Talent, Opportunity, and New Beginnings: PSASA Virtual Chapter Meeting, February 2025
Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Attending my first PSASA Virtual Chapter Meeting was an eye-opening experience, showcasing the perfect blend of skill development, community, and leadership. From the exciting Virtual Chapter Speaker Factor Regional contest to the welcoming session for newcomers and the dynamic AGM, every part of the event was filled with energy and valuable insights. The professionalism and passion on display, offered a wonderful glimpse into the world of professional speaking.
Take a look at what the night brought below!
The Speaker Factor Compatition: A Showcase of Talent
The meeting kicked off with our MC of the night Marie Le Roux taking us through the electrifying and engaging Speaker Factor Competition regional round.. The virtual stage was set for four amazing speakers who were all vying for one of the two spots available in next month’s semi-finals.
1st Contestant – Petra Laranjo: The Power of One
Petra shared an inspiring personal story of resilience, highlighting how overcoming adversity and being purpose driven led to personal growth. Her authenticity and vulnerability created a deep connection with the audience. She provided valuable lessons on how to tap into your on-purpose framework in everyday life:
- Clarity of purpose: When does your heart beat the loudest?
- Clarity of vision: Have a clear vision in mind
- Alignment with your values
- Take Action!
Emphasising the philosophy of her movement, Just One Thing 365, her speech proved powerful and uplifting for her target audience of purpose-driven women entrepreneurs and leaders. .
2nd Contestant – Zani Barrish: The Art of Difficult Conversations. Turning Challenges Into Productive Dialogue
Zani tackled the challenging topic of difficult conversations with empathy and clarity. She offered practical strategies for handling high-stakes discussions in and around professional settings through a protocol called R.U.G.S
- Recognise the issue: Identify what is wrong in the workplace
- Understand the employees perspective
- Guide the conversation with empathy
- Solve together: lead with solutions that will work on change
Zani’s speech was aimed at HR managers who are looking to navigate sensitive workplace discussions with confidence and made the concept of difficult conversations feel more manageable.
3rd Contestant – Tim Wagner: The Silent Crisis in Business. How to Spot and Stop the Slide Toward Burnout
Tim brought attention to the often-overlooked issues in business, such as burnout. His speech emphasised the importance of addressing these silent crises for the well-being of employees and the success of organisations.
Tim brought to light a unique pattern amongst high functioning teams:
- High functioning leaders and teams externally appear to be functioning but inside, they are slowly withdrawing until eventually they suddenly hit burnout.
- You may not notice burnout in your teams because they will still produce results but internally disconnect.
The presentation was eye-opening and a call to action for leaders to prioritise engaging employees in the workplace in order to avoid burnout by employing the following:
- Help your high functioning team re-focus and reconnect with their authentic selves.
- Reconnect their purpose and values within the business.
His speech was aimed at business executives leading high functioning teams, working under constant pressure, who are seeking a solution to the threat of their core talent quitting due to burnout.
4th Contestant – Louis Nigrini: Annual Reviews The Gift You Keep Re-gifting.
Louis transformed the typically mundane topic of annual reviews into an engaging discussion. He emphasised the importance of clear and constructive feedback in order for leaders to turn it into a tool for growth rather than a mere formality or awkward conversation.
- The way you give feedback determines if your team grows or goes.
- The feedback needs to be recent
- The feedback needs to be something specific and focused
- The feedback given must also be something actionable
Louis’ speech was aimed at executives and senior leaders.
With so much talent on the floor, our judges had their work cut out for them! After scores were tallied our victors were finally named.
Congratulations to Tim Wagner and Petra Laranjo for making it through to the next round of the Speaker Factor semi-finals! The Virtual Chapter will be the proud hosts to this event, so remember to register on the PSASA website to secure your front-row seat.
The AGM: A New Chapter for the Virtual Chapter
The final segment of the meeting was a very efficient Annual General Meeting (AGM) led by current Chapter President Ursula Botha.
Our Vice President in the running, Tim Wagner was the only nominee. This meant that according to the PSASA Policy and Procedures Manual 25.1.8 – “If there is only one nominee for a position then that person will automatically be declared as the winner induction to the position”
It is a great privilege to announce that the president for the Virtual Chapter for the next year is Tim Wagner! Congratulations, Mr President.
Written by:
Crystabel Walunda
Author and Speaker
https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystabelwalunda
Did you know the PSASA Virtual Chapter has a playlist on YouTube? This is where you can catch highlights from guest presentations at our Virtual Chapter meetings.
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