Research-Proven Tricks That Make You Seem Smarter Than You Are

10/4/2016
ResearchProvenTricksThatMakeYouSeemSmarterThanYouAre|Dr.TravisBradberry|LinkedIn
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ResearchProvenTricksThat
MakeYouSeemSmarterThan
YouAre
Dr.TravisBradberry
Thefourtiersofengagement:
WhatSiliconValleytaughtme
aboutcollaborationandtime
ReidHoffman
management
TheLeadershipDilemma
AllisonKirkland
Dr.TravisBradberry
Following
CoauthorEmotionalIntelligence2.0&PresidentatTalentSmart
ResearchProvenTricksThatMakeYouSeem
SmarterThanYouAre
Apr10,2016
18,380views
808Likes
89Comments
Itsgreattobesmart,butintelligenceisahardthingtopindown.Inmanycases
howsmartpeoplethinkyouareisjustasimportantashowsmartyouactually
are.
InotonlyuseallthebrainsthatIhave,but
allthatIcanborrow.WoodrowWilson
Asitturnsout,intelligenceonlyexplainsabout20%ofhowyoudoinlife.Much
oftheother80%comesdowntoemotionalintelligence(EQ),askillthatsso
importantthat90%oftopperformersintheworkplacehavehighEQsandpeople
withhighEQsmake$28,000moreannuallythanthosewithlowEQs.
Thehallmarkofemotionalintelligenceisselfawareness,whichinvolvesnotjust
knowinghowyouarebutalsohowotherpeopleperceiveyou.Peoplewithhigh
emotionalintelligencearemastersofinfluencetheyreskilledatalteringtheir
behaviortomakethemostofagivensituation.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/researchproventricksmakeyouseemsmarterthanbradberry?trk=hpfeedarticletitlepublish
1/17
10/4/2016
Youmightnotbeabletoalteryourgenetics,buttherearesomeprovenstrategies
thatcanhelpyouappeartobesmarter.Someofthesestrategiesseemarbitrary,
butresearchshowstheymakeamassivedifference.Thatmakesthisgood
informationtohave,especiallywhenyouneedtoswaysomeoneelsetoyourway
ofthinking.
Useamiddleinitial.JohnF.Kennedy.FranklinD.Roosevelt.Itturnsout
theremightbeareasonsomanypeoplewhoholdaprominentplaceinhistory
usedamiddleinitial.Notonlydoesusingamiddleinitialenhanceyourperceived
socialstatus,italsoboostsexpectationsofintelligencecapacityandperformance.
Inonestudy,participantswereaskedtoreadandrateEinsteinsessayonthe
theoryofrelativity,withauthorshipbeingattributedtoeitherDavidClark,David
F.Clark,DavidF.P.Clark,orDavidF.P.R.Clark.NotonlydidDavidF.Clarkget
higherratingsthanDavidClark,DavidF.P.R.Clarkoutdidthemall.Inanother
study,participantswereaskedtochooseteammembers.Foracademic
competitions,peoplewhousedmiddleinitialswereselectedmorefrequentlythan
thosewhodidnt.(Itwasquiteadifferentstoryforathleticcompetitions.)Soif
youwantaquickperceivedIQboost,startusingthatmiddleinitial.
Makegraphs.ResearchconductedatCornellsuggeststhatpeoplearemore
likelytotrustasourceifitcontainsgraphs.InoneoftheCornellstudies,
participantsreadadocumentontheeffectivenessofanewcoldmedication.One
reportcontainedagraphtheotherdidnt.Otherthanthat,theywereexactlythe
same.Still,96%oftheparticipantswhoreadthereportwithagraphbelievedthe
claims,whileonly67%percentofthosewhoreadthedocumentwithoutagraph
thoughtthesame.Sonexttimeyoucreateadocument,stickagraphinthere.It
doesnthavetobecomplexitjusthastobeaccurate.
