The Professional Speaking Association

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The PSA for anyone involved in the world of speaking professionally. The PSA is run by volunteers.

The Professional Speaking Association (PSA) was launched in January 1999 as a professional body for those engaged in speaking professionally with two fundamental goals:

to raise the standards of professional speaking;
to promote speaking as a professional industry. Ultimately we want speakers to Speak More and Speak Better

If you are someone who wishes to develop your professional speaking then you need to join the PSA. Your membership of the PSA brings you into contact with people who you can learn from, gives you the framework to develop your skills and also gives you access to an international community of those involved in professional speaking. Through seminars, publications, networking and mastermind groups, you will be able to make the most of your talent and expertise. For more details on the PSA and the various levels of membership please visit the membership page on our website.

01/11/2026

Drumroll please 🥁

Please join Alastair Greener and the Board of PSA UK & Ireland in celebrating the award winners announced at Speaking Business Summit 2026.

- The Presidents Award, Lynda Shaw
- The Spirit of Joy Award, Sue Evans
- The Fellows Award, Andy Lopata
- The Professional Speaker of Excellence Award, Phillip Khan-Panni
- The Founders Award, Phillip Khan-Panni
- Honorary Fellow, Alan Stevens
- Honorary Fellow, Roger Harrop
- Professional Speaker of the Year 2026, - Peter Bayley Hill (Peter the Speaker)

Congratulations to you all 🎉🎉🎉

We’ll be sharing more about each of them over the coming days.

15/10/2026

Tomorrow Alastair Greener as President of the PSA UK and Ireland will welcome members of the Professional Speaking Association to the Speaking Business Summit, in Oxford.

While a lot of members are gathering for pre-Summit events - Fellows Day, Professional Members meeting and the Professional Speaker of the Year award, the main Summit starts tomorrow.

It will be weekend of learning of how to connect with our audiences, our clients and each other. It's going to be a brilliant weekend of learnings, laughter, dancing, awards, hugs, fun, chats among like-minded people who speak for a living and who speak as part of their business.

Bring on the Connection.

08/10/2026

Meet Andy Lopata. He is our closing our Summit on Friday - Relational Intelligence in the Age of AI

AI is transforming the way we research, create, market and deliver our work. But while technology can increase efficiency and open new opportunities, it can never replace the trust, credibility and genuine human connection that underpin lasting success. This session explores how to strike the right balance between AI and HI (Human Interaction), ensuring technology enhances rather than erodes professional relationships. You’ll discover practical strategies for building deeper trust, creating stronger client relationships, encouraging referrals and collaboration, and developing the Relational Intelligence that will help you stand out and thrive in an increasingly AI-enabled world.

A little bit more about Andy - He was recently listed as one of the most influential executive coaches in the world in the prestigious Thinkers50 rankings and is recognised globally as a leading authority on professional relationships, trust and influence.

A PSA Hall of Fame speaker and Fellow of both the PSA and the Learning and Performance Institute, he is the author of six books, including ‘Connected Leadership’ and ‘The Financial Times Guide to Mentoring’. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review and through his regular column for Psychology Today.

Day tickets and Summit tickets are available at www.speakingbusinesssummit.com.

07/10/2026

Ask the Experts is an energetic session that is held every year during the Speaking Business Summit, this year on Saturday, 17th October, at Oxford Belfry, Oxford.

15 Experts do round table sessions - 15 minutes of wisdom sharing including Q&A. We have super line up this year....

- Alan Berg, CSP, FPSA, EBS, Global Speaking Fellow - Building your AI Alter-Ego - Leveraging your content

- Keka DasGupta - Want more corporate contracts beyond the stage? Here’s what those clients need (but won’t tell you)

- Paul Archer FPSA - How to make your talks and training more accessible
- Steve Head - The Secret? Plan Be!

- Neerja Singh HoF (Generational Diversity) - The GSF and Getting Speaking Gigs on International Stages

- Dominic Colenso - Can YouTube get you Booked?

