Professional Speaking Association – A Network Overview

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In this blog I’m showcasing the Professional Speaking Association –  A Network Overview.

I’ve been a part of this association for a couple of years and here’s why I wanted to showcase it.

The PSA is diverse and inclusive.  It has members from all walks of life, ages, backgrounds…it’s an eclectice group of people, all of whom come together to improve their speaking skills, to share, to learn, to empower and to grow.  It’s a wonderful group of people.

If you are an aspiring speaker and want to listen and learn, if you are starting your speaking career or need to speak as part of your professional careeer – take a look.

If you dream of speaking on large international stages, then this is a great community to be a part of. There are so many opportunities to connect and learn.

The Lowdown

The PSA UK & Ireland is divided into regions.

• Ireland
• Birmingham
• East Midlands
• London
• North East
• North West
• Scotland
• South East
• South West
• Staffordshire
• Thames Valley
• Yorkshire

About PSA Ireland

2023’s President is Andrew Dobbin.

#PSAIreland is ‘the’ place for professional speakers, coaches, facilitators, trainers, executives and business people who generate revenue from speaking. Their aim is to connect you with ethically-minded, positive, fellow professional speakers and help you to be a Better Speaker and have a Better Speaking Business.

Meeting Venue

The current meeting venue is:

Maldron Hotel, 22 Naas Rd, Newlands Cross, Dublin, D22 V6Y6, Ireland

2023 Schedule

Events are scheduled on a monthly basis. The 2023 schedule is as follows:

Visiting Policy

You are welcome to attend a couple of events before becoming a member should you so wish.

Membership Categories & Investment

There are three tiers of membership. Joining can be done directly via the website at the clickable links below.

1. Associate Members: Prospective members are thinking about a career in professional speaking, or work for an employer where professional speaking is a significant part of their role. To join click here. Investment: £165 per annum.
2. Professional Members: These members are people who are using speaking to promote their business or are being paid to speak. They want to take their business to the next level. To join click here. Investment: £247.50 per annum.
3. Fellows: Professional Members are invited to become Fellows of the PSA, once they meet certain criteria in relation to their speaking business and their commitment to the PSA. To apply click here. Investment: £275 per annum.

Other Opportunities to Meet

Each chapter hosts its own monthly meetings for members. On top of this, there are a few other events to consider.

The Spring Convention is an annual meeting, generally held in April each year.  More details for the 2023 event in Manchester can be found here.

Awards

There are a variety of awards that members can enter to increase their experience and profile as professional speakers. Click here to find out more.

Speaker Factor

Speaker Factor is an annual competition, inviting Associate Members to compete in local regional heats, delivering a 5 minute speech. This is judged on their delivery, script, stagecraft and the commercial bookability of their speech. Winners of regional heats, which are usually held over the summer, are invited to compete in the National Final at the Annual Convention in the autumn. Learn more about Speaker Factor.

The Individual Regional Speaker of the Year

This award is presented to the speaker from each Region who is judged to deliver the best talk at that region. The members of each region vote for their Regional Speaker of the Year.

The Regional Speaker of the Year

The Regional Speaker of the Year award is given to the speaker who received the highest number of votes for the Individual Regions Speaker of the Year award.

Code of Ethics

Standards of professionalism are key and as such there is a detailed code of ethics which you can read up on here.

The Foundation

More details on the foundation can be found here.  It aims to help members in need of support.  I can personally atestify to this support. I wanted to see about postponing my membership due to my current cancer diagnosis and inability to attend events.  The Foundation most kindly covered my membership for this year so that I can link back in when the time is right and when I’m back to my full health.  I couldn’t be more grateful for this support.

The Blog

Current and relevant blog posts are regularly posted, such as:

How to Market Yourself as a Speaker – Part 1

How to Marketing Yourself as a Speaker – Part 2

Get Social with the PSA Ireland Community

Email | Facebook | Linkedin | Twitter | YouTube

You can find all the latest details and news on their website./

Let’s Connect!

Where Are You Networking?

Did you enjoy and learn more about the Professional Speaking Association – a Network Overview?

If you’d like me to showcase and do a profile on the networks you are involved in, please do make an introduction and I’ll be happy to follow up to find out more!  I can be reached at jean@networkingjean.ie.

Other recent networks profiled include:

Monaghan Women in Business Network

Ireland Portugal Business Network