Although related to intelligence, the ability to be brilliant is not quite the same thing. It is mostly about knowing how to interact with other people, analyze quickly, react in various situations, but also having insight and inventiveness. The Greek hero Ulysses was considered cunning (he told Polyphemus that his name was "Nobody", so that the Cyclops was unable to tell who blinded him). You may not be able to defeat the mythological creatures, but you too can work hard to become a brilliant person.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Show Yourself Brilliant in the Moment
Step 1. Speak last
If during a conversation, before throwing yourself into the fray, you wait and listen to the various interlocutors, you will give the impression of being more brilliant, simply because you will have had more time to listen to the different opinions and versions and to evaluate them before giving your opinion.
- For example, let's say you are having a conversation with your cousin Marco, your aunt Aurora, and your sister Sara about the best way to cook turkey. Let the other three discuss for a while as you listen to them and evaluate the effectiveness of each method explained. Then, once the discussion is about to end, share your opinion on the recipe. Make sure it is different than the others. If you agree with one of them, perhaps Aunt Aurora, offer a more convincing argument than hers or explain why her solution is the best and what aspects they may not have considered the other two.
- If you don't open your mouth right away and say whatever is on your mind, you won't even sound stupid.
- Often the person speaking at the end of an argument is less likely to point out the obvious or repeat something that has already been said. Instead, it usually offers something more creative and original that is more easily remembered.
Step 2. Try to have some "back-up" topics
These are arguments to come up with in a conversation to support any of your speeches. You probably won't have a reasoning for every single contribution you could make to the discussion, so choose the ones that seem most important to you.
- For example, if you are passionate about climate change, you could memorize some data about the difference between weather and climate, explaining what has changed rapidly in recent years (and how it is related to carbon dioxide emissions) and in what measure is different than the slower and longer climate changes that occur regardless of human intervention.
- It would be really useful to collect some (actually happened) facts to examine events and phenomena that people believe are true. If you offer some hypothesis that goes out of the ordinary you will turn out really brilliant.
Step 3. Learn the appropriate terminology
Each cultural trend or professional sector has its own vocabulary. It can come in the form of acronyms, acronyms, or even nicknames that evoke certain things. By assimilating this type of language and using it at the right time and under the right circumstances, you will give the impression that you are more competent.
- For example, in fly fishing there are countless words and phrases that you will need to learn if you are a beginner. If you do not know expressions like "casting" (the movement that occurs when the rod is thrown, the reel is turned and the line goes back and forth) or "gobage" (the movement of the fish when it rises to the surface of the water catching an insect, coming out with its dorsal fin and sometimes its tail, as dolphins do), you will give the impression that you do not know what you are doing and you will not look so bright.
- If you don't know the terminology a person uses, pay attention to the context of the word or words. Usually, by contextualizing it is possible to guess the meaning. If not, ask someone on the sidelines so they don't know you don't understand what is being said.
Step 4. Be persuasive
Persuasion and sagacity are often two concepts that connect in people's minds. If you have one of these qualities, others will assume that you have the other as well. If you have some "back-up" arguments and you speak last, you have a chance to be more convincing, but you also have other opportunities. Remember that persuasion is basically about getting people to do what is in their best interest (as opposed to manipulation) while offering some benefit to you as well.
- Context and timing are very important in being persuasive. For example, don't try to ask your sister for money to help out your parents as soon as she lost her job. She will be very worried about her financial situation and will need money. Instead, wait until they find a new job or get a pay raise.
- Speak clearly and concisely. The clearer and quicker you are in asking a problem, the more your interlocutor will be inclined to understand exactly what you are asking of him and also willing to help you. People tend to prefer those who adopt simple tactics rather than go around the subject.
- Do not use a difficult vocabulary (made up of particular words and expressions, used by a specific group of people, which make it difficult for others to understand, as happens in legal language). People don't listen to you if they can't understand what you are saying; at the same time you won't be so brilliant if you can't convey your ideas. Unless you're talking to people who understand a particular technical terminology, don't use it.
