Successful communication and Personal Influence – Insights from the PSASA Johannesburg Chapter Meeting Nov 21st 2024
By Saul Rosenberg (Marketing and Coms)
The Joburg chapter Meeting took place on Thursday 21st November at the PSASA new venue at The Wanderers Golf Club. Guest Speakers were Ingrid Lotze, Gavin Moffat, Desirae Pillay. They brought an engaging and fresh perspective to this PSASA event, each exploring aspects essential to successful communication and personal influence.
Ingrid Lotze and Gavin Moffat
Co-founders of the “7 T-Shirts Each” lifestyle, focus on the art of personal influence. Their minimalist journey across 25 cities taught them to maximize personal presence with fewer possessions, emphasizing meaningful connections, adaptability, and work-life balance. They inspired others to influence authentically by leading lives that prioritize relationships, experiences, and sustainability.
Through their travels and stories, they shared actionable insights on how simplicity can amplify one’s impact and influence
Ingrid says, “As professional speakers, we are often drawn to ideas, techniques, and commitments that we hold onto “just in case.” But what happens when we let go of these unnecessary weights and focus only on what truly matters? This was the journey join the dots co-founders Ingrid Lotze and Gavin Moffat explored in their recent talk at the PSASA JHB Chapter meeting
The talk wasn’t just about discarding the irrelevant. It was a masterclass in intentionality — a quality every professional speaker can relate to. Remarkably, this presentation came together under pressure. Just two weeks before the meeting, their thinking partner suggested a completely new direction, leading to a full rewrite. The slides were only finalised two days before the JHB Chapter meeting, demonstrating adaptability and focus in action.
Simplify your message. Focus on one key idea that connects with your audience. Just as Ingrid and Gavin’s “No Space for Just in Case” encapsulates a philosophy of clarity, speakers should aim to distil complex ideas into one impactful takeaway.
Desirae Pillay
Desirae Pillay, an authority in communication for individuals with special needs, is also a passionate mental health advocate. With a unique approach to audience engagement, she shares powerful stories of resilience and perseverance drawn from her experiences as a trauma survivor and caregiver to her daughter, Savannah. Desirae connects deeply with audiences, teaching speakers and communicators how to craft messages that not only engage but leave a lasting impact.
Desirae showed how we take certain communication capacities like speech for granted. People with special needs make special preparations when they are presenting. Desirae emphasized that successful presentation depends on 3 things ‘preparation, patience and “Pukka”. Speakers need to be very clear on their topics.
Desirae’s clients have a great sense of humour. They start with a killer line to get attention and make you comfortable. They do it for the love of speaking. Des has learned a lot about movement and speaking, and acknowledges she has the luxury of functioning speech. But the people she works with don’t have that luxury.
For preparation, we have to think about the people who have to prepare so much more than we do. We have an advantage ‘we have to prepare as much as our clients”. We also have to pause when we practice patience. Desirae said ‘using pauses are useful’. “We have to be patient with our content’, she says.
“Pukka”, Desirae says, shows the speaker is real, genuine and of real quality. She says the People she works can’t hide so they have to be real and Pukka. As speakers we have the rare gift. To be Pukka means to give of your original self.
The meeting was an opportunity to hear unique perspectives on personal communication from different angles. There was a lot of focus on promoting certain behaviours and values, to enhance the speaking experience. We had two different approaches toward speaking that both put style, delivery and audience impact at the front of house. Creating an effective communication presence came through as a common thread for a very engaging evening.
