Insecure people need an audience. Secure people are fine being underestimated at the table.

Needing to be seen as capable is different from being capable, and the two often pull in opposite directions. When you are unsure of your footing, being underestimated feels unbearable and you spend energy correcting the record. When you are settled, someone’s low estimate is just a thing they are wrong about, and letting them stay wrong is free.

Next time you feel the urge to establish yourself in a room, hold it for one conversation. Answer what you are asked, add no credentials, let the impression be whatever it is. See whether the discomfort is about the room or about something older than the room.