“Did you notice that?”
I asked my colleague right after yesterday’s meeting.
He looked up from his laptop and asked, “What do you notice?”
“The man who talked the most knew the least.”
He paused for a moment and then smiled.
“Yes,” he said with a smile. “But everybody claps.”
What stayed with me was not just what was said during the meeting.
It was said not to be what it actually was.
Pauses, hesitations and quiet corrections from those who know better but choose not to speak.
That silence?
From there the story begins.
We have often seen this happening around us.
There is always someone who speaks with complete confidence, even when they are wrong.
They often dominate conversations, interrupt others and share opinions as if they were proven facts.
And somehow, they are the ones people listen to and admire. You may wonder why. Let’s find out.
It doesn’t just happen by chance.
You see it in meetings, classrooms, online debates, leadership roles, and even everyday discussions.
It’s a pattern.
And like most patterns, it comes from how we perceive confidence, authority, and what we think of as intelligence.
Confidence has become a performance
Somewhere along the way, we stopped valuing truth and started rewarding certainty.
Not accuracy, depth or understanding.
Just confidence.
If you say something loud and clear without hesitation, people assume you know what you’re talking about.
Even if you don’t. The more confident you feel, the less people tend to question you.
Psychologists call this a form of cognitive bias where how something is said overshadows what is actually said.
We mistake clarity of speech for clarity of thought.
We confuse bravery with competence.
In modern culture, especially in fast-paced settings and social media, confidence has become a form of performance.
A show.
And the better you perform, the more credible you will appear.
Meanwhile, Pragya looks very different
Wisdom chooses truth over pride.
Wisdom is not in a hurry to speak.
It takes a moment.
It asks questions.
Double check it.
It says things like:
“I could be wrong, but…”
“Let’s verify that.”
“Can we see the data?”
For this reason, it often seems less certain.
less vigorous.
Show less.
But really, it’s doing something much harder. It is choosing truth from ego.
Intelligence understands something confidence often ignores.
That reality is complex.
Most problems don’t have easy answers.
And being right requires responsibility, not just disclosure.
The silent cost of being right
There is something really heavy about burdening something.
You realize how much you don’t know.
You see the complexity others ignore.
You speak more slowly, not because you lack knowledge, but because you respect it.
And in a world that rewards speed and certainty, that can look like weakness.
So the wise man remains silent.
They double check their work.
They refine their thinking.
Unknown person standing on a back, wrong but celebrate!
This is the quiet understanding of awareness:
The more you know, the more careful you will be.
And unfortunately, caution doesn’t always win applause.
Why do we applaud the wrong people?
Confidence is easy to recognize.
But what about the truth?
Truth takes effort.
It asks us;
listen
Think critically
Question what we hear
And most people don’t.
Not because they can’t, but because it’s uncomfortable.
Critical thinking requires slowness.
It requires humility.
It is necessary to admit that we can be wrong.
It’s easier to follow a high tone than to find the right one.
And so, over time, we create environments; Workplaces, classrooms, and even communities where noise rises and depth disappears.
Incompetence demands applause, intelligence demands proof.
This is the key difference.
People who lack confidence often seek validation first.
They talk because they want to be noticed.
They want to hear.
And they want to be appreciated.
Wise people seek accuracy first.
They speak to be right.
They want to help others.
They want to be honest.
Some want attention.
The other seeks truth.
And in a culture that prizes visibility over substance,
Attention almost always wins.
So what do we do about it?
We begin to notice.
We stop equating confidence with competence.
We ask better questions.
We listen more attentively to the quiet voice in the room.
We make room for thoughtful feedback rather than rushing for quick answers.
and most importantly,
We are comfortable saying:
“I don’t know” and this is where real knowledge begins.
And perhaps more importantly,
We begin to value those who say it.
The loudest person in the room isn’t always the smartest.
Press enter or click to view image in full size
Sometimes, they are less aware of how little they know.
And calm?
They are not silent because they have nothing to say.
They keep quiet because they know how serious it is to be right.
And maybe the real change we need isn’t louder, but better listeners.
If this resonates with you, follow along for more reflections on life, growth, and the quiet truths we often overlook.
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This post was Previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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