Skipthatdrink.Andthatsnotjustbecausepeopletendtodostupidthings
whentheyvebeendrinking.AjointstudyconductedbytheUniversityof
MichiganandtheUniversityofPennsylvaniarevealedthatmerelyseeing
someoneholdadrinkisenoughtomakethemseemlessintelligent.Itsnotthat
weassumelessintelligentpeoplearemorelikelytodrinkitsthattheperceived
correlationbetweendrinkingandcognitiveimpairmentissostrongthatwe
assumeimpairmentevenifthereisntany.Forexample,althoughjobcandidates
frequentlythinkthatorderingaglassofwineoveradinnerinterviewwillmake
themappearintelligentandworldly,itactuallymakesthemcomeacrossasless
intelligentandlesshirable.Theresevenanameforit:theimbibingidiotbias.
Believeinyourself.Nothingprojectsintelligencequitelikeconfidence.When
youbelieveinyourselfitshows,andresearchshowsthatbelievinginyourself
improvesyourperformanceoncognitivetasks.Selfdoubt,ontheotherhand,
impairsyourperformance.Whatsworseisotherpeoplepickuponthisdoubt,
whichmakesyouappearlessintelligent.Ifyouwantpeopletobelieveinyou,you
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havetobelieveinyourself.
Writesimply.Ifyourereallysmart,youshouldnthavetousebigwordsto
broadcastit.Trueintelligencespeaksforitself,soyoudonthavetoshowoffyour
impressivevocabulary.Inaddition,youalwaysrunthechanceofbeingwrong.
Usingabigwordincorrectlymakesyoulookwell,notsosmart.Soifyouwantto
appearmoreintelligent,stopstudyingthedictionaryandjustfocuson
communicatingeffectively.
Speakexpressively.CommunicationexpertLeonardMlodinowmakesthecase
thateveniftwopeoplesayexactlythesamething,theonewhosaysitmost
expressivelywillbeperceivedasbeingsmarter."Iftwospeakersutterexactlythe
samewords,butonespeaksalittlefasterandlouderandwithfewerpausesand
greatervariationinvolume,thatspeakerwillbejudgedtobemoreenergetic,
knowledgeable,andintelligent,Mlodinowsaid.Soifyouwanttocomeacrossas
moreintelligent,useemphasisinyourspeechbyvaryingyourpitch,volume,
speed,andenergylevel.
Lookemintheeye.Weknowweresupposedtodothisanywayitsgood
manners,right?Thatstrue,butitalsomakesyoulooksmarter.Inastudy
conductedatLoyolaUniversity,participantswhointentionallymanagedtheireye
contactscoredsignificantlyhigheronperceivedintelligence.
Wearnerdglasses.Didyourmomevertellyoutobenicetothenerds,because
youdprobablybeworkingforthemsomeday?Asusual,momwasonto
something.Researchshowsthatpeoplewearingglassesespeciallythick,full
framedonesareperceivedasbeingmoreintelligent.Soifyouwanttoseem
smarter(whenyouregivingapresentation,perhaps?),leavethecontactsathome
andwearyourglasses.
Keeppacewiththecrowd.Imeanthisoneliterally.Iknowitmaysoundsilly,
butnevertheless,researchconductedatBostonUniversityshowsthatitstrue.Its
calledthetimescalebias,anditreferstoourtendencytoassumegreater
intelligencebasedonmentalattributeslikeconsciousness,awareness,and
intentiontopeoplewhodothingsataboutthesamespeedaseveryoneelse.Soif
youwanttolooksmarter,youneedtostopdawdling.Butyoualsoneedtostop
scurryingaroundlikesomecrazedrobot.
Dressforsuccess.Thisoneshouldbenosurpriseextensiveresearchshows
thathowyoudressaffectshowpeopleseeyou.Dressingwellmakesyouseem
moreintelligentandshowingskinmakesyouseemlessintelligent,asitdirects
peoplesattentiontoyourbodyratherthanyourmind.Butdidyouknowthat
howyoudressalsoaffectsyourperformance?ArecentstudybyNorthwestern
Universityfoundthatmakingpeoplewearlabcoatsimprovedtheirperformance
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intasksthatrequiredintelligenceandconcentration.
