About this event
This month we’ll have keynotes from Bryony Thomas & John Burns.
Keynote: Bryony Thomas
How would you steal your neighbour’s cat?” This seemingly absurd question holds the key to revolutionising your customer relationships.
Most businesses treat customers like dogs – expecting loyalty, obedience, and unconditional love. But customers aren’t like dogs. They’re like cats. And once you understand this fundamental truth, everything changes.
In this engaging and practical session, you’ll discover why the most successful businesses think like cat whisperers, not dog trainers. Through humour, real-world examples, and actionable insights, this talk reveals how feline behaviour patterns mirror customer psychology in surprising and profound ways.
Keynote: John Burns
This session focuses on the business of speaking – moving from passion to profession, and the response from members was encouraging, particularly around the practical frameworks for building speaking infrastructure, not just momentum.
The talk explores:
- Building the infrastructure behind a sustainable speaking career.
- Moving from occasional speaking to a structured speaking business.
- Leveraging authenticity, positioning, and modern tools such as AI.
- Practical lessons from the realities of developing a speaking profession.
We can’t wait to welcome you this September to PSA South West!
Keynote speakers
Bryony Thomas is a multi-award winning speaker who survived 12 weeks to live, completed the London Marathon & created Watertight Marketing used by 3500+ businesses.
She’s known as “Multi-Million Pound Cat Thief” for one of her most memorable analogies.
Once shy, nervous, and allergic to microphones, John Burns somehow decided that speaking was a sensible career move and then figured out how to make it work.
Today, John is a professional speaker, author, and thought leader on uncertainty, career resilience, and the business of speaking. He’s the author of Prepare to Get Fired! – because nothing says ‘comfort’ like planning for uncertainty.
Known for his high-energy, interactive style, John blends humour, hard truths, real-world experience, and even a bit of AI wizardry to help speakers turn passion into a profession – and actually get paid for it.
A proud member of the PSA UK & Ireland, John doesn’t just talk about speaking… he talks about what happens after the applause.
Event agenda
The venue
Almondsbury Interchange Hotel
6 Gloucester RoadAlmondsbury
Bristol
BS32 4AA Almondsbury Interchange Hotel
Get in touch with the organiser
