A covert narcissist must always be right about all things. They already know everything you are telling them before you even speak a word. They know what everyone is going to say, what everyone means behind their words, what everyone is going to do, and what should be done in every situation. Their great knowledge is clearly far superior to everyone else’s. They are right about it all.
Add to this great knowledge, a covert narcissist will never give you the space to be right about something. They will never give you that validation. They cannot simply say, “Yeah, you are right” or “I never thought of it like that.”
They may actually get to a point that they admit you are right, but only in a back-handed way. They will make it very clear that what you are saying is stuff they already knew. Their knowledge must be greater, faster and stronger. You will hear things such as,
“I know! I had that thought a week ago. Glad you caught up.”
“You’re right, you must have been listening to me.”
“I knew that was the case.”
“I already know that, and I’ll take it a step further….”
A simple “Hey, you have a good point there,” and leaving it at that is not within their capabilities. It threatens their ego too much. For that tiny instant, they would feel inferior to you. To admit that you are right means to them that they have to admit that they are wrong. There simply is no in-between ground. Win-win does not exist. It is only win-lose, and they must win!
Don’t forget, for them, this isn’t conversation. It’s combat! Every interaction has a winner and a loser, and they must be the winner, no matter how insignificant the conversation really is.