BringingItAllTogether
Intelligence(IQ)isfixedatanearlyage.YoumightnotbeabletochangeyourIQ,
butyoucandefinitelyalterthewaypeopleperceiveyou.Whenitcomesto
succeedingintherealworld,perceptionishalfthebattle.
Whataresomeotherthingsthatmakepeopleseemintelligent?Pleaseshare
yourthoughtsinthecommentssectionbelow,asIlearnjustasmuchfromyou
asyoudofromme.
ABOUTTHEAUTHOR:
Dr.TravisBradberryistheawardwinningcoauthorofthe#1bestselling
book,EmotionalIntelligence2.0,andthecofounderofTalentSmart,theworld's
leadingproviderofemotionalintelligencetestsandtraining,servingmorethan
75%ofFortune500companies.Hisbestsellingbookshavebeentranslatedinto
25languagesandareavailableinmorethan150countries.Dr.Bradberryhas
writtenfor,orbeencoveredby,Newsweek,TIME,BusinessWeek,Fortune,
Forbes,FastCompany,Inc.,USAToday,TheWallStreetJournal,The
WashingtonPost,andTheHarvardBusinessReview.
Ifyou'dliketolearnhowtoincreaseyouremotionalintelligence(EQ),consider
takingtheonlineEmotionalIntelligenceAppraisaltestthat'sincludedwiththe
EmotionalIntelligence2.0book.Yourtestresultswillpinpointwhichofthe
book's66emotionalintelligencestrategieswillincreaseyourEQthemost.
4/17
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EmotionalIntelligence, Perception, Intelligence
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Popular
JeffHaden
Ghostwriter,Speaker,Inc.MagazineContributingEditor
Ilovethetiponspeaking(orwriting)simplyratherthantryingtoforcein
polysyllabicwordsandtonsofjargon.Clarityofthinkingmattersalotmore
thananimpressivevocabulary.
Like (5)
Reply
14hoursago
MichaelRiffel,JoakimHedstrm,TxesusZubiateMendibe,+2
ShowMore
ReidHoffman
Follow
Entrepreneur.ProductStrategist.Investor.
Thefourtiersofengagement:WhatSiliconValley
taughtmeaboutcollaborationandtime
management
Apr9,2016
119,433views
2,192Likes
110Comments
RecentlyIwastalkingwiththenotedsurgeon,writer,andpublichealth
researcherAtulGawandeabouthisdemandingscheduleandhowhetriesto
manageitformaximumimpact.
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10/4/2016
AsIdescribedtheframeworkIusetonavigateSiliconValleyandallitspotential
dealsandalliances,Atulsuggestedmyapproachcouldhelpanybusyprofessional
tryingtoprioritizeherobligations,notjustSiliconValleytypes.SoI'msharingit
here.
InSiliconValley,thousandsofstartupsaretakingrootandreachingfruitionat
anyonetime.Forthosewhoworkhere,stayingfocusedandproductivebecomes
achallengeasnewopportunitiespresentthemselves.
Earlyinmyowncareer,forexample,Iwasimmersedinrunningmyownstart
up,Socialnet.Itwasaseriousfoundationalcommitment,butthenPeterThieland
MaxLevchinapproachedmeabouthelpingoutattheirownstartup,PayPal.
Thatalsoseemedlikeamajoropportunity,soIstartedwondering:Wastherea
wayIcouldhaveastrongimpactatPayPalwhilefulfillingmyexistingroleat
Socialnet?
AsInoteinTheStartupofYou,IreachedanagreementwithPeterandMaxthat
essentiallyinvolvedaformalbutlimitedcommitmentoftime:Iwouldserveon
theirfoundingboardofdirectorsandpromisetoreturntheirphonecallsby
midnightthesameday.
