Being an Expert is in the Details
When I first started out consulting, I had to deliver a key speech to the leadership team of a mid-sized company. We had conducted an extensive employee survey, measuring employee engagement, job satisfaction, and turnover. You know, all those things that I/O Psychologists like to measure.
Fortunately it was a beautiful day. And as I drove an hour north of Cincinnati, to the conference center I was thinking about the findings of our research. Even though it was a nice drive, I don’t like long waits before I speak. So I was glad when I finally pulled into the parking lot.
As I walked into the conference room, I could see them shifting uncomfortably in their seats. That’s when I knew I had two problems. First, my talk was right before lunch. No speaker wants to stand between someone and their food! Second, while I had talked to several of them over the phone, none of them had ever met me before, not in person anyway. No one realized just how young I looked. This has been a challenge throughout much of my career. And even though I had been out of grad school (Xavier) for a few years, I still looked more like I was 18 than 25.
Okay, 18 is probably generous. I probably looked like I was 16. At least to them.
For years looking young has been a challenge when addressing people. It put me at an immediate credibility gap. Although as I get older, I don’t mind it nearly as much!
But this credibility gap created an interesting challenge. How exactly do you prove that you’re an expert when people don’t know you? How, when you’re giving your elevator speech about your company, do you prove to a stranger you know what you’re talking about? How, in the midst of a party, do you give a credible answer that everyone believes?
Believe it or not, the answer is in the details. People are seen as experts when they provide details. If you don’t believe me think about politicians – when do they seem like they are pandering? When they get stuck on their talking points. We start to wonder if they really know what they’re talking about. It’s the same with scams and the ever popular e-mail hoax. When they provide details, dates, names, contact information, we believe them.
The same is true of you. You seem most effective, most credible, when you fill in the blanks with details. And if you still don’t believe me, think about the story I just told to start this post. How credible was it? Did you at any moment, doubt any of it was true? Of course not. Even though you have no way of verifying the details, the fact that I provided things like “it was a beautiful day” and “I could see them shifting uncomfortably” lends credibility to my story.
So the next time someone is questioning your knowledge – provide them with details.
image provided by NASA database
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