Confidence is Key

Being a successful expert is half about knowing the material you're supposed to be an expert at and half about coming off as an expert. Every expert has moments where he doesn't know the material, but that doesn't make him any less of an expert.

The above lesson is a paraphrased version of two pieces of advice I received today. It's also a very difficult lesson for me to learn. There are definitely times when I'm certain I know my material and can easily answer any questions asked. I don't complain about those.

But I stumble when I'm not confident enough about the extent of my knowledge on a particular subject matter. This could mean anything, from something I barely glanced at to something I extensively researched. When I'm not confident, it's much more difficult for me to sound like an expert. And when I hear myself faltering, I can't help but stumble and stammer after every question asked. It becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. The expectation that I will come off as a fool actually causes me to eventually come off as a fool.

The solution, logically, is to convince myself that I'm actually quite knowledgeable and will do fine in the spotlight. Of course this is always easier said than done. How often do people try and fail at convincing themselves of certain opinions? And then there's also the danger of succeeding too much and ending up with narcissism. I don't think narcissism is a problem for me, but that could also be the pride talking.

Yet I know it's possible to complete. I know this because I'm often the subject of my own psychological experiments. I have already tried to convince myself of several things, and in each case, by pretending to be something I thought I wasn't, I ended up being just what I wanted to be. For example, I used to believe I couldn't tell stories. But after telling myself to pretend to be a good story teller and fool the crowd into thinking I can actually tell stories, I ended up as a better storyteller than when I first started. The pretending actually made me better at something I wanted to improve.

At least there's still hope yet. I have plenty of time to pretend as if I'm good at something. I'll talk with a more authoritative voice. I won't shy away from eye contact. And from all this pretending, I'm hoping I'll actually turn into an expert, or at least fulfill the appearance half of coming off as an expert.

Voila! I turn crap into prettier crap.

No one will ever say a New Yorker has no ability turning garbage into art.



NYC filled Times Square with lawn chairs. A whole bunch of fatasses broke said lawn chairs. Pioneering artist ties lawn chairs together with cable ties and calls it art.

Amazing.