There’s a saying among con-men that smart people are easier targets, because they don’t think they can be conned.
I’m not sure if that’s true, but there’s one scam that’s almost guaranteed to make smart people switch off their brains and reach for their wallets. It’s a trick that’s used so pervasively in our culture, that once you become aware of it, you start to see it everywhere.
Maybe you’re already ahead of the game on this, but if not I’m going to spell it out for you. This isn’t because I want you to take advantage of people – instead I want you to avoid being taken advantage of. Once you’re aware of this ploy, you’ll be much less susceptible to it.
Most smart people have a hidden weakness and it’s this – they’re absolute suckers for anything that sounds clever.
As soon as you start hitting people with technical terms, fancy graphs, famous names and the like, you’ll immediately increase your credibility. If they’re smart, they’re even more likely to find themselves nodding in agreement. Many intelligent people would rather cut off a finger than admit they don’t know what you’re talking about.