What Makes Someone an Expert?

The Blog Herald, a blog and blogging related online news site, ran an interesting story about what qualifies someone to be an “expert.”

Lorelle VanFossen, the author of the article, asked:

We all run across bloggers claiming to be experts in their subject, or other bloggers writing about these people and calling them “experts”. What makes them an expert? What do you consider an expert? What are the characteristics that make a person qualified to be called an expert?

Anyone can start a blog today. They can make up all kinds of expertise and powerful sounding resumes and descriptions for their “expertise”. They can come up with highfalutin titles and synonyms for “expert” like “master” and “leader”.

How do you know if they are telling the truth? Where is the proof of their expertise?

I left a really long comment to chime in and I thought I’d share it here with our loyal visitors and readers:

Presently, I’m employed as a Behavior Specialist for a school system. I can definitely relate to the things mentioned by Lorelle VanFossen, Jim Kukral, and Chris Baskind. When I first started my job I had no background as a “Behavior Specialist” other than my Master’s in Psychology with some experience doing mental health counseling. I had never worked in a school environment before. This I made very clear to the recruiter. When I started my job there was, naturally, a lot of pressure that came with “living up to my title” because after all, I am a “specialist.” So what I did was to collaborate with others who were more experienced than me but who were in related areas like “counseling.” While doing this, I read as much as I could online and through books and was fortunate enough to attend a conference (which really helped me).

As Jim Kukral said, “…being an expert, is…knowing more than someone else, period. It has nothing to do with time learning it.” I started to understand that people were turning to me and counting on me to solve behavior problems in their classrooms and in their schools. After studying up on behavior management and issues, I realized that I did know a bit more than many others in my school system. This was validating and yet frightening at the same time.

And as Chris Baskind mentioned, “…you wanna be a White House Correspondent? Act like one.” So I started to be the behavior specialist that came next to my name. I always tried to keep myself in check by “partnering up” with people instead of coming across as demeaning or condescending because no one liked to be talked down to.

Lo behold, “The rest of the “expert” secret sauce is in the quality of your observations and how well you express them.” (Chris Baskind)

People soon came to respect my ideas, tips, and strategies which always came with my famous disclaimer “I didn’t create this stuff, I just found them and put them together for you. I’m a good synthesizer of information.” In other words, I’m good at taking bits of information and making them coherent or “make sense.”

So to sum up my VERY long comment, I think it does take all 3 points to be an expert (at least in the professional/academic world, which might carry over into the blogosphere too).

(1) “I think some amount of time spent apprenticing and learning, as well as doing, should be part of the qualification (to become an expert).” (Lorelle VanFossen)

(2) “[B]eing an expert, is defined as knowing more than someone else, period.” (Jim Kukral) Here, I would say that with experience also comes the “wisdom” that you can’t learn overnight. So I would balance the someone being an instant expert and temper that with Lorelle’s “apprenticing, learning, as well as doing” advice.

(3) “[Y]ou wanna be a White House Correspondent? Act like one…the “expert” secret sauce is in the quality of your observations and how well you express them.” (Chris Baskind)

I think the point is also that no matter how much of an “expert” a person is or claims to be, there is ALWAYS something MORE he/she can learn.

So let me now turn around and ask the readers:

“What Makes Someone an Expert? What are the characteristics that make a person qualified to be called an expert?”