About this event
David Abbott – The Email That Changed Everything: Why Asking for Help Is a Professional Skill
In 2016, David arrived at the PSA conference feeling like a failure. Running three businesses at once had left him stretched, struggling and quietly ashamed of where he’d ended up. He’d planned to confide in just three people.
Then the conference opened his eyes to what could be done, after which he reached out for help which changed everything.
In this session David shares this story: what made him ask, how hard it was to press send on an email, and how the people in this community responded. It’s a reminder that this can happen to any of us – and that the PSA is at its best when we let it help.
But this isn’t just a story to listen to. It’s also a practical workshop where attendees will work out what help you need right now, who is best placed to give it, and exactly how you’ll approach them.
Most of us are far better at offering help than asking for it. We worry about looking weak, being a burden or getting a “no”. This session helps you get past that and walk out with a real ask, ready to make.
By attending you’ll:
- Understand why asking for help is a strength, not a sign of failure
- Identify the specific help you need to move your speaking business forward
- Pinpoint the people who could help you – including some you may not have thought of
- Plan how you’ll make your ask, with a fellow speaker as a sounding board
Heather Wright – Heather was the incredible opening speaker at SBS 2026 in Oxford with her keynote entitled “The Invisible Barrier to Deeper Connection”.
As speakers and trainers, connection is everything. With the audience. With the booker. With the client. We work on it, we practise it, we build entire careers around it.
But what if we’re missing one?
The most meaningful connections in our lives, the ones that actually change things , probably happened when we weren’t trying at all.
Why is that?
This keynote explores the one thing standing between us and deeper, more genuine connection. It’s closer than we think. And once we see it, we can’t unsee it.
In this rare session Heather will give us the inside track on building and refining a talk as she deconstructs her keynote so that we can better learn how to deliver powerful and impactful speeches for ourselves.
You won’t want to miss this!
By attending you’ll:
- Understand why asking for help is a strength, not a sign of failure
- Identify the specific help you need to move your speaking business forward and plan your ask.
- Gain valuable insights into constructing and refining your key-note talk.
- Learn from two of the best speakers in the PSA who we are very fortunate to have as North West regional members!
The Hotseat – The Combined Wisdom of the Room
Got a challenge you’re wrestling with? A pricing question, a tricky client, a talk that isn’t landing, a decision you keep putting off? Bring it to the Hotseat.
Anyone can step up and briefly outline an issue. The room then gets to work – asking questions, sharing experiences and offering ideas. In minutes, you’ll have the collective wisdom of dozens of speakers, trainers and coaches focused on your problem, many of whom will have faced something similar themselves.
Even if you don’t take the seat yourself, you’ll come away with ideas to use yourself – and the chance to help a fellow member in the process.
Keynote speakers
David is an international speaker, helping audiences to discover simple ways to improve their pricing.
After studying Engineering Science and Economics at Oxford he worked in marketing and business management. He ran a £56m mail order company where pricing is crucial, and has held senior marketing roles in a wide variety of industries. He currently helps clients develop and execute marketing strategies that help them to out-compete their competition.
He applies psychology research into consumer behaviour to business and marketing. He illustrates everything with real examples of marketing in action.
Heather has made it her mission to learn as much as she can about the psychology of influence and translates this into accessible content, delivered in a way that changes lives.
She’s an inspirational speaker and facilitator delivering speeches and workshops to public services and large multinational companies in the UK and across the globe. Heather has an excellent reputation for her professionalism and pragmatism and she has enough energy to run a small power station!
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