Speakers to Take Action at PSASA Midterm Convention 2026 themed “Make Your Move - The Speaker’s Gambit”

“Make Your Move: The Speaker’s Gambit” challenges professional speakers, trainers, and coaches to execute 10 strategic business moves across two virtual evening sessions.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — October 6, 2026 — In an industry notorious for inspiring events that result in notebooks full of ideas yet to be implemented, the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa (PSASA) is challenging traditional conference design with its upcoming Mid-Term Convention 2026, themed Make Your Move: The Speaker’s Gambit.

Scheduled for 20 and 21 October 2026 (18:00 to 20:30 SAST each evening), this fully virtual summit leads attendees from passive note-taking towards hands-on implementation. The convention brings together established and emerging professional speakers, MCs, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and authors from across Southern Africa and the international speaking community.

From Passive Learning to Real Execution

The core promise of Make Your Move directly addresses the most persistent challenge facing experts in the professional speaking industry: the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it.

“The next level of your speaking career won’t come from learning more. It will come from taking action.”

While conventional conferences deliver a wealth of information, Make Your Move: The Speaker’s Gambit is engineered as an action-first implementation lab. The overarching goal is not for participants to leave with ten pages of notes, but with ten completed strategic actions that directly advance their speaking businesses.

Playing “The Speaker’s Gambit”: Chess Strategy, Speaking Reality

The convention draws its thematic identity from chess, where a gambit is an intentional, strategic move executed with foresight to build long-term advantage.

Building a sustainable, high-impact speaking business operates on the same principle: careers are built not through a single lucky break, but through a deliberate sequence of moves. Positioning, pricing, content, intellectual property packaging, pitch strategies, client follow-ups, and applying for global stages are all deliberate moves. Make Your Move challenges attendees to stop overthinking and execute their next strategic move inside the event itself.

Session Design Brilliancy

To bridge the gap between insight and execution, the event features a unique session structure:

• 10 Global Experts delivering short, sharp, and highly strategic micro-learning modules.

• 15 Minutes of Direct Instruction focused strictly on practical, commercial impact rather than broad inspiration.

• 10 Minutes of Guided Implementation in real-time, replacing traditional Q&A with immediate execution.

• 10 Strategic Business Moves Completed by the conclusion of the two-evening summit.

By redefining presenters as strategic facilitators rather than mere keynotes, attendees experience a structured four-stage framework:

Learn → Implement → Connect→ Move

Participants enter with business questions and leave with completed work.

Speaker Lineup

Attendees can look forward to learning and implementing with a selection of professional speakers from the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa and a range of international locations. Confirmed speakers include Pavel Verbnyak, Sean Madiwa, Irene Okoye-Sekele, Nevern Subermoney, Paula Slier, Batrosz Zelieznik, Eyten Segev, Ntando Maseko, Louis Nigrini, and Janet Du Preez.

A Global Platform for Industry Development

Hosted by PSASA in Southern Africa, the event's listing by the Global Speakers Federation (GSF) elevates it as an international industry development summit. It provides a borderless online meeting point for both emerging talent and established professionals seeking to strengthen their commercial foundations, elevate their intellectual property, and expand onto international stages.

Event Details

Make Your Move: The Speaker’s Gambit (PSASA Mid-Term Convention 2026)

Dates: 20 & 21 October 2026 

Times: 18:00 – 20:30 CAT | 16:00 - 18:30 UTC

Location: Fully Virtual Summit, hosted on Zoom

Who It’s For: Emerging & Established Speakers, MCs, Trainers, Facilitators, Coaches, & Authors; Open to all upon registration

International Affiliation: Global Speakers Federation (GSF)

Ticket Price: R600 (Standard) ; R450 (PSASA Members)

Registration: https://psasouthernafrica.glueup.com/event/mid-term-convention-make-your-move-the-speakers-gambit-192026/

About the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa (PSASA)

The Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa (PSASA) is the professional home for speakers, MCs, trainers, facilitators, and coaches across Southern Africa. PSASA is dedicated to helping its members build sustainable speaking careers, develop commercial competencies, foster ethical industry standards, and connect with the global speaking profession through its partnership with the Global Speakers Federation (GSF).