1) In depth and broad knowledge about a subject matter
2) Ability to articulate what you know to others in an understandable way
3) The willingness to share what you know with others

Nothing too surprising there, but the interesting part is the importance of each aspect. It is in the REVERSE of the order I listed here. If you never share what you know then it makes no difference how much you know. The more people you share what you know with, the more people who will consider you a guru.

For example if you only show your cat your mad programming skills then you won’t go very far in being considered a guru, but if you start participating in books, blogs, articles, speaking at conferences, as an expert for news interviews, and in podcasts, then pretty soon you are perceived as an expert even if you know less then the guy who only talks to his cat.

One thing that is often missed though is that the teacher always learns the most about the subject they are teaching. So if you are making the effort to share what you know then it improves your knowledge.

This in no way should diminish you or anyone else who is speaking at DelphiLive! or otherwise considered a Guru at Large. I am certainly proof of rule.

And not to scare you, but the flip side of this is that the more of a recognized guru you become the more people you will find that disagree with you and think you are wrong. Often times they may even be right. I’ve always heard that if you are not making at least a few people mad you are not doing it right.

Good luck at DelphiLive! I look forward to your session.