There's something I really enjoy about running education programmes in schools - Showcases.
This typically happens at the end of Elective Modules (where students get to pick a topic they’re interested in that the school has invited trainers to come in and train on).
Examples of Elective Modules (EMs) have included aeronautical engineering, automotive engineering, coding and programming, fashion design, barista skills, health science and healthcare, life sciences, and so on.
There are a few schools that seem rather opposed to the idea of Showcases for some reason, but I’ve always found them to be one of the most valuable parts of running an education programme.
What better way to learn than to teach someone else what you’ve learned?
Of course, due to pandemic, Showcases are pretty scaled down now. At most, they are restricted to their individual rooms, and only the teachers and other school leaders go from room to room.
The experience is, undoubtedly, diminished, but I maintain that it's better to have a lesser experience than nothing at all.
Post Your Thoughts Without Pictures
Posting more regularly now, I find that one of my posting blocks has always been finding / making the pictures that are supposed to "enhance" my text.
It's such a waste of time.
I can't remember where I picked up this erroneous idea that, without graphics, nobody is going to read your post.
To demonstrate how pervasive this is, all you have is look at your own feed and count the number of boring stock photos being used that have little to nothing to do with the post.
Sure, quite a number of people are first attracted to interesting graphics, but if you're spending more time on finding or making an "attractive thumbnail" than what you're actually sharing / producing, you need to re-think your priorities.
And IF nobody reads your post because you didn't put up a graphic, it kind of shows what kind of audience you've been cultivating and contributing to.
Seriously, cut the graphics, unless you're actually talking about them or using them to make your point.
Words alone are fine.
P/S
If you're one of the rare few who also posts without pictures, I read your posts when I come across them.
How To Let Others Know What You're Good At
There are many ways to let others know that you're well-versed in a subject:
1) Show them your credentials and certifications.
Probably the default way here in sunny Singapore, this definitely works with the right crowd.
For example, you'd want to do this if you're presenting to a group of academics.
You might want to skip this if your audience comprises self-made business owners who didn't go through tertiary education.
2) Present your successful and not-so-successful case studies
This may or may not be in the form of a story.
Maybe it's the scientist in me, or maybe it's my information hoarding tendencies that say, "Just the facts, Ma'am," but, personally, I don't like presenters who tell a story for everything.
Certain things can just be a list on a slide, a chart, or a graph.
My point is, present your case studies in a way that makes sense to your audience. And switch up your methods as necessary.
This isn't one-size-fits-all.
3) Make your knowledge accessible
Any time someone asks for your opinion / advice, give it to them.
Build up an archive of what you know, and put it up where others can find it.
I started with a blog, then social platforms, and now I'm working towards podcasting and videos.
I didn't say to give it away for free, necessarily.
Charge for it if you want, but make it accessible.
Nobody will know what you know, if they don't know that you know what you know.
I'll stop now and give you a second to process that.
We Often Forget that Our Experiences are Valuable to Others
Your experience and expertise seem trivial to you because you've been living with and accumulating them steadily over a long time.
To someone who wants but doesn't have them, however, they seem impressive.
Think of a young child wondering how adults get so tall.
They may silently wish to grow taller, dismay (erroneously) at how they'll never get that tall, or loudly demand a shortcut (no pun intended) to attaining their desired height.
Short of a miracle, genetic mutation, or painful surgery, they, like you, have to accumulate growth a little at a time.
The good thing is, unlike height, your wisdom can be imparted easily and readily.
You just have to want to enough.