8 things smart people never say

It's quite easy to follow the habits of successful people - all you need to do is read a book a day, swap beer for brain food and hang out with people less clever than yourself.

Easy. But one thing that gives us away instantly is saying something stupid.

So, in order to prevent your mouth giving the game away, here's some phrases you should avoid saying if you want to appear more clever cleverer.

1. "You look tired"

Tired people, author Travis Bradberry writes on Talentsmart, “are incredibly unappealing—they have droopy eyes and messy hair, they have trouble concentrating, and they’re as grouchy as they come”.

2. "You’ve lost weight"

This, Bradberyy writes, can come across as critical, and suggests you used to think the recipient of your comment was overweight.

3. "You look great for your age"

People don’t want to be compliment on something relative to their age, or anything else. A compliment, Bradberry says, doesn’t require qualifiers.

And over on Reddit:

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Workplace expert Lynn Taylor advises against ever uttering the following:

7. “Chill out”

Nobody likes to hear this, Taylor says, but it also sounds “obnoxious and unprofessional”.

And this blog post has a good point about:

8. “That’s really unique”

Unique means one of a kind, the author writes, so it can’t be qualified. “If something is one of a kind, it cannot have degrees of one-of-a-kindness,” it states.

More: 10 tips to appear smarter in meetings