Inclusion in the speaking industry: why it matters and what we can do to foster more of it

For those who care to live in a more equitable world, inclusion of every individual is an essential aspect. And inclusion is just as crucial when it comes to the speaking industry. There, I said it.
Empowering everyone in your audience to share their own perspectives and allowing them to bring their own, unique experiences to the conversations you create in your presentations, workshops, and events is incredibly important.

It ensures that, as a team, as a group, as an audience, and dare I say, as a society, we keep challenging our self-imposed limits, and push the boundaries of our collective critical thinking. It’s a great way to consistently spark new and innovative ideas, that hen keep propelling us forward. But it’s more than being an advocate for inclusion for the sake of our audience members. It’s also about keeping inclusion in mind when it comes to a diverse representation of thoughts and ideas coming from other thought-leaders at events. Namely, the speakers themselves.

A while ago, I stopped speaking at events that were almost exclusively showcasing speakers who were male and white. I figured that there were already enough people who looked like me on stages all over North America, and the world didn’t really need to hear about yet another opinionated, cisgendered, bearded white dude in his early fifties. More than a few times, I instead suggested that the event planners reach out to speakers I knew from underrepresented groups that could also do a fantastic job, but would provide their events with various, unexpected perspectives that would be much needed. Women, people of colour, people who identify as non-binary, people with disabilities, etc.

If, like me, you’re entering this phase of your professional journey where mentoring is becoming a thing, do yourself a favour, and make it a point to ensure that the people you take under your wing don’t all look, think, speak, and act like you. Consider opening doors for people who are marginalized, underrepresented, disabled. Be open. Be curious. Be bold.

Make room for a more diverse representation of individuals. It can only bring more opportunities to develop powerful relationships that will help you grow even further. I guarantee you won’t regret it.

Changing the world, one conversation at a time

Speaking of disabilities, my personal and professional experiences of the past 20 some years attending live, virtual on in-person events, conferences, and meetings have provided me with wonderful opportunities to meet with hundreds of audience members, speakers, and trainers who self-identified as having disabilities. People who were typically underrepresented and made to feel left out of our conversations. Not out of malice, but simply out of ignorance.

These opportunities to discuss with individuals, a lot of whom became friends over time, have shown me, time and time again, that acknowledging and welcoming individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences allows for a broader range of perspectives. But that’s not all, as it also helps to create a more empathetic and understanding environment, where all individuals have an equal chance to thrive, contribute, and share valuable ideas and experiences, so that others can also benefit from theirs.

Throughout my interactions with these folks, I’ve come to understand the immense value that comes from embracing inclusion. Not just in the speaking industry, but also in the digital space, and in the world as a whole. I’ve discovered that by welcoming underrepresented voices in all facets of the conversations that are already taking place, speaking professionals and event planners alike get to play a fantastic role in breaking down stereotypes, promoting understanding and empathy for all, and in their own way, changing the world for the better.

As it turns out, this is especially important in fields such as technology and business, where any leader will tell you that fresh perspectives are the primary drivers of innovation, progress and change. So in this blog post, I’d like to highlight a few reasons why I believe disability inclusion is crucial for the future of the speaking industry. How we, as speaking professionals, might truly promote broader inclusion through the lens of disability, and what you might want to do about it yourself, at your level.

We still have a long way to go

Unfortunately, the speaking industry isn’t always as inclusive of marginalized and underrepresented groups as it should, or as it believes itself to be. This is on all of us as event planners and speaking professionals, because when we fail to design an inclusive environment, when we fail to use inclusive language when addressing a diverse audience, when we fail to communicate inclusively, when we fail to leverage various tips, tricks, and techniques that ensure everyone feels recognized and cared for, we contribute to the problem.

Dare to ask around in the audiences you typically talk to, and you’ll see. Many individuals from marginalized communities still regularly face barriers, stigma, and discrimination, trying to find their place a world that fails to recognize their needs, preferences, and expectations. Speaking professionals in general, and marketing experts in particular, when they’re too focused on one-size-fits-all delivery mechanisms that only truly resonate with a portion of their audience, have a significant influence on a narrative that levels down what’s possible.

Uneducated and misinformed approaches contribute to reinforcing a dominant or mainstream way of thinking that dismisses the extremes of the human experiences, ultimately narrowing our range of perspectives, and impoverishing our collective psyches. After all, research has found that a lack of inclusion and representation also contributes to feelings of isolation and alienation for those who are excluded. In the long term, this has a detrimental effect on mental health and well-being, and leads to a society that is more divisive and less empathetic.

The math is pretty simple, really. When we, as speaking professionals, only acknowledge those who look, think, speak, and act like us, then we only recognize the human experiences of a limited subset of society. This inevitably weakens our understanding of how diverse the world around us really is. And when the majority of those who get to speak into the microphone belong to a privileged, dominant group, then it perpetuates the cycle of exclusion for anyone who doesn’t share the same attributes as the majority.

On the other hand, speaking professionals who welcome people from different backgrounds, embrace members of underrepresented groups, acknowledge audience members who have disabilities, and recognize other marginalized segments of society collectively build and gain a more complete understanding of the issues we face as a whole. They enable broader, more diverse conversations. They make it possible for us to keep moving forward as a diverse, equitable, and inclusive whole.

