Why You Want to Learn From Experts

As we move into spring, there are a number of upcoming writers conferences.  I've been going to conferences for many years and I enjoy learning from different workshops. Yet from experience, I have learned the necessity to check out the credentials of the workshop leaders or speakers. What type of expertise do they have in the topic they are teaching?

There is an old saying in the public speaking arena, if you really want to learn a topic, you need to teach it. While  there is some level of truth in this saying (you learn a great deal as you prepare to  teach it),  there is also the necessity of having a certain level of expertise before you teach a topic.

For example, I often find people who have written one or two novels, will be leading a workshop on a particular aspect of writing fiction. These workshops are the ones I would avoid  because of the lack of qualifications of the instructor. Or in the area of social media, I often see people who call themselves "a social media expert" then I look at their twitter following and see they have less than 500 followers (almost beginners).  I want to learn from many different people, but I also want to learn from people who have exhibited their expertise in the area where they are teaching.

Here's how to check  out this expertise:

1. Read the background of the instructors and keynote speakers.

2. Use Google to search for their names and background

3. Make decisions ahead of the conference based on your research

From my years of attending workshops, I've walked out of a few workshops where the speaker has been unprepared or under qualified. Also I've grown to be more discerning of this issue when I sign up for an online course or take writing training from someone.

Are you discerning about who you learn from with your writing life? What are other qualifications that are important to you when you attend a workshop? Let me know in the comments below.

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Social Proof Is Required for Experts and Teachers

If you are an author or speaker or teacher or expert, are you backing up your expertise with social proof?

With a few key strokes on Google, anyone can check out the background and expertise of another person. Now admittedly not everything on the Internet is true (a fact you have to keep in mind) but each of us have access to the information. 

Last week I was teaching at a writers' conference. During a break, I checked out the bookstore and noticed one of the participants had written a book with tips about Twitter. As I flipped through the book, it had some good information. Then I wondered about the credentials of the author. With my smartphone, I found this author on Twitter and began to follow her. I noticed the number of her followers (less than 1,000). To “qualify” as a Twitter expert, I expected this author to be above average with at least several thousand followers. Next I checked out her page for this book on Amazon. This book had been out several years and had four reviews. To her credit, these reviews were Four and Five Star but they were few in number—not at least 25 reviews or hundreds of reviews for this book. I did not purchase the book at the conference because this author did not have the social proof to be writing on this topic.

While at the conference,  I taught a class on the business of writing and included information about some of my own social media techniques. In the weeks ahead, I will be teaching this workshop at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference as well as at Write To Publish. Anyone can follow me on Twitter or check out my books online. They will discover my social proof backs up my expertise for what I'm teaching.

Everyone has to begin their platform building and their presence in the marketplace some place. If you want my free ebook on Platform Building Ideas for Every Author, follow this link. For many years I've been encouraging authors to blog, write book reviews, get reviews for their own books and take an active role in social media. You have to be wise about the amount of time you spend on these endeavors because they can become a huge time suck. But it does not have to consume massive amounts of time. The key is consistent and focused effort.

My caution is to understand you need to build the background and expertise in an area before you jump in and publish a book or teach a class about it. If you are just beginning in a particular topic or area, one key method to build expertise is through the world of print magazines. If you don't know how to get started,  follow this link for a detailed article. In general, print has a higher standard of excellence than online publications. The articles are short and easy to create through interviewing others or your own background. As these articles appear in print, they will add to your own expertise in a topic and give you this required social proof to begin writing books or teaching workshops on the topic.  

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