades, master of none”. It’s good to be well rounded but in today’s day and age, the people with the most specialized knowledge are the most sought after.

I hope you found these tips helpful, if you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments below. Always remember that becoming “smart” and staying smart is all about having a commitment to lifelong learning. Once you stop learning, your intelligence level doesn’t stay the same, as the world continues to grow and evolve your knowledge begins to expire = dummy.

Writer: Ajoke is the owner and creator of http://ajciti.com where she blogs about a variety of topics including beauty, hair, culture, and personal development

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