ThisallowedmetocollaborateonPayPalinanongoingandsubstantivewayand
yetcontinuemyworkonSocialnet.Eventually,Idecidedtocommitfullyto
PayPal,andthatturnedouttobeahugelyimportantdecisioninmyoverallcareer
arc.
InSiliconValley,thisisthekindofchallengethatentrepreneursandexecutives
faceastheirnetworksexpand.Inanenvironmentofincreasingabundance,it's
crucialthatyoulearntoinvestyourtime,yourresources,andyourcapitalto
greatesteffect.
DefiningmyrelationshipwithPeterandMaxinaflexiblebutclearcutmanner
wasanearlyinstanceofmyframeworkformaximizingcollaborative
opportunitiesinatimecrunchedworld.Overtheyears,I'vecontinuedtodevelop
myapproach,whichessentiallymirrorshowSiliconValleycreatesstartups.
Specifically,Ithinkintermsoffourtiersofpotentialengagementwithacompany
oranyproject.
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WhilethesedifferentroleshelpdeterminehowIengagewithstartups,Iuse
themgenerallytooforprojectsaswellasformalcompanies.
Forexample,whenIdecidedtodevelopandcoteachacourseonblitzscalingfor
StanfordUniversity,Icommittedtofunctioningasaprincipalforthecourseof
theproject.Therewasnocompanyinvolved,butinmymind,andinbudgeting
mytimeaswedevelopedandthentaughttheclass,Ioperatedasaprincipal
memberoftheteam.
TIEROFENGAGEMENT:PRINCIPAL
Whenyoucommittofunctioningasaprincipal,youessentiallysay,"Iownthis,
andit'smyresponsibilitytobringthisendeavortofruition."You'reinvolvedona
dailybasis.Youmayhavecontributedyourownassets.Youprobablyhaveorat
leastareintheprocessofrecruitingandthusmanagingemployees.You're
responsiblefortheactivemanagementofwhateverresourcesdefinetheentityor
project.
Beingaprincipal,inshort,isaseriouscommitment.Youdealwithallthe
significantissuesthatarise,andultimatelyyoudeterminetheoverallpathand
outcomeoftheendeavor.Ifitsucceeds,youbaskintheglory.Ifitfails,youown
thefailure.
Soattheendoftheday,youcan'tjustsay"Well,Ididmybestandtriedandthat's
that."Ifyou'reaprincipal,you'reacaptainoftheship.Andthatmeansit'syour
obligationtodoeverythat'sreasonablypossibletobringthatshiptoport.
Ofcourse,thedefinitionofwhat's"reasonablypossible"changesdependingon
thescopeoftheendeavor.Ifyou'reworkingonasmallproject,suchashostinga
birthdaypartyforafriendofyours,"reasonablypossible"couldmeanworking
throughtheweekend.Ifyou'reCEOofacompanythathasraised$100million
frominvestors,itmeansagreatdealmore.You'rethecaptainofthatship,and
thatmeansyou'rethefirstpersononitandthelastpersonoffit,whetheritsinks
orsuccessfullyarrivesatport.
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Becauseofthecommitmentlevelrequired,beingaprincipalnecessarilymeans
limitingyourfocus.AsmyfriendsElonMuskandJackDorseyarecurrently
demonstrating,youcaninfactbeaprincipalattwomajorcompaniesatonce.But
it'sanextremelyexpensivepropositionintermsofthetimeandfocusyoumust
invest,andthusverydifficultandrare.
Ifyou'retalkingaboutprojectsratherthancompanies,yourpotentialcapacity
increases.Forexample,onthecompanylevel,Ihaveaprincipalroleasapartner
atGreylock.AndinthecourseofdevelopingtheblitzscalingclassatStanfordI
functionedasaprincipaltheretoo.Butthatwasaprojectratherthanafull
fledgedcompany,andIhadotherpartnersfunctioningasprincipalstoo
Greylock'sJohnLilly,myLinkedIncofounderAllenBlue,andChrisYeh,who
alsocoauthoredTheAlliancewithme(andBenCasnocha).
