%% date:: [[2023-01-04]] Parent:: [[Thought Leadership Content]], [[Content Creation]] Sibling:: [[Impostor Syndrome]] %% # [[Establishing credibility]] It can be daunting to think of establishing credibility, but you'll probably need to at some point if you want to create [[Thought Leadership Content]]. ## Techniques for establishing credibility ### [[Prefer visible work]] The best way to establish credibility is to be able to show a public body of work and let people judge for themselves. This is a powerful reason to [[Learning in public|Learn in public]] and [[Working with the garage door up|work with the garage door up]]. Let your work speak for yourself. ### Use [[Shibboleths]] Shibboleths are little traditions, terms, or memes for the "in group", whatever that group includes for your use case. You can keep track of shibboleths and make sure to use them as a shorthand for your building trust in your experience. ### Use jargon It's not a good idea to use jargon in general writing because it can be alienating; however, in some cases, it can be a useful tool. Using words that are common in your industry is a subtle indicator that your content requires an intermediate or advanced reader, and improves the impression of your understanding of the topic. ### Don't spell everything out Don't fall into the trap of explaining foundational concepts; when writing thought leadership content, it's acceptable to assume knowledge of some things. ### Personal anecdotes Tell people what you've done and make it educational *and useful for them*. Don't fall into the trap of just tooting your own horn; instead, highlight the parts that they can actually do something about. ### Lack of polish It's counter-intuitive, but presenting something that is TOO polished may have the opposite effect: instead of conveying to people that you know what you're talking about, it may come across as ingenuine. This is why [[Many tech workers have purposely simple sites]].