Kathy and Ross Petras

We all want people to take us seriously. But so many of us, in trying to earn that respect from others, say things that we think will make us sound smart — only to fall on our faces.

As psychologist Paul Penn put it, “Trying to sound clever is a good way of sounding stupid.” 

But there’s a way around this. Want to sound smart and well-spoken? As language and communication experts, we’ve come across some simple and effective strategies that actually work.

1. Be intentional about your word choice

Behavioral studies have found that theoretically “smart” language winds up turning people off instead of impressing them. You want to sound natural and not clinical.

So while it’s tempting to want to dazzle people with complicated or multisyllabic words, you’re better off sticking with simpler choices.

For example, use “begin” instead of “commence,” “method” instead of “methodology,” “use” instead of “utilize,” and “help” or “assist” instead of “facilitate.” 

2. Don’t try to be someone you’re not

Adding new words or phrases to your vocabulary just to sound more intelligent for a specific situation is a bad idea. If it’s not natural to you, it comes off as artificial and unconvincing.

Also, make sure that you know what a word means before you use it. For example, people often use the word “simplistic” thinking it’s a more upscale way of saying “simple.” But it isn’t. It has a completely different, and negative, meaning. When you describe something as simplistic, you’re saying that someone took a complex concept and oversimplified it. In effect, they dumbed it down. 

So if you call someone’s idea simplistic, it’s not a compliment at all.

3. Use an active voice

You might think you are adding a flourish to your speech by using complicated sentence structures in the passive voice, but it only alienates people. So opt for active phrases.

For example, instead of saying: “Sales have continued to maintain their upward trajectory in the current quarter,” say, “Sales increased this quarter.”

4. Get straight to the point

Be clear about your topic. Focus on what you’re trying to get across and make it easy for others to really understand your points. 

Research shows that when people can easily understand what you’re talking about and can process it without trouble, they tend to think of you as more capable and intelligent.

5. When possible, say it, don’t write it

We often think that the written word can make us seem more intelligent than the spoken. After all, there are no “ums” or other filler words when you write, and you can choose more complicated ways of expressing yourself.

But that’s not the case. People often react more positively to someone’s voice and assess the speaker as smarter.

6. Steer clear of jargon

Managers repeatedly say that overuse of jargon is an immediate turn-off. In many cases, it can be the difference between landing that job or not or getting that promotion you want or not.

Along these lines, it’s a good idea to avoid throwing in popular but tired jargon words like “leverage,” “synergy,” “transformative” and the like. They’re vague, they’re cliched, and they’re usually unnecessary. 

7. Say nothing

That’s right. Staying silent for a few seconds can make people think of you as smart. Studies have found that if you pause between words while you’re speaking, people often think you’re more articulate and educated. 

That break in your speech when there’s no punctuation reason for it, like a period, is technically called an “unfilled pause,” but we like to call it “smart silence.”

CNBC