Does Listening Well Impress People as a Mark of Intelligence?

[Sunstone]

Would most people come across as more intelligent than they actually do if they were better listeners?

In general, does listening well impress people as a mark of intelligence?

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Rather than 'listening well', I'd say 'actively listening'.
But yes, I think it does to a degree.

 

[Erebus]

It certainly seems to help.

However, I would suggest that the appearance of being a good listener is more important when it comes to swaying people towards assuming you must be intelligent. I would say this is especially true when combined with a quiet personality.

My favourite example of this is Jared Kushner. People have commented that he tends to listen carefully and say little. They often see that mannerism as a sign of a contemplative intellect. Without knowing the man, I couldn't tell you whether or not he's actually a good listener or if what's being said is mostly white noise to him. In either case, the appearance of being a listener seems to steer people towards seeing him as more intelligent than he probably is.

That said, Kushner has a couple of other things going for him. A Harvard education sounds impressive if you aren't aware of his parents' substantial donation prior to his acceptance. He's also invariably compared to Donald Trump...

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

In general, does listening well impress people as a mark of intelligence?

I do not believe so.

 

[bobhikes]

Would most people come across as more intelligent than they actually do if they were better listeners?

In general, does listening well impress people as a mark of intelligence?

People learn through experience, listening to other's is an experience so not only may it make them seem intelligent to others it will probably make them more intelligent.

 

[ChristineM]

Would most people come across as more intelligent than they actually do if they were better listeners?

In general, does listening well impress people as a mark of intelligence?

On several of the management courses I've attended there has been considerable time spent on "listening skills" used as a tool to
a/ glean information that may be glossed over
b/ to impress when making a point of mentioning that info.

It worked for me ;-)

 

[Kenny]

Would most people come across as more intelligent than they actually do if they were better listeners?

In general, does listening well impress people as a mark of intelligence?

Absolutely, until they open their mouths and say something.

Prov 17:28 MSG Even dunces who keep quiet are thought to be wise; as long as they keep their mouths shut, they’re smart.

 

[Vinayaka]

Would most people come across as more intelligent than they actually do if they were better listeners?

In general, does listening well impress people as a mark of intelligence?

Not necessarily. If what you mean is also understanding what they're listening to, for sure. But listening just in itself, no, because sometimes folks just have nothing to say, or have learned it as a coping mechanism.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I think people who are good listeners may be more intelligent, as they have access to more information given they tend to listen more than speak.

But people who listen and speak less (or not at all) are historically considered to be lacking in intelligence.

dumb | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

 

[Brickjectivity]

Would most people come across as more intelligent than they actually do if they were better listeners?

In general, does listening well impress people as a mark of intelligence?

It is a mark of emotional intelligence. It is the ability to put aside what you are thinking about in order to listen to another person.

 

[Onoma]

When I was young, someone once bluntly told me to " take the cotton out of my ears and stick it in my mouth "

It tasted weird, but I did it anyway

 

[Cooky]

Would most people come across as more intelligent than they actually do if they were better listeners?

In general, does listening well impress people as a mark of intelligence?

Absolutely! Because the opposite - someone who cannot sit still and listen - cannot have the patience to learn complex, detailed lessons. Therefore, they cannot be highly intelligent by their own nature. They either lack discipline or the capacity.

I remember there was a highly intelligent Catholic moderator here before, who I haven't seen in a while. He was very intelligent, and his posts were very long and detailed... It was his patience and his ability to stick with things that others might consider boring that made him highly intelligent.

...So the answer must be yes. Because intelligent people are looking for this ability in others.

 

[chinu]

Would most people come across as more intelligent than they actually do if they were better listeners?

In general, does listening well impress people as a mark of intelligence?

It’s a luck game
Because, always a more intelligent is capable of making the less intelligent a foolish. And at the same time he’s also capable to teach the right.

It’s a luck game

 

[Quintessence]

I'm confused by the question because listening is required for learning, especially the types of learning most frequently associated with the nebulously-defined quality called "intelligence." This is something I go over with students on a fairly regular basis, because there is this unfortunate tendency in our culture to perceive successful learners as simply "smart" or "intelligent" as a matter of innate talent. On the contrary, people are "smart" because they learned how to learn at some point in their lives. We know from educational psychology that successful learning is about the kind of thinking that happens. Specifically, relational thinking. Listening is such an essential element of relational thinking one cannot be "smart" without knowing how to listen.

 

[Thief]

Would most people come across as more intelligent than they actually do if they were better listeners?

In general, does listening well impress people as a mark of intelligence?

nope.....
people talk
and someone has to listen

and most of what I scan through isn't worth the two minute assessment

 

[Cooky]

I'm confused by the question because listening is required for learning, especially the types of learning most frequently associated with the nebulously-defined quality called "intelligence." This is something I go over with students on a fairly regular basis, because there is this unfortunate tendency in our culture to perceive successful learners as simply "smart" or "intelligent" as a matter of innate talent. On the contrary, people are "smart" because they learned how to learn at some point in their lives. We know from educational psychology that successful learning is about the kind of thinking that happens. Specifically, relational thinking. Listening is such an essential element of relational thinking one cannot be "smart" without knowing how to listen.

That's exactly what I was trying to say. I'm sure you know that.

 

[osgart]

Without the ability to listen there would be no knowledge communicated. But listening alone is useless til you test and apply the information you acquire by listening.

If all you do is listen then you are not learning anything that sticks but what is obvious to your mind and its intuitions.

Intelligence is in getting the gestalt. Developing the understanding that means you have learned. Listening is one step in the process of intelligence. But that one step is not the end all and be all of intelligence.

 

[Cooky]

nope.....
people talk
and someone has to listen

and most of what I scan through isn't worth the two minute assessment

That’s because you're describing people who don't listen themselves!

...So it's a waste of time to listen to someone who doesn't listen.

 

[Thief]

That’s because you're describing people who don't listen themselves!

...So it's a waste of time to listen to someone who doesn't listen.

I prefer to hear someone like Jordan Peterson

he can say a lot in five minutes

I work with people that can stand in place and jabber for an hour
I know these people
I don't bother to join in
my work is actually more entertaining

 

[Cooky]

I think people who are good listeners may be more intelligent, as they have access to more information given they tend to listen more than speak.

But people who listen and speak less (or not at all) are historically considered to be lacking in intelligence.

dumb | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

But that's not always the case. There are savant's who struggle with normal speech, but on the inside, may have such a powerful natural ability in certain areas of thinking, they cannot put their thoughts into words.

...They might possess an entirely different kind of language of their own. Like a mathematics-based way of thinking, that others cannot see.