Saying sorry
Do you ever find yourself saying sorry, when things take you a little longer to do, or the access isn't right and you need to sort it out?
A little 'sorry' pops out - like a little Gremlin.
Why do we do this? Our access is not the problem, society is, but we still apologise for being disabled sometimes. Maybe because we often get left out, we think that people don't like us?
We need to stop thinking this way, to stop saying sorry for doing things differently.
Putting ourselves out there
When we stand up and talk about ourselves and our ideas, how do we make people really listen?
It doesn't matter if its a big or small meeting, how do we get people to remember us?
Can you remember a time when you felt really listened to? What did you do that was different in this situation?
More importantly, how do we earn people's respect and get them to act on our ideas?
You can be a soft performer
Now some of you might feel a little bit sick when you think about standing up in front of people, but if we want to lead, we have to do this, because performing is what leaders have to do sometimes.
Performance doesn’t have to be a big loud thing! It can be soft too and get a good result.
Gandhi was a soft leader with a strong set of ideas.
Take a look at this very old clip on You Tube and see how he works his leadership magic with his quiet voice.
What bit of yourself ....?
So what bit of yourself do you share at any one time? What bit of your life story?
As Jean Tomlin - a Director for 2012 - the Olympic and Paralympic Games - once said: I get people to follow my ideas by being me.
She then goes on to say she adds extra bits from her life story that fit the meeting and make the people in the room, warm to her.
How does this work?
Well if you were going to give a talk in a museum, you might talk about the first time you went to a museum as a small child and what it meant to you.
Being cool about the access you need
How about feeling proud about your access needs. After all, they are part of you.
So what, if you need time to get into a room or plug in your hearing aid or if it takes you a little bit longer to read something - it doesn't matter. Everyone is different.
Sarah Pickthall, Sync Coaching