Step 5. Offer simple solutions
It is often not necessary to find a complex solution to solve a problem. While it may seem counterintuitive, the simplest is often the most useful, but also the one that others don't normally think of. People tend to look for the hardest and most complicated way when they have to get something done. If you don't fall into this trap, you will be able to stand out.
- Often and willingly, a great question to ask yourself when looking for a solution is: what can I do without? It usually allows you to eliminate less relevant solutions.
- Also, ask yourself and others specific questions. If you are looking to manage your work time better, don't ask, "How can we improve time management?". It is too general a question and, as a result, you will get rather inaccurate answers. It is preferable to ask: "What tools can help speed up the work?", Or: "If we spent two hours on a certain project instead of four, how could we work faster to achieve the same results?".
Step 6. Trust yourself
If you are confident in yourself and what you do, you will be much brighter than someone who is bright and intelligent but is unsure of themselves. People tend to appreciate self-esteem, even when it is not based on solid foundations. Be confident and you will also be brilliant.
- Use your body language to trick your mind into thinking that you are confident, even if you don't really feel like it. Stand straight, without collapsing. Walk confidently, as if any place belongs to you. Keep your body language open. Don't cross your arms over your chest and try to look people in the eye.
- Be positive or, at most, neutral towards you. If you are convinced that you are a loser or a fool, take note of this thought and think this way: "I think I'm a loser, but just last week I got the award for best employee of the year (or" I really did a great job ")".
- Don't make comparisons with other people. For example, don't compete with other people to prove who is more brilliant by making constant comparisons between your own acumen and that of others. This is not a competition, so if you behave like this you will only feel worse, because you will irritate and drive people away because of your need to feel "the best".
Part 2 of 3: Improve Your Skills
Step 1. Don't always follow the rules to the letter
It is good to know how to act in the usual way, especially in order to subvert a certain way of thinking. By doing something in a different way than others expect you will show that you can think for yourself. This is one of the ways people judge if someone is brilliant.
- For example, if a professor assigns you to do an essay, ask him if you can approach the subject creatively. Show how well your alternative respects the track, even if you go way beyond that. If it is a fiction assignment, ask if you can try to write your own story using what you have learned in class and also produce an analysis of your work.
- You also need to be unpredictable. Always sticking to the rules or doing what exactly you've learned doesn't mean you're not smart, it just means people won't be inclined to see you as a bright person. So, don't rely on your particular form of intelligence or the normal way of doing things.
Step 2. Think outside the box
This passage is linked to the point that suggests not following the rules slavishly, because to succeed it is often necessary to think outside the box. To be brilliant you have to find original solutions to problems.
- Frame the problem again. One thing that those who use their creativity can do effectively is to restructure a problem. To put this skill into practice, choose something self-evident (like writing a simple essay) and imagine another type of approach, one that conveys the same information, but in a different and more engaging way (creating an audio recording, making a collage or painting).
- Daydream. It seems that daydreaming is actually an incredibly useful way to increase the ability to solve problems creatively. By doing so, it is possible to establish links and remember information. This is why most of the best ideas can come in the shower or just before bed. If you have any difficulties, take a break to daydream - it is very likely that by relaxing and letting your mind wander, you can produce something original that works.
- Brainstorming (i.e. collecting and exchanging ideas) is another great way to stimulate creativity, especially when working in a team. Introduce a problem and ask others to come up with whatever kind of idea they can think of, without judging it. Get everyone to add other elements as they think them. You can also do it yourself, as long as you are sure you can squeeze your judgment out of the process.
Step 3. Consider the worst case scenario that could happen
Fear is one of the biggest obstacles to creative thinking, which is an extremely important aspect of being brilliant. The more creative and practical your solutions and ideas are, the more people will believe in your abilities.