- Julie Nottage BEng Hons - Commercial Confidence - Outsourcing Your Speaking Business: People, AI and What to Keep Yourself

- Mark Saxby - LinkedIn Thought Leadership: How to Become Worth Listening To

- Yvonne Emery - Last Minute Speaker dot Com

- Phil Ingle - Know Your Numbers To Build Your Speaking Business

- Valerie Jacqueline Ritchie - Remember Who You Are: The Connection That Comes First

- Steve Bustin - Should 'compere' be part of your speaker offering?

- Susan Heaton-Wright - Is TEDx Worth It? How to Make Your TEDx Work for Your Speaking Business

- Roger Harrop The CEO Expert - Widen Your Horizons & Enhance Your Life By Speaking Internationally

- Sam Warner - How to make your talks and training more accessible

What a line up of experts with really great topics. The only question now...is which one will you go to?

Day tickets and summit tickets are still available at the speakingbusinesssummit.com.

Look forward to seeing you next week.

06/10/2026

Introducing Natalie Plamonton Thomas. She's speaking on Friday, the 16th October with a talk 'Think Yourself® A Sales Pro: Connect. Follow Up. Sell.

Learn from CAPS 2026 National President the art of connecting with prospects in a way that builds trust and drives business. Discover follow-up systems, CRM strategies, automations, sales funnels, and mindset shift that Nathalie used to elevate her business to high-income-earner level. Turn conversations into paid speaking engagements and long-term clients.

A little bit more about Nathalie.....Nathalie is a Certified Speaking Professional CSP®, Recipient of the 2025 Top Executive Coach award, 2023 Most Empowering Confidence Coach in North America, 2024 Philanthropic Award and 2021 Canadian Presenter of the Year, Author of 19 books, including 13 international no.1 bestsellers.

Day and summit tickets are available at www.speakingbusinesssummit.com.

04/10/2026

Introducing Michael Kerr who closes the day section of the Speaking Business Summit. He will speak about 'Building Connections by Being Really, Ridiculously, Relevant'.

If you want to really connect with your audiences, Hall of Fame speaker Michael Kerr recommends leaning into his 3Rs of professional speaking: Be relentlessly Relevant, get Real, and don’t be afraid to sometimes be a little Ridiculous!

A bit more about Michael...Michael Kerr is a Canadian Hall of Fame speaker on workplace culture, leadership, and humor in the workplace. He is a past president of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and a proud member of the speaking community for 30 years. Michael’s books include, The Jerk-Free Workplace, The Humor Advantage, and Small Moments, Big Outcomes: How Leaders Create Cultures That Fuel Extraordinary Results.

Day and summit tickets are available at https://www.speakingbusinessummit.com

02/10/2026

Introducing Keka DasGupta who takes to the stage on Friday, 15th October with a talk called 'Your Speaker Business were a Dating Profile… Getting Your Clients to Swipe Right'

Does your speaker profile say you’re dynamic, engaging, authentic, or highly interactive? Perhaps you promise actionable insights and transformational experiences. Then your dating profile may as well say: “I love travel and I’m fluent in sarcasm. Swipe right if your wild weekend involves coffee, the farmers’ market and Netflix.”

It’s the speaking industry’s “I love long walks on the beach.” Iconic brands don’t win with more polish. Your expertise may get you considered, but it’s the human behind the message that audiences connect with, remember, and rebook. Flip the script on your speaker brand with Keka, so more clients eagerly swipe right.

A bit more about Keka - Keka Das Gupta is a 50x Award-Winning Marketing Strategist (Confidence Builder for Brands and Humans) What do Nike, Disney, IKEA, American Express, Mercedes-Benz and Santa have in common? They’ve all called upon Keka to help build their brand strategies. (Yes, even the guy in red. Keka serves as Santa’s official speechwriter and co-PR director for the Original Santa Claus Parade in Toronto.)

Keka has twice won the “Oscars of the PR industry” among 50+ national and international honours. Today, she helps leaders reclaim the legendary brand inside them. After all, have you ever met a brand with low self-esteem?

