How To Be Shrewd (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

Treccani's online vocabulary defines “shrewd” as an adjective whose meaning is: “A person who is ready and capable of recognizing and evaluating what can be useful or to his detriment”. A shrewd person willfully uses subtleties, subterfuges, and cunning to manipulate others and get what he wants. He is able to perceive intentions and use them to benefit from them. Being shrewd is a perfect way to manage the people and forces surrounding your life, so that they always end up on top. As a first act of shrewdness, read this article! To get started go to the first step.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Be Insightful

Step 1. Look for more and more information

Shrewd people realize things that others don't see. They are able to see the hidden organization of life, the real motivations that move the interactions, instead of noticing only the declared ones. The first step - which is also the most important - to see things as they really are is to acquire as much information as possible before making a decision. It could be as simple as looking around before leaving an anonymous love letter in someone's locker so as not to be seen, or difficult when you spend hours researching the person you will have to interview in order to surprise them with particularly pungent questions. When you're about to make an important decision, keep your eyes open and thirst for information. You are never too informed.

Step 2. Question the motives of others

Shrewd people are known for their ability to see beyond appearances. Most everyone lies innocently every day, that's normal. A shrewd person understands the true intentions of others, both because he is able to read inside a person, and because he has done his homework (see above). Never believe that someone is telling you the truth until you have proof. In any case, it is also not smart to believe that everyone is lying. Use the information at your disposal to guess a person's real motives.

• Learn to read people's faces. Most people can lie well, but not excellently. With a little practice, you may be able to understand when the emotions on a person's face do not coincide with what they are saying.

  

Step 3. Look at the small details

Shrewd people never back down from the prospect of scrutinizing people and things to pick out small details that they can manipulate for their own benefit. Be greedy for details - within the limits of reason. For example, read every line of your contract rather than gloss over all the content. If you pay attention to the details that surround you, you will find yourself well equipped to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves to you.

• Paying attention to detail isn't just useful for serious and sad things. If you and your friends constantly prank each other, for example, it can help to pay attention to your surroundings when you walk into a room. If you see any details that are out of the ordinary, you will have reason to be suspicious.

  

Step 4. Be alert

A person cannot be shrewd if they are too tired, out of focus, or distracted to notice what is happening. An important element of being shrewd is being active and alert when you need it most. To achieve this, it is enough to satisfy one's basic physiological needs. For example, try to sleep well before an important event, satisfy other needs, such as hunger, thirst, the desire to exercise, etc.

• If you are running out of steam, you can take a moderate amount of caffeine, tea, or an energy drink to keep you awake. In any case, do it with caution, some find it difficult to concentrate with the effect that caffeine has. Also make sure to take it easy, becoming addicted to caffeine will cause you to lose the benefits of increasing concentration.

  

Step 5. Look at things from an objective point of view

Shrewd people don't let their perceptions and ability to act be clouded by emotion or prejudice. Instead, they seek objective, fact-based truth. It is easy to tell yourself to look at things from an objective point of view, but it is much more difficult to do so. Suppress me or, at least, control your emotions when faced with difficult decisions. No one has ever made a great choice while he was angry.

Step 6. Take note of the strengths and weaknesses of others

This step is essential. Cunning people improve themselves by cheating, deceiving, or deluding other people. It is much easier for a crafty person to deceive another when he knows their strengths and weaknesses. Knowing a person's weaknesses is especially helpful because they can be used to influence their choices for your benefit. Likewise, knowing their strengths allows you to avoid them as much as possible. A shrewd person would never challenge another person in something they excels at.

• Let's take an example. Let's say you are trying a reluctant friend to buy a ticket to a fundraiser you have organized. You know that this friend of yours is very stubborn, but you also know that he is very greedy and that he likes to be considered a gracious host. You could informally invite him to your house, and you could have him find a nice tray of warm cookies in the kitchen when he walks in. Let him eat as many as he wants, then ask him to buy a ticket. He has just enjoyed your hospitality and does not want to appear rude, so he is more likely to accept.

  

Part 2 of 3: Developing Intelligence

Step 1. Train, train, train

If you were born shrewd and ruthless, you could be a psychopath. Like any other skill, shrewdness is something many have to train. Some are smarter, while others are more gullible. Regardless of your starting point, know that you can always improve your shrewdness with a little practice.

• Look for low-risk opportunities to practice, that way you'll be better prepared when it comes to being shrewd in more serious situations. Playing non-bad jokes is a great way to acquire many of the skills it takes to become shrewd without exposing yourself to too much risk. For example, for many jokes you need to pretend, lie, hide your emotions and determine the real motivations of others, if you want them to be successful.

  

Step 2. Never take anything for good

Shrewd people are skeptical by nature. Never accept information given to you or someone's impressions without first thinking about it. Always ask yourself if the people you interact with seem sincere. Find out if these people are trying to distort reality or if they are lying to you to further their own interests.

• Investigative journalists always break through a sea of lies and appearances to get the truth. If you want to hone your skepticism, you don't need to go to journalism school, but you can learn by doing research and understanding how journalists distinguish news in private interviews.

