Why you should never be the smartest person in the room

While it’s a sign of admirable confidence to assume you are the smartest person in the room and to enjoy holding the crowd in your intellectual thrall, in many cases closing your mouth, opening your ears and absorbing what others have to say can be an equally if not more beneficial approach.

Even for the extroverts amongst us, there is a time to be on the stage performing and a time to sit down and watch the rest of the show. Take special notice of the quietly spoken and those who listen far more than they speak; wisdom often comes in small packages.

Actively networking and opening yourself up to acquiring knowledge from others can reap many benefits including:

• Discovering more about the dynamics within your industry.
• Establishing a wider circle of business contacts and referral networks.
• Getting truly “plugged in” to your community.
• Facilitating win-win relationships and synergies.
• Accelerating your professional development.
• Developing knowledge resources and plugging gaps.
• Hearing about opportunities you might otherwise miss.

Five key rules I live by during networking when others are talking to me are:

1. Let them say their piece. Listen without interrupting.
2. Don’t finish their sentence. This is not a gift, it’s interrupting.
3. Let them have their moment. Don’t immediately leap into a game of one-upmanship by telling your story or giving your opinion as soon as they’ve paused to draw breath. This is not showing comradeship, it’s a poor trick played by all of us at one time or other, to steal others’ thunder and make ourselves look good.
4. Be present. Don’t look at your watch, at your phone, over their shoulder or to the ceiling. Look them in the face, listen intently and engage in the conversation in such a way to affirm that you’re listening and you’re keen to learn more.
5. Ask questions. Not just any questions though – it’s got to be the right ones. Frame thoughtful, relevant, open-ended questions then really listen to the answers. It’s amazing what can come of asking a great question and thinking outside the box. A great example lies in the advent of the polaroid camera back in the 1940s, when Edwin Land’s 3 year old daughter apparently couldn’t understand that why the photo taken on the standard camera couldn’t be seen right away. She asked “Why do we have to wait for the picture?” – and the spark of an idea that was to become the polaroid camera was born. Be curious!

Another great way of acquiring knowledge from others is to formally or informally acquire a coach or mentor.

Effective business process, problem solving and growth comes from understanding things from many angles; which by nature involves listening and understanding others’ perspectives.

I challenge you in 2016 to listen more and talk less, and let yourself be open to learning from others.

Are you up for it?