Day and weekend tickets are available on https://www.speakingbusinesssummit.com.

30/09/2026

Meet Michelle Villalobos. She takes to the stage on Saturday, 17th October in Oxford, with a talk called 'From Audience to Clients for Life'.

What if your speech were the beginning of the relationship, not the end? Michelle Villalobos shares a three-part framework showing how an audience “aha” can deepen into a breakthrough experience and ultimately an ongoing client community, creating greater transformation, stronger relationships, and sustainable revenue (without ever selling or pitching) from the stage.

A little bit more about Michelle....Michelle Villalobos, MBA, CSP is a business alignment strategist who for 18 years has worked with leaders to align what they DO with who they (really) ARE so they can shine bright – without burning out.

Michelle has delivered inspiring programs for blue-chip brands like American Express, Bacardi, Burger King, Gibraltar Bank, Lloyd’s of London, and Audi. She has been featured on the front page of the Chicago Tribune’s Business Section, CNN en Español, Lifetime TV, Forbes Magazine, Fortune Magazine, and more. Michelle is in her 13th year as a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), currently serves on the association’s national board, and is a past Chair of the Million Dollar Speakers Group.

Day and Summit tickets are available at https://www.speakingbusinesssummit.com.

28/09/2026

Introducing Rainer Petek who takes to the stage on Saturday, 17th October, with a talk called 'The Rope Team You Can´t Download.'

AI now writes talks, posts and proposals for everyone. Whatever becomes abundant stops being an advantage — so scarcity moves to what nobody can download: someone who carries the risk with you.

From two Dolomite walls, forty years apart: what real connection costs, and why clients still pay for it..

A little bit more about Rainer.....Rainer Petek is an author, extreme mountaineer and current president of the German Speakers Association (GSA). As a 19-year-old, he climbed the north face of the Grandes Jorasses – one of the most difficult faces in the Alps.

With a lot of humor, strong analogies and impressive pictures from vertical rock faces, Rainer Petek makes you want to experience the unknown and proves to be the perfect source of inspiration for all questions concerning leadership and change. The author of six books inspires on stage with powerful thought-provoking impulses from the North Face and brings solution approaches for complex business issues to the point. Rainer Petek inspires his audience with lasting effect and encourages executives and teams in phases of upheaval to tackle their entrepreneurial North Face.

Day and weekend summit tickets are available at https://www.speakingbusinesssummit.com

26/09/2026

Meet Lesley Everett.
She takes to the main stage on Saturday, 17th October. She'll be talking about 'The Glass Wall - Recognising the Connections. Revealing the Pattern.'

After 25 years on global stages, Lesley Everett PSAE has discovered that success is rarely built by the moments we celebrate. It’s built by the experiences we almost overlook.
We often try to connect with the next opportunity or the next client while overlooking the most important connection of all—the one between the experiences that have shaped us and our brand.

Through unexpected insights and powerful reflection, Lesley invites you to look back with fresh perspective, recognise the patterns within your own journey, and move forward with greater confidence. Sometimes the greatest connection we make is with the path that has been preparing us all along.

A little bit more about Lesley....Lesley Everett is an Executive Brand Coach and Consultant trusted by C-suite executives and senior leadership teams to sharpen their leadership presence, strengthen their influence and build reputations that create real business impact.

Creator of the internationally recognised Walking TALL methodology, Lesley has spent more than 25 years taking her work into boardrooms and onto stages across 28 countries, working with some of the world’s most respected global organisations and coaching hundreds of senior leaders.

A four-time author, her latest being The Growth Code, Lesley received the Professional Speaking Award of Excellence (PSAE) in 2010, served as Global President of the Global Speakers Federation, and is an Honorary Fellow of the PSA UK & Ireland.

Day and Weekend tickets are available at https://www.speakingbusinesssummit.com.

Address

2 Upperton Gardens
Eastbourne
BN212AH

Telephone

+443334448910

Website

http://www.thepsa.co.uk/

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