How do you know if you’re the smartest person in the room?

Under the lubricant of a cocktail party, this is good information to have. Well, the answer can be found 2,500 years ago in ancient Greece, and podcasts may well be our divining rod.

The best way to sound smarter than you are is to be aware of that fact. Socrates wasn’t the smartest man in Athens because he was a genius. He was the smartest because he knew that he didn’t know. He was open to the idea of being fallible and knowing he had blind spots that he couldn’t know about.

You want to be like Socrates.

Being a great podcast guest boils down to developing a few key skills that center around self-awareness. If you’ve got those, it will help you navigate the party and help you help others do the same.

These podcasts should get you started on your self-awareness journey. If that isn’t where you’re headed, they will at least make you sound smart at the next cocktail party.

Be a Better Listener

If you want to sound smart, you need to listen well. When you’re a good listener, an active listener, you are grounded in the moment. Your mind isn’t elsewhere and you’re able to have more meaningful conversations.

Everyone wants to be heard. And if they can’t, then they want to feel heard. They want their states of being validated. listening to someone and actually absorbing what they are saying makes you appear that much smarter before you’ve even opened your mouth.

Financial Management Magazine

When you think of cocktail parties and good times, stodgy management executives aren’t what come to mind. And that’s kind of the point with the FM series. Executives are people too (no offense) and need as much if not more help relating to others.

This is why Neil Amato’s 2019 episode, How to Be a Better Listener, is so clutch. In a tight 15:30, you’ll learn what research says about listening skills. You’ll learn how childhood experiences can influence listening ability, why good listeners are great negotiators, and more. So, button up those lips and take in a lesson on being a better listener. You’ll seem that much smarter for having done so.

After you’re finished with that episode, peruse the archives to see what else the 1% is keeping up their sleeves.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify

The Simplifiers Podcast

You know that moment in a conversation when the other person’s lips are moving and you’re waiting for your turn to speak? Because, you know, you’re not rude, you’re not going to talk over someone. Yeah… Mary Baird-Wilcock is going to disabuse you of this bad listening habit.

She’s also going to walk you through some more tips to be a better listener. There’s an active component, so keep up!

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Get Better at Small Talk

A perceived inability to be “good at small talk” is high up on the list of why people avoid networking and parties altogether. As a life long introvert, this assumed small talk deficit plagued me for years. It’s one of those abilities I didn’t think I had. I thought it was a talent you were either born with or without and that’s the way it was.

I didn’t realize it was a skill to be developed like any other. Take a listen to some of these podcasts to make you one of the best small-talk practitioners at your next cocktail party.

The Upgrade by Lifehacker

Lifehacker’s “How to Be a Better Conversationalist” episode of The Upgrade is a wonderful primer in the art of conversation. The show is hosted by Celeste Headlee, a journalist, who’s profession demands she be adept at small talk.

Michelle Woo stops by to teach us how to talk to kids. Because, after a couple of hours at a cocktail party, well, we’re going to need to pull this tool out of our back pocket. Front pocket? Jacket pocket? I forgot where I let that tool… better check the bar.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

The Art of Charm

The Art of Charm podcast is a masterclass in human interaction. But if you want to get better at small talk, you have to absorb episode 562 – How to Ask Questions that Keep the Conversation Going.

This isn’t just important for cocktail parties, but also sales, relationships, friendships, etc.

Conversations that end prematurely are missed opportunities and leave too much on the table. Use the tactics here to keep the lines of communication open and active.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Develop Humor That Lands

There’s something engaging about someone who is undeniably funny. Even though we know comedians are some of the most insecure and emotionally troubled people around, they don’t appear as such. Funny people seem smarter. Science tells us they actually are, but who cares, we care about appearing smarter.

Podcasts can make us smarter, but they can also make us appear more intelligent by honing our comedy chops.

On Comedy Writing

On Comedy Writing ran for just over 100 episodes. Plenty of time in the comedy world to be syndicated, but not enough time to keep us in stitches. The show featured Alan Johnson interviewing working comedy writers to see what worked and what didn’t.

Remember, comedy writers are often writing for other people’s voices. So this is a great place to start working on your own game. If these tips and tricks they dispense can work for actors on shows, then why can’t they work for you at a cocktail party?

Timing and delivery probably, but hey, just go with it.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Listen Notes

2 Girls, 1 Podcast

This is an amazing show to sit back and take in. As long as you don’t Google the origins of the show’s name. Alli and Jen can riff on just about anything, and, thankfully for those of us learning the ropes, they do. All while making it hilarious.

They aren’t instructors per se so don’t look for numerated tips. Instead, treat 2 Girls like an immersion course.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Good One: A Podcast About Jokes

Where 2 Girls isn’t instructive by design, Good One is. Each week Jesse David Fox sits down with a comedian to go over one joke in detail. Just a single joke. But from every angle imaginable.

From the joke’s origin and genesis through to delivery and how the audience received it, you’re going to learn what makes good jokes good. And, well, conversely, why some of our amateur jokes don’t resonate.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Conclusion

When it comes to being an awesome guest at a cocktail party there is being “the smart person in the room”, and appearing smart. The former is boorish. And a lot of hard work. You really need to prepare and be ready to defend your position the whole night. Ugh.

Appearing, or sounding, smart has more to do with getting out of your own way and playing with the material you’re given. It’s all about listening, dropping the well-timed quip, and remaining nimble in the small-talk department.

Nail these three skill buckets with the help of a strategic podcast and you are sure to at least sound smart at the next cocktail party.

What are your go-to tactics for impressing a room? I’m all ears. Let me know in the comments.