28. Are You an Imposter?

 

“Everyone who got where they are had to begin where they were.” – Richard Paul Evans, American author best known for writing The Christmas Box

 

As a speaker, you may often experience imposter syndrome, a psychological phenomenon in which you doubt your abilities and fear being exposed as a fraud despite evidence of your competence. 

In this episode, we will examine three key reasons why you may feel like an imposter and what you can do to overcome these feelings, supported by references (at the end of this article) from psychological research and communication studies.

References

• Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117-140.
• Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.
• Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121.
• Swann, W. B. (1983). Self-verification: Bringing social reality into harmony with the self. Psychological Perspectives on the Self, 2, 33-66.