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Why Men Brag




The other night a girlfriend and I met for dinner and because the restaurant was crowded we sat at the bar. We struck up a conversation with an older gentleman at the bar and we asked him about his life. He was obviously smitten with my friend. Looking over me to lock eyes with her and talk to her. He shared his many fascinating jobs, a list of accomplishments in the community, powerful people he worked with and places he has lived and traveled to throughout the world. We were impressed. He has had an extremely interesting life, and I know why he was “bragging”, but his long list struck me as particularly interesting as I am currently writing an article on bragging. Why do you think that men brag? Here are some of the reasons for men bragging found in the newest research.

It's official - men are BIG-HEADED: Males are more likely to brag about their talents - and lie about their shortcomings.

New study revealed 70 per cent of British men have boasted about a talent and half have claimed to be skilled in areas that they are not. This is compared to only 54 percent of women who brag.

  • Boasting may be used by men to impress women. (This is not a big surprise.)
  • Experts think men do this to boost their own confidence, plus impress women and colleagues at work.
  • Research shows that men are also more likely to cover up their short comings. With just 22 percent of men admitting to things they are bad at.
  • A psychologist from Lancaster University said men are conditioned to be more competitive than women and exaggerate their skill set
  • All people are more likely to be boastful when they are younger with 56 percent of 18 to 24 year olds exaggerating their skills, compared to just 26 percent of voer 55 year olds.




Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.