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Ask Slashdot: How Do You To Tell Your Client That His "Expert" Is an Idiot?
Esther Schindler writes "It's a danger for any consultant, and for most inter-departmental internal project staff: To get the work done, you need to work with someone else who supplies expertise you lack. But when the 'expert' turns out to be the wrong person how do you tell the client (or boss) that you just can't work with that individual?"
it's been done before
Just read, Dealing with Dummies for Dummies...
Once when I was working as a contractor for an overseas company, the manager brought me in to listen to all the complaints of another developer, saying how bad my code is.
The other developer started out by saying, "Why do you use function pointers in C? Why not call the functions directly?"
At that point I looked confused and said, "That's how you do polymorphism in C, right?"
Then the manager laughed, and the other developer got frustrated and said, "but it's weird!!"
That pretty much ended the situation, although the other developer didn't talk to me for a while.
Point of the story is, when someone questions your competence, relax and use big words like polymorphism. I guess.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Oh, come on, you made this up.
Nobody on slashdot would believe such a load of.....
oh, wait, ah never mind.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
You get them both in a meeting, and when the "expert" presents an idea, you point your index finger at your temple and rotate it in a circle around your ear.
Rolling your eyes and bursting out laughing is also good.
When the expert starts his powerpoint presentation, sigh loudly, raise one butt cheek and give an audible fart. Look around the room and say "Is he serious?" in a stage whisper.
There, I think that's a good start.
You are welcome on my lawn.