The downward spiral of exclusion

Purposeful disability inclusion, when done right, automatically allows for a broader range of perspectives from audience members and speaking professionals alike. This diversity of ideas and thoughts inevitably contributes to fostering a more empathetic, accommodating, respectful, and understanding environment for all. That’s just a fact. Through the lens of disability inclusion, we get to break down lasting stereotypes and unconscious biases, so those among us for whom exclusion and stigma are default outcomes finally get to experience something else.

By welcoming underrepresented voices in our conversations, by making room for those who are usually left out, we push back on the status quo, we challenge our collective thinking, and we spark new and innovative ideas. And this is particularly important in fields such as technology and business, where fresh perspectives drive economic progress and societal changes that benefit all of us.

But despite the numerous benefits that disability inclusion brings to the speaking industry, it is usually overlooked, and certainly not prioritized. While the vast majority of speaking professionals and event planners would describe themselves to be very inclusive, it doesn’t take much observation to notice that the reality of their words and actions sadly shows otherwise.

This bias has serious consequences, not just for the marginalized and underrepresented audience members who are left behind as a result, but for society as a whole, since exclusion denies all of us from the valuable experiences, perspectives, and ideas of those who don’t get to take part in our conversations, or might never even consider that they could have participated, if only the setting had been different.

Not welcoming marginalized groups in our conversations leads to a lack of representation and visibility in important fields where crucial decisions are being made. Fields like technology, business, health, and politics come to mind. The lack or representation makes it even harder for individuals from underrepresented groups to view themselves succeeding in those areas, and achieving their full potential. Furthermore, when the voices of underrepresented groups are not recognized, it narrows and limits the understanding of the issues that we face as a society, making it that much more difficult to find effective solutions that also work for the less privileged.

All of this creates a vicious circle of products, services, solutions, and messages that are designed to be exclusionary by default, because the very ingredients that would allow us to design more inclusive products, services, solutions, and messages are the ones we leave out in the first place, dragging us down instead of lifting us up, and perpetuating harmful stereotypes and discrimination.

What we can do about it

Speaking professionals, perhaps more than any other group of professionals out there, have a responsibility to actively work towards inclusion in the way they convey their messages, and the way they carry themselves in the world. Act as role models if you will. This means becoming painfully aware of our their own unconscious biases. It means taking constant steps to challenge these biases. It means making room for, as well as seeking out and amplifying, underrepresented voices every chance we get. It also means supporting organizations and initiatives that work to promote diversity and inclusion in the speaking world, because those are way too few and far between.

There’s no doubt in my mind that by making inclusion a priority, we all can help create a more compassionate, understanding, and equitable society. I like to think that a lot of this needs to happen through modelling good behaviour, and who else, besides speaking professionals, are in a perfect position to do that?

So how do we go about doing this? Here are a few practical steps that speaking professionals like yourselves can take to get started, promoting (disability) inclusion.

• Learning to utilize inclusive language as a default: Utilizing inclusive language is such an important aspect of promoting inclusion. Your actions might speak loudly, but sometimes, the words you use speak much louder! Educate yourself on topics such as disability and ableism. It’s crucial to be mindful of the language we use when speaking to marginalized groups, and to avoid language that may be insensitive, exclusionary, or flat-out offensive. Learn to unlearn some of the language you use that you don’t even realize is offensive.
• Seeking broader speaker diversity: Diversifying your panel of speakers as an event planner is a very powerful way to invite new perspectives and insights to the table (or the event), and it’s another key aspect of promoting more inclusion. By inviting and welcoming a more diverse range of voices to your events, by recommending speakers that are not part of the dominant culture, and by modelling behaviour through the offering of proper accommodations, you can challenge stereotypes, and promote broader empathy and understanding.
• Partnering with inclusive organizations: Partnering with organizations that unabashedly promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is another way to promote inclusion through the influence of the speaking industry. A culture shift when it comes to DEI can radically transform the face of your event, speaking to your event’s commitment towards inclusion. In this case, actions do speak louder than words. Look for key players to invite in as sponsors. Diversify the landscape of your typical speakers and experts, so there’s a broader range of perspectives.
• Emphasizing the importance of inclusion: Finally, it’s also important for the speaking industry to emphasize the importance of inclusion. As a speaking professional, as an event planner, you need to make a stand for what you feel is important, what is non-negotiable. By sharing your views on the subject, by promoting the benefits of inclusion, and by applying inclusive communication techniques in the delivery of your materials, you can encourage others to make it a priority as well.

To me, a commitment to inclusion in the speaking industry is crucial for promoting empathy and understanding, breaking down stereotypes, and fostering more diverse and equitable environments where everyone, regardless of their abilities or lack thereof, can fully participate and realize their full potential. As speaking professionals, it’s our responsibility to actively work towards greater inclusion in all aspects of our work. This includes not only the content of our speeches, but also the way we create and promote our events, and the way we interact with our audience.

By doing so, we can create a more inclusive and empathetic society, and also contribute to a more sustainable and profitable future for ourselves and our organizations.