There are a lot of self-proclaimed experts out there but it doesn’t take much to spot the posers. Spend a few minutes on Linkedin or Google your expertise and read a few blogs. The more information there is on your chosen subject, the less chance you have to distinguish yourself. This is where most would-be experts fail: they try to talk about things that too many people already know about. There is always someone that knows more or more importantly, has more credibility than you.

The secret to being an expert is to claim a space that no one else can.

I worked with a client that earnestly wanted to distinguish itself as an expert at corporate meetings. You know the events I am talking about: boring ballroom gatherings that go on in every hotel and convention center every day. Their reasoning is that there is so much of this business that their marketing campaign would have broad appeal and lead to more business. It didn’t. I helped them retool their brand position and we made them the expert at outdoor event safety.

What is the benefit of being an expert on a very narrow subject? It’s simple. If you are the undisputed expert on “Lens technology for 4K projection,” then you are also going to get credit for being smart about all the things that come before this specialization. In the meantime, you only have to reinforce your expert position, which you can do by not talking about it.

Wait what?

Yep, once you have claimed your spot and have an indubitable title of expert – you get to talk about related topics with authority. Here’s how it works:

Meet Bob. Bob is regarded as the foremost expert on pre-show audience engagement. Here’s what Bob has to say about the use of LED displays in corporate events:

“When we studied the effects of visual and auditory stimuli in the last few minutes before an event begins, we discovered that…”

Don’t you want to know what Bob discovered? Yes, we all do.