Everything starts with story.

High impact disability ERG/Network leaders understand that change does not happen through policies and data alone. Change happens when people feel something. Stories have the power to influence culture, build empathy, challenge assumptions and move people to action in ways that facts and statistics cannot.

For many disability ERG/Network leaders, storytelling is already happening every day — in conversations with senior leaders, in awareness campaigns, in allyship discussions, and in the sharing of lived experience. Yet storytelling is also a leadership capability that can be developed intentionally and used strategically to increase influence and impact.

This masterclass will explore the ‘Power of Storytelling’ as a catalyst for change in the disability ERG movement. Participants will consider their role as storytellers in three important ways:

• Telling your own story with authenticity, confidence and purpose

• Telling other people’s stories responsibly and respectfully

• Telling the story of your ERG/Network — its impact, value and vision for change

We will touch on the neuroscience of storytelling and what happens in the listener’s brain when they hear a compelling story. Why are stories memorable? Why do they create emotional connection and empathy? And how can a story be crafted and delivered in a way that increases engagement, trust and influence?

Participants will be introduced to practical techniques for shaping stories that resonate with different audiences, from colleagues and allies to senior organisational leaders.

The session will also consider the role of humour and satire in disability storytelling. Humour can be a powerful tool for surfacing the realities of disabled people’s lived experiences, while gently challenging ableist tropes and assumptions in a way that feels human, engaging and non-accusatory. Used thoughtfully, humour can create connection, open up difficult conversations and make messages more accessible and memorable.

Whichever stories we choose to tell - personal, collective or organisational - storytelling requires intention, courage and care.

This month we invite disability ERG/Network leaders to reflect on:

• what stories are you already telling?

• what stories may still need to be heard and how your disability ERG/Network can create space for them?

• how can storytelling become part of your leadership practice and influence strategy?

Masterclass
At PurpleSpace, we know that disability ERG/Network leadership requires influence, emotional intelligence, strategic communication and the ability to create connection across an organisation.

During this one-hour, virtual masterclass, disability ERG/Network leaders will explore the leadership capability of storytelling and how it can be used to strengthen visibility, belonging and disability inclusion.

Participants will leave with:

• A clearer understanding of the role storytelling plays in leadership and culture change

• Practical techniques for crafting compelling and emotionally resonant stories

• Greater confidence in sharing lived experience appropriately and effectively

• Ideas for using humour and satire to challenge ableism constructively

• Prompts and reflections to support future storytelling practice within their ERG/Network

In September, we have two Masterclasses to choose from to help you develop your leadership capability in storytelling for your ERG/Network:

Wednesday 9 September, 16:00 - 17:00 BST

Wednesday 16 September, 10:00 - 11:00 BST

PurpleSpace members will receive calendar invitations to these events. If you haven’t received an invitation and would like to attend, please contact us at learning@purplespace.org   

Kate Nash OBE is a writer, founder of PurpleSpace, storyteller and optimist.

In 2014 she published Secrets & Big News: the research was the first to examine the ‘disclosure’ or ‘declaration’ of disability at work. Involving 2,500 disabled employees across 55 employers it led to the demand for a worldwide community (PurpleSpace) of best practice in Networkology leadership.

Her second book Positively Purple, was published by Kogan Page in 2023 which won Business Book of the Year 2023 (DEI) and was finalist in the social/political category of the Indie Excellence Awards 2023.

In 2024 she transferred ownership of PurpleSpace to Scope and began evidence-based research for a series of books about how to build inner confidence at work. The next two planned books are 52 Habits To Get On At Work and Disability and Leadership: The Unexpected Advantage.

She hosts the Confident Conversation Podcast Series for PurpleSpace interviewing CEO/C-Suite leaders with lived experience of disability.

She is a member of the London Stock Exchange Group EDI Global Advisory Council.

In 2026 she was appointed to the UK Government Keep Britain Working Advisory Group.

In November 2026 she will deliver the first Alf Morris Memorial Annual Disability lecture at the University of Manchester.

She was awarded an OBE for services to disabled people in 2007.

She was named one of the Top 100 Influential People 2025, Awards Intelligence.

@KateNashOBE

kate@purplespace.org