There's a surefire way to seem smarter and be more likeable among your co-workers and bosses, says Harvard University associate professor Alison Wood Brooks: Actively listen to what they're saying. Active listening requires more than silently absorbing information — you need to demonstrate that you're engaged by asking follow-up questions or paraphrasing and repeating what the other person said back to them, says Wood Brooks, who teaches a Harvard MBA course called "How to talk gooder in business and life." "Successful conversationalists and successful employees go a step further" than a perfunctory head nod and making eye contact, she says, adding: "Listening to somebody's answer then probing for more information is a superhero move, and a shockingly low number of people think to do it. You should show [you're listening] by saying [you are] out loud."
