10 Abilities That Allow Ordinary People to Outperform AI

I spent some time sorting out these abilities, summarized them into 10 directions, and matched each ability with practice methods. These are not empty words for the long term, but things you can do right now, and you can improve little by little in daily life.

1. The ability to read others' emotions

AI can analyze whether you are angry or happy, but it cannot distinguish whether a person is tired, disappointed, or has something hard to say.

Human beings' greatest advantage is being able to read emotions from a facial expression or a change in tone, and this kind of perception is the starting point of all effective communication.

The practice method is also very daily: pay more attention to the expressions and tones of people around you when they speak, such as the state of your family when they come home from work, and the tone of your colleagues in the group chat.

Sometimes the emotions that are not actively expressed are the most worthy of your attention. This kind of observation ability is cultivated slowly through accumulated experience over time.

2. The ability to build trust

AI can copy the tone of "Don't worry, leave it to me", but doing things never relies solely on verbal promises, but on delivering what you say.

Trust is not gained through one or two sentences, but accumulated through fulfilling promises bit by bit.

Every day, only promise one thing that you are sure you can accomplish, and take the initiative to tell the other person that it's done after finishing it. This habit will make others feel more and more secure with you.

3. The ability to make others willing to work with you

No matter how wonderful the goal statement AI can write, it cannot touch people's hearts.

People are influential because emotions are contagious, especially those personal experiences of "why I have to do this".

You can practice like this: next time you want to get people to work with you on something, don't talk about the plan first, but tell your own story, make it clear why you are doing this, and then ask the other person what they think. Empathy is the real driving force.

4. Having your own judgment criteria

AI can help you analyze the pros and cons, but when it comes to making decisions, only you know best what you want.

Whenever you are torn, write down the three words you care about most now, such as stability, speed, risk, and then let these words help you choose the plan.

You will find that true decision-making power comes from clarity in your heart.

5. The ability to find new ways to use old things

AI is good at splicing existing materials, but it rarely can break away from the original framework.

Human beings' real creativity often comes from being able to look at old problems from a new perspective.

The practice method is very simple: choose something you often come into contact with, such as daily writing, reporting, making PPT, and try to change the style, adjust the order, or repackage the same content. Deliberately making changes is the first step to building creativity.

6. The ability to make decisions in ambiguous situations

AI is best at problems with standard answers, but in real life, there are too many scenarios without clear standards.

To cultivate decision-making ability, you can do this: review a decision that made you hesitate once a week, write down the reasons for your choice at that time, and what you gave up.

This kind of self-review will slowly build your own judgment logic.

7. The ability to have a sense of humor and humanity

AI can also tell jokes, but you won't want to work with it after laughing.

A sense of humanity comes from knowing when to be serious and when to relax.

A small suggestion: prepare a true but slightly self-deprecating story to break the ice at the next meeting. If you tell it naturally, the atmosphere will immediately become cordial.

8. The ability to be a lubricant in a team

AI can help schedule meetings and write minutes, but the real difficulty in collaboration is handling the tensions between people.

Who is responsible for summarizing in the meeting, who eases the atmosphere for everyone, who reminds the team not to get off track? AI can't do any of these things.

You can start with one sentence: at the end of each meeting, ask "Is there anything we missed?"

This sentence will make you the one people want to cooperate with.

9. Knowing when to speak

AI can say all the information at once, but it doesn't know when it's more appropriate to speak.

The same sentence, if said too early, no one will listen; if said too late, the opportunity has been missed.

Human beings' real sensitivity is reflected in the judgment of timing.

The training method is not complicated: when you want to say something important, first see if the other person is listening and if they are in a good state, then decide whether to say it. This ability to adapt to the situation is actually very valuable.

10. The decision-making power to dare to take responsibility

No matter how smart AI is, it won't take responsibility for you. For some decisions, there may not be an optimal solution, but people must stand up and make the call.

The way to exercise this ability is to find one small thing that is a bit uncertain but worth trying every week, such as putting forward an unconventional idea, or taking the initiative to take on a task that no one has arranged but is important to the team.

Slowly, you will find that your confidence to take responsibility is getting stronger and stronger.

These abilities are what can really make you stand out in the AI era. It's not too late to start practicing now.