Conversation strategist and University of Pretoria (UP) alumna Nozipho Tshabalala has built her life’s work on the art of conversation – the kind that shifts boardrooms, moves global agendas, and inspires ordinary people to see new possibilities. As CEO of The Conversation Strategists, she helps some of the world’s biggest brands make sense of complexity and lead with clarity. Yet her most powerful conversation may be the one she had with herself, captured in the pages of her memoir, After the Fires: Unlocking the Power of Letting Go.

The book was not the one she was supposed to write. Publishers initially wanted her to record her insights into her global interviews with world leaders. But Tshabalala knew there was another story inside her – one shaped by loss, courage, reinvention, and the decision to release pain rather than be defined by it. Writing became both mirror and window: a mirror that reflected truths she could no longer ignore, and a window to share those truths in service of others navigating their own fires.

Readers have found themselves in her words, with some saying the book gave them language for their own struggles – and, more importantly, permission to let them go. For Tshabalala, that is the measure of success: not accolades, but significance. “Success is what the world sees; significance is the legacy you build,” she explains, echoing a philosophy shaped early in life by her parents’ example of innovation, entrepreneurship and relentless effort.

Her journey has never been about chasing balance; it’s been about creating harmony. She has carried this philosophy across multiple stages: as an award-winning journalist with CNBC Africa, as a strategist working with global institutions like the World Bank and Global Citizen, and now as an author willing to show vulnerability as a pathway to resilience. For her, storytelling begins with listening – a quality she believes is more powerful than any polished narrative. “Story-listeners expand the space for more voices, perspectives, and truths,” she says, insisting that strategy without story fails to move people.

Behind the public profile lies an individual grounded in family, faith and rituals of stillness. Running, cooking and time outdoors keep her centred, while her sense of style helps her express herself in other ways. “I think style is a form of storytelling in its own right. I’d like to think that fashion choices communicate confidence, heritage and creativity before I even say a word. For me, it’s less about clothes and more about signalling that you can be both substantive and stylish – a combination that breaks old stereotypes.” In her case, style becomes a quiet but powerful extension of who she is, reinforcing that women can lead, create and inspire without compromise.

Her advice to fellow UP alumni and other young professionals is simple yet profound: “Don’t be afraid of the fire. It often burns away what no longer serves you. Transitions are messy, but they’re fertile ground for reinvention.”

With After the Fires now available in major bookstores and online, Tshabalala is preparing for the next chapter: taking the discipline of conversation strategy to a global stage.

If you’d like to hear more of her story, she also shares her insights on the LeadUP Podcast.