Outsmarting Fears about Your "Inferior" Expertise

Suppose you're thinking about a personal branding strategy of speaking to groups or writing to showcase your expertise more broadly. Yet you haven't done anything about implementing the strategy because you're concerned about whether your expertise stands up well against all the other speakers and writers out there. So you do nothing.

That's a shame.

Want to get around your self-imposed expertise hurdle?

Tell your own version of your story, with your own perspectives.

When you tell somebody else's story (i.e., by reading even compelling news stories or case studies and regurgitating them), you always run the risk of someone else challenging your expertise based on your third-hand knowledge of a situation. That's not a bad thing, but if your fear of those kinds of challenges stops you from pursuing your personal branding strategy, then it's tragic.

Instead of telling someone else's story, look at your own experience, expertise, and perspectives, and speak or write about them from your personal point of view:

• Don't tell Apple stories. Tell about innovative leaders you've worked with in your career.
• Don't talk about Seth Godin's latest book. Talk about how you've seen the book's concept hold up (or better yet, not hold up) in business situations you've encountered.
• Don't quote Peter Drucker. Quote the smartest business people who have mentored you; people whose compelling stories and incredible knowledge have perhaps never been broadly shared.

All of a sudden your concerns about someone else being an expert go away since no one can be a more credible expert on your own experiences than you are. Now you're the expert. So get started implementing your personal branding strategy and sharing your version of your own story. - Mike Brown

If you’d like to add an interactive, educationally-stimulating presentation on strategy, innovation, branding, social media or a variety of other topics to your event, Mike Brown is the answer. Email us at mikeb@brainzooming.com or call 816-509-5320 to learn how Mike can get your audience members Brainzooming!