10 Ways to Look Smarter Than You Are

5) Elaborate On What You Already Know

As we’ve already outlined, it is not a good idea to hold the attention of a group in order to elaborate on matters you know very little about. There are gaps in everyone’s knowledge, some more gaping than others, and that’s okay. No one can know everything about everything. The trick is to steer conversation away from subjects you know little about and towards subjects you know well. The best way to keep up the appearance of being intelligent in company that is moving towards topics you can’t contribute to is to steer the conversation back into territory you can deal with. Conversations can get heated, especially when people insist on talking about politics and the best way to deal with someone you disagree with is to find something you agree on, preferably something you know a great deal about. That way you’re not excluding yourself from the conversation through disagreement and are opening the conversation to get back onto topics you’re more comfortable with.