Its every audiences nightmare. The scheduled speaker is disabled perhaps by birth, or accident, or violence. Will they wow us with their abilities and inspiring stories, or will they bring out the violin and expect us to be sympathetic even when they bore us to death?

For the record, I am a disabled speaker. Ironically, being disabled can help open doors in the speaking industry. People enjoy stories of triumph under dire circumstances and impossible odds. The general public wants to be reminded of how good their own life is, and to be thankful they have their vision, hearing, mobility, etc. Facts are facts and it is simply Karmic justice that our disadvantages work for us in this way.

Are we living up to our responsibilities? Are professional? Do we let our disability trump our message? Do we work at our craft? Do we let ourselves become a one-trick pony? We all know speakers, disabled or not, that fall into these categories. But as a group, I believe we have a responsibility not just to our selves and our audiences, but to EACH OTHER. We must not create and perpetuate our own stereotype.

5 Ways to Be a Great Disabled Speaker:

1. Learn to speak well. We have no more right to sound inept than anybody else. If anything, speaking poorly will cause people to wonder just how far our handicap goes.
If you have the time, join Toastmasters. If you need to be great NOW, hire a coach.
2. Have a well-rounded message. Discuss your disability within the context of something greater than yourself. Example: Cant walk? Develop a Creative Solutions to Everyday Challenges keynote which allows you to use your experience as an illustration, instead of a centerpiece.
3. Give the audience more than expected. If youve filled the room based on the tragic circumstances of your situation, give the audience a message they can take further than the dinner table that night. What did you know before that helped you cope, or what lessons have you learned since?
4. Dont play the anger card. Unless you are heading up a political rally, people dont want to hear about our anger, unless you can tell them how youve dealt with it.
5. Dont play the sympathy card. Its so easy to do, without even trying. We dont want their sympathy anyway, do we? We want respect, for ourselves, and our messages.

Speech Killer Alert!

If you have a disability thats obvious to the audience, dont ignore it. You may be speaking on a completely different topic, and thinking theres no reason to bring it up. But if the audience can see it, its already brought up. If theyre spending their energy wondering whats wrong with you, then you and your message is being ignored. Try one of these two approaches for a quick fix: 1. Bring it up creatively in your introduction before you ever get up to speak, or 2. Toss in a deft self-deprecating remark in your opening. The audience will relax, and listen to you instead of your handicap.

Unprofessional Disabled Speakers are everywhere. Unprofessional Fully-Abled Speakers are everywhere as well but they dont face categorization. I have yet to here anyone complain about bad redhead speakers. We have a responsibility to ourselves, and to each other, to be the best speakers in the industry. To speak from our hearts, not our hardships. To bring to our audience what we bring to our lives everyday the transcendence from disability to distinction.