The Power Of Social Intelligence

Why book smarts no longer matter

Abdullah Nadeem
2 min readSep 10, 2020

In modern times, it is clear that social intelligence is much more powerful than fundamental knowledge(to a certain extent).

This is why you see people who aren’t rocket scientists, yet move up in the world because of their ability to built relationships.

Highly intelligent people tend to suffer from not having the right level of social calibration to get along with other people. Their urge to prove their intelligence and always sound smarter is a massive turnoff and contributes to a lack of social intelligence.

Allow people to appreciate your intelligence over time.

Trying to be extra smart when first meeting people does more harm than good. Don’t unnecessarily correct them in conversation, if it’s not hurting anybody — let it be.

Next time you find yourself with conflicting opinions to someone else, prioritise having a meaningful debate over showing off your knowledge and essentially blocking them out. You don’t want everybody to know how clever you are. You want the right people to know.

“When you lose track of time, you’re either living your best life, or wasting it” — James Clear

Photo by Raymond Francisco on Unsplash

Proactively talk to people you don’t know. Our natural response is to say nothing in an elevator with someone. However, it is proven that talking to people of different backgrounds can drastically change our lives.

The most successful people in the world have had a certain level of luck on their side to achieve what they have, from their upbringing, to the people they know.

By reaching out to others and exposing yourself to new environments, you are increasing your surface area for ‘serendipitous/luck’ events, therefore, forming connections which you may benefit from in the future.

Ultimately, increasing your chance to achieve what you dream of. Even if there is no selfish gain, it’s always nice to think you could have made someone’s day by a simple compliment.

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Abdullah Nadeem

Hey! I’m a medical student who writes about Productivity, Growth and New Concepts to bring excitement to your week. FREE eBook on my blog: abdullahnadeem.co.uk