Stories, Sunshine and a Room Full of Impact – Our Speakers Collective Southern Summit
- Jon Salmon
- 14 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Wow, yesterday’s Speakers Collective Southern Summit in Brighton was truly amazing if I do say so myself!
An afternoon filled with honesty, generosity and genuine connection. Organising the summit with Jo Emmerson, Marc Convey and Asis Patel we made a powerful team. What we were able to create wasn’t just a schedule of talks but it felt like a real community in motion.
Jo kicked things off brillaintly with an ice breaker that instantly set the tone: “Who would you thank in your Oscars acceptance speech?” That question brought smiles, emotion and a real sense of who we are beyond our bios. A perfect start.
From there, the afternoon just seemed to flow…
Matt Matheson - The Speaking Coach gave a brilliant talk on speaking with impact, with some clear, practical and tips. Check out his work here: https://www.thespeakingcoach.co.uk
Our first speaker showcase brought powerful, personal stories from Hansa Raja , Mo Kanjilal, and Anita Guru - thank you for sharing so openly.
Kim Slade then took us into video confidence and camera shyness workshop, helping us show how to be more authentic on screen. Already had some great feedback, and more information here: https://www.touchvideoacademy.com
After that, Rena Zenonos gave us a moment to breathe and reconnect through movement and breathwork - it was a a much-needed pause and I hadn't realised how tense my body was!
The showcase continued, Charlie Hart, Lucy Hobbs and Amelie Abass FRSA brought wisdom, around neurodiversity, campaigning, and humour to the stage, showing just how powerful lived experience can be.
And our closing keynote from Miguel Ángel Amortegui Salamanca with a moving reflection on photography, storytelling and you can see his award-winning photography here: http://miguelamortegui.com.
A big thank you to Projects in Brighton for providing such a brilliant space for free and making the whole day possible for us to all meet in-person.
It was then great to finish the day by the beach, reflecting, laughing and just soaking it all in with a brilliant community of humans!
Fancy Becoming a Member and Supporting Our Work
If you're not already part of Speakers Collective, then why not? We’d love you to consider joining: https://www.speakerscollective.org/become-a-member.
As a not-for-profit if you’re in a position to support our work (the summit was put on for free with no external funding), you can donate to help continue our work of supporting lived-experienced speakers here: https://www.bit.ly/sc-donate-now