Sofunctioningasaprincipalonprojectsratherthancompaniescanexpandyour
capacity.Butitshouldn'texpandittoomuch.Indeed,ifyoufindthatyou're
alwaysengagedasaprincipalinfourorfivedifferentprojects,you'reprobably
notgivingatleasttwoofthemthefullyengagedleadershipthatsuccessdemands
intoday'sultracompetitiveprofessionallandscape.
TIEROFENGAGEMENT:BOARDMEMBER
Asaboardmember,youengageinasubstantivebutlessimmersivefashionthan
youdoasaprincipal.You'vecommittedtoprovidingongoingstrategic
governanceandassistancetotheendeavor.Butwhileyourmandateistohelp
manageresourcesintelligently,you'renotdirectlyresponsiblefortheproject's
outcomeinthewaythataprincipalis.
Asakeystrategicpartnertotheendeavor'sprincipalorprincipals,youmust
maintainanongoingpictureoftheendeavor'sstrengths,weaknesses,
opportunities,andthreatsi.e.,what'scommonlyknownasaSWOTanalysis.
Forexample,youmustunderstandwheretheprojectisinitsdevelopmentcycle.
Youhavetoknowhowitfitsintotheoverallindustryordomaininwhichit's
situated.Tomaintainthisevolving,threedimensionalimageoftheendeavor,
you'reprobablycommunicatingwiththeprincipalsonaweeklytomonthlybasis.
Thatway,whenyou'reoutinthefield,youcanfunctionasakeyambassadorand
intelligencegathererfortheproject'sprincipals.Couldthepersonyou'rehaving
lunchwithbenefitfromwhatevertheproject'sgreateststrengthis?Doesthatnew
startupyouheardabouthavecomplementaryresourcesorassetsthatcouldhelp
shoreuponeofyourproject'sweaknesses?
Atthesametime,yourroleisnotonlyoutwardfacing.Partofyourresponsibility
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involvesmonitoringandassessingtheprincipal'sperformance,andoffering
productive(andsometimeschallenging)feedback.
Whileyoufunctionasakeystrategicadvisortotheprincipal,yourprimary
allegianceistothegreaterendeavorororganization.Youshouldbedoing
everythingyoucantohelptheprincipalsucceedexceptincaseswhereit'sthe
principalwhoisimpedingtheoverallchancesoftheendeavor'ssuccess.Then,in
yourroleasaboardmember,youhavetomaketheharddecisionoffindinganew
principal.
Ofcourse,asaboardmember,yourrolemayvarysubstantiallyfromendeavorto
endeavor.Eveninthecaseofformallyappointedboards,thisistrue,with
differentcompanieshavingdifferentexpectationsaboutwhatlevelofengagement
eachboardmemberprovides.Itmaybethatyourduties/expectationsarefairly
limited,suchashelpingaprincipalrecruitothersforaproject,orhelpingtoscope
outastartup'svisionandculture.
Inlessformalscenariosi.e.,whenyou'refunctioning,say,asa"boardmember"
foracolleague'sefforttohostafundraiserforalocalnonprofitthisiseven
morecommon.
Ineithercaseformalorinformalithelpstomutuallyarticulatethescopeof
yourongoingcommitment.Youdon'thavetomapouteverydetailinadvance,as
commitmentsandexpectationscanevolveovertime.Butyoudoneedclear
communicationrightfromthestart,andanongoingemphasisonclearlydefined
roles.
Asaboardmember,youcanparticipatemorebroadlythanyoucanasaprincipal,
buttherearestilllimits.Becauseboardmemberdutiescanvarywidelyfrom
endeavortoendeavor,yourcapacitycanvarybroadlytoo.Ifyou'refunctioning
primarilyasaVCpartnerorinvestorandbeingaboardmemberisessentially
yourfulltimegig,youmightpursueasmanyas1012boardlevelengagements
atanyonetime.Incontrast,ifyou'rethefounderofanearlystagestartup,you'll
probablywanttolimityourboardlevelengagementstonomorethanone.
