About this event
What does it really take to be a speaker people remember – and book?
This month at PSA Thames Valley, we are focusing on two of the core questions in professional speaking: what is your unique genius, and are you communicating the true value you deliver?
London Calling: We are thrilled to be joined by two expert speakers, who are also the co-Vice-Presidents of the PSA London Region – Carol Benton and Deborah Henley.
Join us for an evening of insight, inspiration and practical tools, featuring these two experienced keynote speakers who will challenge you to move beyond competence and step into the fullest, most compelling version of your speaking self.
Carol Benton kicks off the evening takes the stage with her keynote “From What to So What” – a practical, energising session. Many speakers, coaches and facilitators are great at what they do – but struggle when it comes to articulating the value they offer their clients. It’s easy to get so swept up with ‘What’ we do that we fail to communicate the ‘So What’ of the value we deliver.
Carol introduces her signature ‘Connect, Convince, Convert’ methodology and walks you through a five-step process to uncover your ‘So What’ message – so you can communicate your worth with clarity and confidence, and win more of the work you love.
Deborah Henley then moves on from Carol’s session with her keynote “Unlock Your Speaker Genius” – an exploration of the shift that separates truly professional speakers from simply competent ones.
Drawing on over 15 years of experience helping leaders and speakers show up with authentic presence, Deborah will guide you beyond performance and into a space of genuine connection. You’ll discover how to stop sounding like “a good speaker” and start becoming one people truly remember, trust – and book.
We also have a member Showcase, where members practise running through a talk and receive constructive feedback.
As always, the evening begins with open networking from 17:30, giving you time to connect with fellow members, with unlimited tea and coffee before the programme kicks off at 18:00.
Expect a packed agenda, great conversations, generous peer support, and the warm, collaborative spirit that makes PSA Thames Valley a place where people feel they belong.
Keynote speakers
Carol Benton is a business communication speaker and consultant. She helps organisations to win more business through effective communication.
With over 30 years in the tech sector, Carol has held executive positions at IBM and Toshiba, spearheaded sales strategies, and sold IT solutions to major financial, retail and public sector organisations in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Through these experiences, she saw first hand the importance of having the right message the customer’s own language, igniting her passion to transform how organisations convey their business value.
She used these insights to develop her signature ‘Connect, Convince, Convert’ methodology and best- selling book.
Deborah Henley is a leadership communication expert who has worked with senior execs from Accenture, Santander and Cisco to the Royal Society, the MOD and the AWE. She was shortlisted in the 2019 Business Book Awards for ‘Your Leadership Story’, and combines her professional background in clinical and business psychology, neurolinguistics, and hypnotherapy with her many extraordinary life experiences: sailing the world’s oceans, being held at gunpoint, as a journalist in Peru, working behind the cameras at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios and leading training around the world to help leaders to become extraordinary.
Event agenda
The venue
Holiday Inn Reading South (J11, M4)
Holiday Inn Reading South (J11, M4)Basingstoke Road
Reading, RG2 0SL
Holiday Inn Reading South
Get in touch with the organiser
