The Global speakers Federation bi-annual summit, Global Speakers Summit was hosted this year by PSAUKI in Dublin, Ireland.
The event saw a collection of 200 plus speakers from 10 associations gather in the emerald city for four days of speeches, workshops, networking, and lots of parties.
PSASA was represented by Bruce Wade, Joni Peddie, Nikki Bush and Ian Hatton. Our association stand was by far the best dressed and got a lot of attention. All of us got to speak or present at various stages of the summit with Nikki presenting her Keynote ‘Reframing disruption to Win @ Work and Life’ on the main stage on Saturday afternoon to a standing ovation. Well done team PSASA.
- Some lessons that we have taken away from the summit:
South African speakers are world class in our presentation, content, and preparation. - We are not as easily positioned as international speakers due to our long-haul location
- Audiences love our stories, our accent, and our attitude to life
- We should be commanding top-dollar fees for what we do
- Our PSASA conventions are as good and, in some respects, better than international standards
- A well selected, prepared, and focused MC is key to the success of the convention
- Access to the international stages is not as hard as we sometimes assume
Networking with other speakers is key to access to markets. As for any convention, it seems expensive before hand but once you are there and you see the value you get, it is worth every cent spent. Learning from some of the best in the industry and meeting people for the first time in the flesh after far too long on Zoom was special. Friends for life and business opportunities and collaboration as well as a bunch of notes and lessons to apply back into our own businesses all worth the effort of the long-haul flights and expenses of the Rand-Euro exchange rate.
The next Global speakers Summit is scheduled for Bali in 2024. If you are able, then book and go, you will not regret it at all.
By Bruce Wade
President PSASA
