This is the lesson most people in the disability sector need most and resist most. You have permission to talk, it’s time to get rid of that imposter syndrome and talk. As in actually putting your perspective out there and advocating for what you believe in. Not aggressive. Not self-aggrandising. Not performative (please not performative 🙏🏻). But saying what you believe and know to be true. 

The funny part is that professional branding doesn’t pay off overnight, it’s a long-term play. So people put out an opinion, get no response to it and take that as evidence that their perspective sucks. WRONG. 

Where the quietness comes from

People in the disability sector are often quiet about themselves for understandable reasons:

• The sector’s culture values humility and service over anything perceived as or adjacent to self-promotion.
• There’s a (sometimes justified) discomfort with centring yourself when the work is about others.
• Imposter syndrome runs rampant in a sector where lived experience and professional expertise often exist in tension.
• Fear of being wrong publicly in a field where mistakes affect vulnerable people and reputations matter.

All of these are real. None of them are good enough reasons to stay invisible. Moreover, the lines you are scared to cross are further away than you think. 

Reframing visibility

Every time you don’t share your expertise, someone with less knowledge and more confidence fills that space. Bad outcome.

Every conference where you stay quiet means someone else shapes the conversation or the conversation doesn’t happen at all. Bad outcome.

Every LinkedIn post you don’t write means the sector’s understanding of your area of expertise is shaped by someone else or remains misunderstood.

Visibility is not vanity. In a sector that needs better thinking, more honest conversation and stronger leadership, visibility is a professional responsibility.

What talking actually looks like

• Sharing your perspective even when it’s not fully polished. Perfect doesn’t exist.
• Speaking up in rooms where you feel like an imposter. Everyone feels that way.
• Publishing content regularly even when you’re not sure it’s good enough. Nobody thinks its good enough.
• Saying yes to speaking opportunities even when they scare you. They chose you for a reason.
• Introducing yourself clearly and confidently. Easy with some practice.
• Being findable when people are looking for someone with your expertise. Helping others.

The permission slip

You don’t need to wait until you’re more qualified, more experienced, more certain, or more ready. You’ll never feel that way. You’ll never wake up and go ‘todays the day, all my anxiety is gone!’. I’m a professional speaker and MC. I teach people how to present and I still feel like an imposter. I know some people with big names and they feel the same. You don’t overcome these feelings. You learn to ignore them. 

You are ready. Start now. I give you permission. 

Exercise

Identify one thing you’ve been holding back on, a LinkedIn post, a speaking submission, a pitch, a conversation – because you didn’t feel ready or worthy.