TIEROFENGAGEMENT:INVESTOR
Athirdwaytoparticipateinthevariousopportunitiesthatpresentthemselvesis
asaninvestor.Here,whetheryou'redealingwithaforprofitstartup,a
philanthropicproject,oranyotherendeavor,yourroleasaninvestorwilllikely
havealiteralcomponenti.e.,youwillbecontributingmoneytotheendeavor.
Andattheveryleast,you'llbeinvestingsomekindoftangibleassetaccessto
yourRolodex,anagreementtomakeaseriesofintroductions,acommitmentto
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serveinaninformalroleasanadvisoryboardmember.
Becauseyouhavemadethisinvestment,youwillcertainlytrytobehelpfultothe
endeavor'sprincipalshoweveryoucan.Butultimatelyyourlevelofcommitment
willbereactiveratherthanproactive.
Unlikeaboardmember,youwon'thavetomaintainarealtimeSWOTanalysisof
thecompanyorproject.Norwillyouberesponsiblefortheproject'soverall
successorfailureinthewaythatyouarewhenyou'reaprincipaloraboard
member.
Butifaprincipalwhoseprojectyou'veinvestedinsolicitsyouradviceand
assistance,you'llbecommittedtoofferyourassistanceonaresponsivebasis.You
maynotendupfulfillingtheexactrequesttheprincipalmakes.Butyouare
committedtotryingtobehelpfulinsomeway.
TIEROFENGAGEMENT:FRIEND
Thefinaltierinmyframeworkisthatof"friend."Asafriend,youhavea
relationshiporalliancewithoneoftheendeavor'sprincipals,butnoformalor
evenongoingcommitmenttotheproject.Youmightevenputmoneyintoa
projectbutyouultimatelyexistoutsidetheproject'sorbit.Yourengagementis
serendipitous,reactive,andadhoc.
Ifyou'rehavinglunchwithaprincipal,andshewantstodiscussherproject,you
dowhatyoucantoofferfeedback,advice,andwhateverotherusefulcounselyou
mightprovide.Butyourcommitmentintheprojectexistsonlyinthatmoment.
Whenlunchisover,soisyourcommitment.Youmightkeepthinkingaboutthe
project,butyouhavenoexplicitongoingobligationortietoit.
STRENGTHENINGALLIANCESTHROUGHCLEARENGAGEMENT
Tobeakeystrategicallytothepeopleinyournetwork,claritymatters.You
shouldaimtostrengthenrelationshipsthroughproactiveengagement.Butyou
shouldalsobeclearaboutwhatyou'recommittingto.
Successfulcollaborationisakeytolongtermcareersuccess,inSiliconValleyand
everywhereelse.Butthekeytosuccessfulcollaborationismanagingyourown
timewell.
That'swhyI'vefoundthissimpleframeworksousefulovertheyears.Whennew
opportunitiesarise,itoffersaneasywaytodoaquickrealitycheck.Doyoureally
havetimetoassumetheresponsibilitiesthataprincipallevelofengagement
demands?Areyousotakenwithanideaoraprincipalthatyouknowyouatleast
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wanttofunctionasaninvestor?Areyouinagreementwiththeprincipalsabout
whatthescopeofyourrolewillbe?
Thesetiersaren'tbinding.Youmightgraduatefrominvestortoboardmember,
dependingonhoweventsplayout.Conversely,youcangofromboardmemberto
investor,dependingonhoweventsplayoutovertime.Butasyouevaluatenew
opportunities,accuratelyassessingyourlevelofpotentialengagementiscrucial.
Therightengagementsareultimatelywhatpropelyourcareer.Youcan'tsay"yes"
toeverything.Butifyouassessopportunitiesthroughthesefourtiers,you'llbe
abletomanageyourtimemoreeffectivelyandthusbeabletosay"yes"when
themostpromisingopportunitiesarise.Afterall,youneverknowwhenthe
projectacolleaguewantssomehelponmightturnouttobethenextPayPal.
Reportthis
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ReidHoffman
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