Where are disability leaders in the media?

How often do we see people with disabilities in the media? Rarely.

How often do we see people with disabilities in the media as an expert talking about something that isn’t their disability? Almost never.

This is just one area of absence for disability leadership but it’s a key one. The lack of media visibility for disability leaders reinforces the public perception that we aren’t experts, and that we have no interests outside our own disability.

Yet as disability leaders we know that we have many interests, and areas of professional and personal expertise. While it will take substantial culture shift to address the assumption that we have no other interests this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be prepared to talk to the media when an opportunity arises.

Talking to media is simply a skill that can be learned, like any other. Like any skill it takes time and practice and a bit of commitment, but it’s not rocket science. Of course, you don’t have to do it, but it can be very useful to know how to get your message across when needed.

One day 20 per cent of experts in the media will be people with disabilities. Across all fields and programs. It won’t be unusual to see someone with disability talking about their latest academic study, or representing a global corporation. Our personal stories won’t be demanded by journalists because they think we have nothing else to talk about and it’s the most interesting thing about us. We will be seen as opinion setters, experts, valuable analysts.

In today’s social media world our ability to jump in and share our opinion is vital, otherwise we will remain invisible. Once we do that we start to build our profiles as experts and opinion setters, but what happens after that? Are you ready to speak publicly?

The next DLI webinar is a skill building one to assist you to be confident in Talking to Media. The webinar includes some basic skills, and tips and tricks to hone your message and get it across. No previous experience is required; we all have to start somewhere. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your field is, if you hate talking publicly or have a communication barrier, or whether you do media a lot or rarely, being prepared to speak about your opinion or your work is important. Join us on 30 June.