heartharmony.com.au

Over the past month my path has crossed with many fantastic people. Some who I consider to be true experts in their field, yet no one knows about them. Others I have met hold themselves up to be experts in the field, and have large followings behind them cheering them on. In some cases, the public experts have the goods in terms of personal knowledge, in others -  well …

Talking with these public and private experts is an eye-opening experience. Most of the private experts know they have some knowledge, but underestimate how much they know. Often a self esteem issue holds them back, and they feel that shadowy “other people” are better than them. The public experts have their own demons. Some have a scared little voice inside their head – telling them that they are going to be “found out” one day. Others have bullet-plated self esteem, where they feel they are the best there is (whether or not that is the case).

So what is the real difference? From what I can see, the public experts have taken the time to document what they know (or have someone write it on the behalf), and hoist their flag over the parapet. It stands to reason that the person who stands up and is counted for their knowledge will be the one getting the kudos and the money, compared to the person who has the knowledge inside their head and only letting it come out to play over a dinner party or with select clients.

If you want to be a thought leader, you need to first start by documenting your intellectual property. Yes, part of doing that is finding what is unique in your approach or thoughts, but the first stage is to get it down on paper.

Once you have it clarified, then tell everyone about what you know through sharing your expertise, systems and processes. People then give you feedback on your knowledge through testimonials and case studies and your reputation as an expert builds.

The hard part is most of us don’t take the time to stop and document what we know. So, to all you silent experts out there I issue you a challenge. Get writing! The worst that can happen is you will realise how much you really do know.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

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Heart Harmony – Freelance Writer