Henna Pryor

Henna Pryor, CSP is a Workplace Performance Expert and 2x TEDx speaker who helps high achievers build the mental and social skills to influence, take smarter risks, and navigate change. She is an Expert Columnist for Inc. Magazine, the author of the 18x award-winning Good Awkward, and the author of The Signal Gap, publishing November 10, 2026.

From Staffing Leader to Performance Expert

Pryor spent 14 years as a leader and top-10% producer at a $2 billion publicly traded staffing firm, after starting her career in external audit at Ernst & Young. She founded Pryority Group in 2019, holds the Certified Speaking Professional credential from the National Speakers Association, and is a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation.

Award-Winning Author and Trusted Voice

Good Awkward, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year endorsed by NFL quarterback Russell Wilson and former Harvard Business Review editor Karen Dillon, makes the case for embracing awkward moments to take braver professional risks. Pryor’s clients include Google, Workday, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorganChase, and FIS Global, and her insights have appeared in INSIDER, NBC, The Washington Post, Fast Company, and HuffPost. She is also a SXSW Workplace track speaker, a LinkedIn Learning instructor, and a SUCCESS Magazine Woman of Influence.

Henna Pryor delivers keynotes on influence, trust, performance mindset, and navigating change.

What does Henna Pryor speak about?

Henna Pryor speaks about workplace performance, influence, trust, and navigating change. Henna Pryor’s keynotes cover the future of work, believability in the age of AI, strategic risk-taking, and the Good Awkward mindset.

What is Henna Pryor’s background?

Henna Pryor is a Certified Speaking Professional, 2x TEDx speaker, Inc. Magazine columnist, and author of The Signal Gap and Good Awkward. Henna Pryor spent 14 years in staffing leadership before founding Pryority Group in 2019.

Who books Henna Pryor to speak?

Corporate leadership teams, sales organizations, women’s networks, and associations book Henna Pryor for conferences and leadership programs. Clients include Google, Workday, Johnson & Johnson, and JPMorganChase, in person and virtually.

Dominating Disruption and Pushing Limits: Unlocking the Mental and Social Skills of Success in the Fast-Changing World of Work

The old tools of success got today’s top performers here, but they will not take them where they need to go next. Pryor shows how the very excellence that built a reputation can become a hidden trap in a world flooded with new rules, technology, and expectations. Through storytelling, behavioral science, and tools like strategic discomfort and neutral thinking, she helps audiences train the mental and social muscles that matter when everything is in flux.

Key takeaways:

• Recognize how excellence becomes a hidden trap, and how to break free
• Stay clear-headed in chaos with neutral thinking
• Use small, repeatable micro-risks to build innovation and courage
• Build resilience, creativity, and personal agency on demand

The Changing Psychology of Influence: How to Overcome Resistance to Move Your Ideas Forward in the Modern Era

Skepticism is now the default, and nearly everyone considers themselves a Google expert, so the psychology of influence has changed. In this interactive session, Pryor uncovers the three specific reasons people resist change and gives concrete strategies for overcoming them, so ideas, initiatives, teammates, and prospects move forward.

Key takeaways:

• Name the friction working against an idea instead of only adding more fuel
• Identify and close the signal gaps that undermine believability
• Understand how being the expert can hurt influence
• Reposition ideas from new angles to earn trust and a yes

Mind the (Signal) Gap! Earning Trust and Influence in a World Where Polish Is Cheap and Skepticism Is Free

When AI makes polished messaging free, audiences stop trusting perfect words. Based on her new book, this keynote shows how to close the signal gap, the space between what is meant and what an audience actually experiences, by aligning communication, belief, context, and character. Pryor delivers a new playbook for influence and trust in an age of doubt.

Key takeaways:

• Why “more polished” now reads as “less believable”
• Replace cheap signals with costly ones: visible reasoning, named trade-offs, honest specifics
• Close signal gaps across the four layers of congruence
• Stand out as the real thing in an AI-saturated market

Awkward and Upward!: Your Surprising Secret Weapon for Navigating Uncertainty, Rapid Change, and the Future of Work

Technology has made it easy to avoid real human interaction, weakening the social muscles needed to build trust, take smart risks, and speak up. Drawing on Good Awkward, Pryor shows how embracing awkward moments and using deliberate discomfort builds teamwork, confidence, and the ability to navigate uncertainty, all wrapped in humor and relatability.

Key takeaways:

• Pinpoint why risk-taking and change feel hard, and how to move past it
• Use strategic microstressors to rebuild social muscles
• Create a personal plan for collaborating, speaking up, and sharing ideas

The AI-Human Edge: How Strengthening Social Muscles with AI Creates High-Performing Teams

AI is not replacing soft skills; it is revealing how badly teams need them. Based on Pryor’s national research study, this first-of-its-kind keynote shows leaders how to use AI as a booster for social skills rather than a replacement for human connection, so teams stay productive without losing trust and collaboration.

Key takeaways:

• Rehearse high-stakes conversations and build confidence
• Spot tone misfires before they erode trust
• Personalize outreach without losing authenticity
• Replace artificial intimacy with meaningful connection