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from the unfortunately-I-cannot-appear-to-be-less-competent dept.
You hear a lot about fears of heights or spiders or clowns, but down deep, most people are most afraid of this one thing: sounding dumb. New research shows that people shy away from asking for help for fear of appearing less competent, but that this is an unfounded fear: Asking for advice actually makes you seem more capable.
Across five studies, a research team led by Harvard Business School’s Alison Wood Brooks finds that people think better of others when they ask for advice — mostly because people really love to give advice. Being asked for advice seems to give us a self-confidence boost, which in turn enhances our opinion of the advice-seeker, Brooks and colleagues write in the paper, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Management Science.
[Paper] (PDF)
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Lagg on Monday August 25 2014, @09:57PM
In addition to what is already stated about what is basically ego stroking (and there is nothing wrong with that) people really like it when you don't try to overcompensate. Knowing and expressing your lack of knowledge about something and seeking to learn indicates that you're confident enough to admit that you do indeed not know some things and so reinforces their own confidence in you when you do something you don't need advice for because they can be fairly certain that you know what you're doing and if you didn't they'd know it.
http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
(Score: 2) by e_armadillo on Monday August 25 2014, @10:06PM
"man's gotta know his limitations . . . "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VrFV5r8cs0 [youtube.com]
"How are we gonna get out of here?" ... "We'll dig our way out!" ... "No, no, dig UP stupid!"
(Score: 2) by SlimmPickens on Monday August 25 2014, @10:21PM
I agree. Capable people usually don't mind saying they don't understand, presumably because it's unusual. It's the ones that stand there nodding and never asking questions you've got to worry about.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 26 2014, @05:09PM
I guess it really sort of depends. Asking the right question can make you seem very perceptive and even knowledgeable. On the other hand, asking a question that reveals you did not do your homework ahead of time can make you look incompetent. The people standing there nodding likely know well the maxim "better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, rather than open your mouth and dispel all doubt". Yeah, I have learned this the hard way....
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 25 2014, @10:22PM
Why do you think there are so many confident morons on the internet?
(Score: 3, Funny) by Tork on Tuesday August 26 2014, @12:43AM
I always figured it was because too many of them managed to get their posts modded up on Slashdot.
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