For the most part, once you get into the top 2% in terms of IQ, communication makes a subtle shift.
Highly intelligent people tend to be excellent listeners. Rather than to ever interrupt the flow of the conversation with unrelated tangents, or completely hijack the exchange to play the game of one-upsmanship, they will seek to clarify the topic by asking questions that will reveal perspective. Highly intelligent people seek to expose deeper levels to churn through their calculating minds. They will compare what is being said to what they already know and mentally place bookmarks at any inconsistencies or possible contradictions.
People at this IQ level typically have incredibly good memories. They might forget your name, but they have made endless connections within the content of the conversation and the circumstances or intent of why you were both there at that moment in time. They will have their homework done and be ready for the next chapter when you meet again. If they seem absent minded, that is merely a clever tactic employed to lessen your anxiety. Once the next conversation begins, they won't hesitate to remind you of what has previously been said. Dive in head first. They are ready for it.
Highly intelligent people crave relevant information to absorb. Their minds are always travelling at warp speed to make endless connections in order to extract what make sense from the meaningless fluff that obscures the clarity of the content.
There is a somewhat proportional relationship linking intelligence to intuition. Highly intelligent people tend to be forward thinkers who will constantly be evaluating the content of the conversation to ask themselves.. what does this really mean? And.. What can I do with or create, or facilitate, with this information. How is this relevant? Highly intelligent people will channel the conversation and information in a direction with the hopes of promoting positive change in a timely and efficient manner.
They love to play the role of devil's advocate to incite people to come up with their own solutions from their own perspectives. Why? Because they know nobody likes being told how to think or what to do.
And, this is how you know when you have just finished a conversation with a highly intelligent person. Their influence has instilled a sense of confidence, enlightenment, empowerment. Of course the opposite can also be true. Perhaps they left you perplexed after dropping a profound nugget of irrefutable wisdom in your lap that you are chastising yourself for somehow overlooking?
Intelligent people incite thought in hopes of provoking action. If you go to them with an issue or concern, they will put on their telltale constipated face and slightly tilted jaw mask with glazed over eyes and wait patiently to ask really simple questions with profound implications. How does that make you feel? What do you think about that? What do you think you should do? What are your options here?
Guess what. The highly intelligent person already has a rough draft of all of the answers that you can possibly give floating in their mind. They are testing your beliefs and convictions. Gathering focused information to work with. Establishing credibility, sincerity. Behind the facial expression (or lack thereof), a self-debate rages over the implications of the investment in time on a scale of value. Is it worth the effort here?
Manipulation is not always a negative thing, especially when the end result is gained wisdom, knowledge, confidence, or security.
Highly intelligent people have an awe inspiring aura about them. Something about their presence and demeanor will leave a mental impression long after you have gone your seperate ways. They have a tendency to elicit a reaction. After a lengthy conversation with a high IQ person, the aftermath will be to ponder all the questions that have blossomed, that hadn't yet materialized at the time. Intelligent people plant mental seeds in others as a hobby to distract themselves from the chaos in their own minds.
In the end, the coin is yours to flip. Are they crazy smart? Or just plain crazy? Time will tell.
For what it's worth, professional testing pegs me in the 137-144 IQ range. A dozen points higher for the psuedo credible online evaluations. It's one small sliver of the giant pie of life that conspires to create our unique identity. In the end, it's your life to live. Your future will become the culmination of consequences for your own decisions. And, sometimes, incredibly smart people give incredibly poor advice and make some really disastrous decisions.
It's been said that ignorance is bliss. That would make intelligence a curse. I will compromise and call it a blessing in disguise. Life goes on..
--------
Edit.. thanks for the responses. Had no idea this posted opinion would provoke such reactions. I appreciate the perspectives shared. Yes, even the pesky naysayers. Let's the debate rage on..