  

Step 3. Consider all possible scenarios

The great British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was known for his shrewd insight, among other things. He had a reputation for being good at crafting smart, sharp jokes and witty sayings out of thin air. In fact, due to his speech impediment, many of his replies were worked out in advance, considering any possible objections he might face. Always remember Churchill's cunning. Before an important event, take some time to imagine every possible evolution of the situation that is in front of you, and you will always have the answer ready.

The worst-case scenario of this approach is that things turn out in a way you didn't anticipate. It doesn't matter, on the rare occasions that it does happen it won't get any worse than the times you haven't considered any hypotheses

Step 4. Learn from your mistakes

Even the most experienced scammers get caught, from time to time. If you try to be good, you will have to make some mistakes. Your plans may be overturned, you may feel embarrassed, and you may have to apologize. Use your failures to learn something. Remember exactly what went wrong and when it happened, try never to make the same mistake again.

Step 5. Get to know yourself

The French theologian Pierre Charron once said: "The simplest way to be cheated is to believe that you are more cunning than others." A shrewd person should be able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of others, but it is also important that they recognize their own. Express a totally frank and brutal evaluation of yourself. What are you good at? What can't you do? What makes you nervous? What's the thing you do best? Be honest with yourself about your abilities. If you are, you will know what strengths you need to bring into play and what weaknesses you need to work on.

Part 3 of 3: Deceiving Others

Step 1. Perfect your “poker face”

Shrewd people need both to know how to read the faces of others and to prevent others from reading theirs. Playing a lefty shot at someone could make you feel excited or anxious. It is important that this information does not show through your face. Try not to smile or giggle when you are fooling someone. Take it easy. Take a deep breath. Imagine yourself doing something you love that relaxes you. Do whatever you can to stay (externally) cold as ice.

• The game of poker is an excellent opportunity to practice this. In poker, if you want to win, you don't have to show any emotion when you have a winning hand. You have to look confident even when you have a bad hand. Practice these two skills to improve your cunning.

  

Step 2. Be confident and determined

People tend to believe those who appear confident and determined in their decisions. If you are shrewd, you will need to be prepared to exploit this principle. Do everything with absolute confidence. Never question your actions. Try to see the shot you are making on someone as "no big deal" or as something you can do perfectly effortlessly, even if it's not 100% true. If you think you can do something, others will believe it too, and you can use this to your advantage to deceive them.

• Tips to develop more security:

  • Look after your physical appearance, dress well and make yourself beautiful.
  • Develop friendly body language. Stand straight, smile and look people in the eye.
  • Support your passions. Try to excel in your passions.
  • Be courteous. Try to be polite and friendly, but don't pretend to agree with someone just to please them.

  

  Step 3. Learn to lie

  Lies are shrewd people's best friend. Well spoken lies are plausible, or at least difficult to refute. Lying well requires a good deal of intelligence and emotional self-control. Not only must the liar tell lies that make sense, but he must also pack them through his own voice and body language. Like many of a shrewd person's skills, lying can be improved with a little practice and clever planning.

  • A shrewd person is not only capable of lying to others, he is also able to lie to himself. It might seem unimportant, but it is an essential skill to have available, for a shrewd person, because it allows them to mentally convince themselves that they are confident, that they will not be caught red-handed, etc. And in turn this makes her calm and relaxed in appearance.

    

  

  Step 4. Set a (metaphorical) trap

  An ancient saying describes being shrewd as "seeking the path chosen by the enemy and littering it with ditches." While it is very difficult for you to set real traps on someone, keep this metaphor in mind. By being able to judge people's strengths and weaknesses, as well as real motivations, you can realize their path and sabotage it to reap benefits. Find ways to take advantage of your enemy's weaknesses and make his strengths useless. Put your enemies in situations that they are unlikely to come out of.

  Let's pretend you're competing for a promotion with a colleague you hate. If, for example, you know that this person is not good at making presentations, you can volunteer to make a nice joint presentation so that he appears to be in trouble compared to you

  

  Step 5. Avoid the limelight

  A shrewd person always tries not to direct more attention than necessary to himself. If you are deceiving someone, you interact with this person in a normal way, no more, no less. Otherwise, you could scare the subject or alert him to the fact that there is something wrong or that is out of the ordinary. When you see someone falling into your trap, try not to overdo it or they may realize they've been ripped off. Instead, give him enough rope to hang himself, and set aside until he's done.

  • While you may be tempted to compliment yourself after deceiving someone, don't. You will only get a momentary sense of superiority and you will risk ruining everything and creating strong resentment in the person you just screwed.

    

  

  Step 6. Make an escape route

  Shrewd people consider all possible hypotheses, even unfavorable ones. Always take into account the fact that your shrewdness, despite being refined, may fail. Always try to have a plan B or an escape route if things don't go as planned. Know how to catch up on failure early. Develop a story that allows you to deny any failure.

  Let's say you are filming backstage at a concert without a pass, a security officer stops and asks you what you are doing. To avoid getting into trouble, you have planned ahead of time to play dumb. Pretend that you are lost and that you are looking for the bathroom, or that a friend of yours told you that the best place to see the concert was back there. Pretend to be surprised that you broke a rule and you probably won't get into any serious trouble if it looks like you accidentally got there

  Advice

  Practice with lots of games to exercise your brain

  Warnings

  Don't overdo it, or you could get yourself in a lot of trouble.