You can have the best content, the prettiest deck, and an amazing delivery style, but if you have no platform, you have no audience. The entire concept of having a solid platform is about having a message that 1. Will be loved and adored by others but also 2. Will stand the test of time. You must have fans to help you embed your message and your legacy. But first, you need to flex your muscle and prove that you’re the expert. Here’s how to hit the gym.
According to author and entrepreneur, Tim Ferriss, anyone can become an expert in 4 weeks. That’s it. It’s completely doable if you are willing to put forth the effort. Here are a few tips Tim suggests to accomplish this level of authority:
Join 2-3 Trade Related Organizations with Official Sounding Names
The main idea here is to associate yourself with the right industry labels. If you want a certain distinction, go seek the title. For instance, if you just created a business, apply to be an LLC. Within a few days, you now have XYZ Company, LLC which makes you look a lot more credible.
Read 3 Top-Selling Books in Your Space
Tim says that if you read this type of material, you will know about 80% more than the standard person in that industry. I can attest to this fact as well. When I first started Ethos3 a decade ago, I consumed every book on presentations I could get my hands on.
Write a Guest Post
What you want to do here is piggy back off the success of others. That sounds bad, but it’s the truth. If Johnny has 100,000 blog subscribers, then offer to write a guest post for him for free and then your content will be seen by 100,000 folks.
All of the above simply requires some proactiveness on your part. If you start acting as the expert, people will soon start thinking of you as a thought leader.
Note: This is a modified excerpt from my book, What’s Your Presentation Persona?
