“No one is boring, but many forget to be interesting.”
I’m a professional question-asker, message tuner and clarity seeker who has a thing for microphones and messy conversations.
But that sounds ridiculous in a bio. So here goes.
Over the past two decades, I’ve worked with more than 20,000 people to help them figure out what they’re really trying to say, and then how to say it in a way that actually connects.
Not everyone nailed it. But every single one taught me something about what gets in the way and what makes a message land.
From CEOs to community advocates, TED Talkers to talkback callers, I’ve learned that having something important to say isn’t enough, nor is being ‘right’. People need help to tune their message, read the room, and shift what happens next.
That’s where I come in.
I’m not into spin, scripts or branding buzzwords. I’m into resonance. Because communication that people can ‘feel’ changes everything: outcomes, relationships, communities, culture.
I’ve delivered keynotes, facilitated rooms, led workshops and built programs that turn shy specialists into magnetic messengers. My frameworks are research-backed, tested on real people, and designed to work in boardrooms, break rooms, and back paddocks alike.
You might’ve heard me on ABC Radio, where I spent 10 years hosting live-to-air interviews (and squeezing big stories out of people who swore they had none). Or you might’ve caught one of the award-winning podcasts I still host and produce. Either way, you’ll find me somewhere between the stage and the studio, turning everyday insight into lasting impact.
I was once a Telstra Business Woman of the Year national finalist. But honestly, my favourite compliment came from a lady called Enid.
Read on…
Penny’s Origin Story
I’ll never forget the day I met Enid. It was Enid who taught me what my job is really about.
It was a cold and foggy Tasmanian morning when we drove into the small town of Chudliegh. I was an ABC radio presenter at the time and I was out on the road with my producer Andrea, collecting stories for an outside broadcast that afternoon. We made a quick stop at either the local butcher or post office (it was always one or the other), and this local intel directed us to a house on the main street.
I grabbed my mic, walked up to the front door, and knocked. When Enid opened the door, I reeled off my usual line, “Hi Enid, I’m Penny Terry from the ABC. We’re broadcasting from just down the road later today, and I’m wondering if I could interview you about your life in Chudleigh.”
Quick as a flash Enid said “Why would you want to interview me? I don’t have anything interesting to say.” I’d heard this line many times before, so I paid little attention and suggested that we have a quick cup of tea and find out whether or not it was true. Enid invited me in, and we sat down in the kitchen and shared a cup of tea. As you’ve guessed, Enid then shared some of the most incredible stories I’ve ever heard.
After the interview had finished, we wandered back down the hallway and I did the usual spiel, letting Enid know when the interview would be broadcast, asking her to tell her friends and that I’d send her the interview on a CD in the mail. As I turned around to thank her, Enid looked up and said:
“I am pretty interesting aren’t I?”
Yes, Enid. Yes, you are.
It was at that moment that I realised it had been my job to remind her.
This is Enid’s story, but I’ve heard it from hundreds, if not thousands, of people.
My job is to help people and organisations see their value, and share it in a way that others understand. I’ve built my whole practice around that idea - decoding the invisible stuff and helping people make it visible, memorable, and impossible to ignore.
So I’ve decoded and honed my skills and turned them into simple (yet genuis) communications frameworks that anyone can master. Including you.
That’s what I love most.
And what I’d love to help you do, too.