Candid Conversations: Vivien Mangalindan
Candid Conversations

Stay Away From Fake ‘Experts’

Oct 28, 2022, 3:47 AM
Vivien Mangalindan

Vivien Mangalindan

Columnist

Have you ever been impressed by a fake ‘expert’? You know, the one who seems to know it all during his lecture? And then, the Open Forum starts, you sense that something is not right? At that point, your instinct screams in your head: fake, fake, fake!

ON THE SPOT

Would you want to know how to spot a fake ‘expert’?

1. Ask for personal insights and opinions.

2. Request for actual cases he has handled regarding the subject he discussed.

3. Tell him your problem and ask for quick tips based on his ‘expertise.’

Do these scenes look familiar? I have witnessed these when the fake ‘expert’ is put on the spot.

– He suddenly ‘remembers’ he has an appointment and quickly exits from the scene.

– He has to finish ‘tons of pending work.’ Meaning: goodbye.

– He suddenly disappears from an online event because ‘his laptop battery died.’

TACTICS AND DIRTY TRICKS

Watch out! Here are some tactics and dirty tricks the fake ‘expert’ resorts to when he has to save himself from a sticky situation. Example: When he is compelled to stay because he is the assigned ‘expert’, he goes into Deflection mode.

* deflect: ‘cause (someone) to deviate from an intended purpose’

In plain language: he uses smokescreen tactics.

* smokescreen: ’something that you do or say to hide something or to take attention away from something’

A practitioner in the ‘art’ of deflection, he gets himself out of the hot seat by asking the audience impromptu questions.

– Has this ever happened to any of you?

– What did you do to address the situation?

– Who can share insights and give some advice?

What’s worse is that when he picks up a brilliant idea from the audience, he quickly goes into lecture mode - as if it was his idea from the start. Fake, fake, fake!

TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

Online search makes it so easy to become an instant but fake ‘expert.’ However, we must remember (attributed to Abraham Lincoln):

– You can fool some of the people all the time.

– You can fool all the people some of the time.

– But you can't fool all the people all the time.

vivienshowandtell@gmail.com


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