(1-minute read)

Becoming an expert in something is incredibly simple!

Not easy. Just simple.

I talk about this particular situation a lot in my talks and workshops. A conversation I had with a designer I respect and admire a lot, that ended up with that <homer>DOH!</homer> moment.

Dropping wisdom over coffee

This guy had a lot of experience in speaking and doing workshops and was one of the top designers I knew, and I was fortunate enough that he was from the same town as me. We've met in person at a random tweetup before - and I invited him for a coffee to ask for advice. Because my talk has just been picked for a significant local conference - and I will be speaking in front of 400 people about my work for the first time in my life.

I gave talks before at a few local meetups. Because of my years of stage experience in stand up comedy, my problem was not "stage fright". I was actually grappling with a bad case of imposter syndrome. I would be grateful for any advice to turn this into an excellent experience for the audience as well as myself.

"What are you afraid of?" - he asked.

There will be some incredible people in the audience, you included, and X Y and Z will be there too. You all know so much more about this than me.

"So what? The audience doesn't know that. You are there to deliver a talk to people who want to learn more, and just because few of us know that, doesn't mean that other 400 people do. You are there to teach them. Not me."

Ok, that's true.

But, I'd like to be an expert in UX like you. How do I do that?

"If you want to be an expert on some subject, all you have to do is read about one meter of books with that topic. One physical meter of books."

And!?

"And that's it. Then you go out there and start doing."

And I'll be like you? Just like that?

"No. You'll never be 'like me' - but you can be the best version of you. As far as I know, there's no Freelance-Designer-Stand-Up-Comedian out there. Doing talks and workshops. Helping people."

No... I guess not...

"So, go, do that!"

So, I did. Still learning as I go.

And here we are.

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Cheers!

T.

Tom Kozacinski, sir Freelance-a-lot