- Ask yourself, for example: What happens if I lose my job? What happens if I lose my best customer? What happens if i don't get promoted at the end of the year? What if the publisher decides not to publish my book? By answering these kinds of questions, you will be able to get rid of your fears or you will be able to understand how to study your solutions to open yourself to new opportunities and ideas.
- When an idea or solution comes to mind, don't question it until it's mature anymore. Criticism and fear of being judged can kill your creativity, but also your ability to be brilliant. When you get out of the brainstorming phase and are able to better evaluate your ideas, it's time to seek an opinion and accept criticism.
Step 4. Establish parameters
If the problems and opportunities are very vague and poorly circumscribed, they can inexorably compromise the ability to find incisive or creative solutions and ideas. Even if the problems and things you face come up without any criteria, set a few on your own.
- By setting "fictional" or "fictitious" parameters you will have the opportunity to encourage your inventiveness. For example, if you are working on a business project and you pretend to be short of cash, think about how you can carry out your task without financial resources. Imagine not being able to follow the rules, written or unwritten, and ask yourself what other path you can take. Suppose you have a small time limit to find a solution (for example 5 minutes) and ask yourself what you can come up with in that short amount of time.
- For example, Dr. Seuss wrote Ham and Green Eggs following a challenge from his publisher that he would have to produce an entire book with fewer than 50 different words. Such a limitation led him to write one of his best-known books.
Part 3 of 3: Keep Learning
Step 1. Study bright people
Don't believe you can become the brightest. There is no such thing: you will always have to learn. A great way is to study people who, based on your opinion or that of others, are considered brilliant.
- Ask yourself what makes them look brilliant: Do they make sharp comments on all sorts of topics? Am I able to process events and calculations instantly? Do they offer original solutions?
- Pick some of the best features of the brightest people you know, or look at them and bring them into your business world and life.
Step 2. Keep up to date with events happening in the world
Several people considered brilliant follow the developments concerning international affairs. They pay attention to what is happening and speak with knowledge of the facts (or at least they seem to speak with knowledge of the facts) of news and current affairs.
Try to look at a given situation from multiple points of view, so that you don't get information from a single source. For example, instead of seeing news from one TV channel, take a look at the others as well. Look for information, data and "facts" offered by any means of disseminating news (on the internet, on the radio, on TV, in the press). In this way you will have a better and more balanced vision, which will help you to talk about what is happening in a more conscious way
Step 3. Venture into word games
You can give the impression that you are brighter if you know how to use words and how they can be arranged, because they are extremely important elements in communication. Therefore, you could try your hand at puns, cryptograms and use metaphors and expressions that describe feelings in such an original way that they go unnoticed by everyone else.
- Practice describing things in an unusual way and focus on the aspects that people normally overlook, for example, describing fire as a silk tongue or inventing a way to express the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.
- He occasionally uses some alliteration or metaphor. Practice noticing them in other people's speeches and bringing them to attention.
Step 4. Remember the information
One way to be brighter is to train yourself to memorize facts and information (a bit like "back-up topics"), so you can recall them more easily. Fortunately, there are some techniques you can learn to do this.
- Pay attention to the information the first time you hear it. Make sure they are correct. Never let them slip away (except if you are sick or injured), so you can make sure that any data you acquire is actually right.
- Write things down several times. By writing down the facts or information you wish to remember, you will have the opportunity to recall them more easily and, as it were, to fix them in the brain. The more you write them, the easier they will be to remember.
- Choose carefully. Sherlock Holmes once said that his mind was like an attic. Instead of memorizing everything you come across, right or wrong, gather the facts and information that interest you and can help you.
- Try raising your hand in class.
Advice
- Remember that, in the end, most people care more about themselves than about you. If you can pique the interest of others, they will be more likely to think of you as alert, insightful and bright, but also friendly. Just ask a few questions about them and don't intervene immediately with your opinions and anecdotes.
- If a classmate needs help, try giving it to them.
