Excerpt from HBR - How Consultants Project Expertise and Learn at the Same Time

My take from the article - https://hbr.org/2018/07/how-consultants-project-expertise-and-learn-at-the-same-time

Consultants might not always have the in-depth knowledge of the business where they are consulting, but they still have to show their competence and learn their client’s business (discretely) to show their results for their worth. This is the learning-credibility tension

Threats –> Tactics

1. Competence Threat –> Craft Relevance
2. Acceptance Threat –> Craft Resonance
3. Productivity Threat –> Craft Substance

Crafting Relevance: Having max impact in min time by leveraging all bits of information available and build a high-level view of client’s situation. Bring these up during conversations with the client, pointing to their own contribution, and encourage the client to share more.

Crafting Resonance: Identify what resonates with the client by observing their non-verbal cues and amplify them to gain acceptance.

Crafting Substance: Articulate ideas (issues/solutions) with figures, images, and text. Providing activity proofs - timesheets and workload schedules, gives impression of control and professionalism.