Client Testimonials
Client Testimonials
Hear from our partner clients who, through more effective communication and leadership, have written new chapters for their lives and businesses:
Your best stories are yet to be told. Contact us today to write a new chapter for you and your business.
“We work in a mature industry where the core sales message among competitors is the same — to deliver construction projects on-time, on-budget, safely and at the highest level of quality. The business risk of relying on this marketing approach occurs when clients conclude that the only differentiator between competitors is price. As a result, the sole strategic focus of our company is to continuously create unique added value for each client. VoicePRO is our secret weapon. Because, if we are unable to communicate the value added we work so hard to create, clients conclude that the only differentiator between competitors is price.
“This year, with VoicePRO training and coaching, we received a standing ovation from our audience, and secured the largest construction contract in our company’s 81-year history.”
Jon Ferrell, Vice President at The Albert M. Higley Company
“I have been giving presentations and interacting at the executive level for years. Frankly I wasn’t sure how much I was going to get out of participating in the Executive Presence™ course. Was I surprised!!! The instructors were very familiar with the types of situations we face every day in business and very practical in their instruction, coaching, and advice. They helped me see little things about my communication style that I never would have noticed. Addressing these has helped me strengthen the messages I deliver, has improved my ability to persuade others, and has given me more confidence. They also gave me some practical tools that I have used to plan and focus my thoughts and my conversations with others.”
Debra G., Business Consultant
“Speak! Present! Influence!® has made a huge difference to the staff at Great Lakes Theater Festival. All our senior staff have taken SPI and, as a result, we’re more relaxed and confident when we speak to our audiences. The rapport we establish in one-on-one interactions with audience members in the lobby before performances and during intermission is often astonishing. And the raves we get for our curtain speeches tell us we’re representing this great theater company in a positive, powerful, and professional manner. VoicePRO coaching has also helped develop the staff’s leadership potential and has improved internal communication among the management team. Bravo to VoicePRO!”
Bob Taylor, Executive Director at Great Lakes Theater Festival
“Thanks so much! The DISC Behavioral Assessment and expert coaching was a masterful approach to a tough subject and diverse group of managers. All of our managers that participated in the group and one-on-one sessions really enjoyed themselves. Everyone was shocked with the accuracy of the feedback from just a few questions. I feel this was a very sensible and effective step to achieving a higher level of communication. We look forward to working with you in the future.”
Yancey Arterburn, General Manager at Lone Mountain Ranch
Many thanks for a really excellent session yesterday. I gained a great deal from the day and can see many areas where I can turn the learnings into personal and team improvements. It was a very valuable exercise.
John, Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Manufacturing & Financial Services Industry
I wanted to thank the VoicePRO team for the opportunity to participate in the program. I found the program to be extremely beneficial while providing techniques that I can take with me and continue to build upon my presentation skills. I can easily say that VoicePRO was one of the better, if not the best, program I’ve participated in.
Dan, Engineering Manager, Chemicals Industry
I wanted to let you the impact that the Executive Presence™ seminar has had on me.
I attended the Executive Presence seminar in April of 2012. A few months later, I was given the opportunity to speak at an industry event. I remembered something you said: “Conscientious people develop presentations with the richest content, but they are often too scared to even try.” So, even though I was scared to death, I agreed to do it.
The format of the presentation was 25 minutes of presentation with 5 minutes at the end for Q&A.
I created my presentation, using everything I learned at the seminar – I developed my throughline, included content and stories / examples, etc. Just like you said – I had to seriously cut back on my content to fit in the time allotted. I created a visual diagram (pyramid) to support my throughline, and used the diagram as a transition from one thought to the next.
The slides were required to be done a month early – this was good because it gave me plenty of time to practice.
After my slides were finalized, I found out that my session was selected to be a video webcast. That is, the audio and video would be streamed live to subscribers across the country. I started to panic. But then a colleague told me that he was jealous that I got to do the video webcast. So, I changed my self-talk to positive, telling myself … “This is an awesome opportunity”, and “I am going to do everything in my power to do the best I possibly can.” “I’ve got a really solid presentation, now I just have to polish the delivery.”
I reread the Executive Presence materials and Speaking Magic. I practiced out loud. I practiced some more. I did a dry run-through with my department as the audience. I made some adjustments based on feedback from the dry run-through. All the way, I kept telling myself to take advantage of this awesome opportunity.
The end result: I did it!!! I did everything in my power to do the best I possibly could!! And I was comfortable enough with my material that I was able to handle some technical difficulties during the actual presentation without losing my composure.
A month later, I watched the video of my presentation. Was it perfect? No! Did I see things I can improve on? Absolutely! But that doesn’t change my perspective – I did the best I possibly could!!
Today: My self-confidence is so much higher – I no longer need to be afraid to speak in public – I know I can do it, if I just prepare and practice. My overall self-confidence has improved too – I am standing up for myself with my boss and coworkers. I even volunteered to speak again at next year’s industry event.
Thanks again for the encouragement, both during the session, and in the follow up phone call. I really appreciate the advice you gave me!
Jeanine, Finance Actuary
Insurance & Financial Services Industry
To me, education is a life long process, and improving my public speaking and presentation skills will always be a work in progress. The atmosphere at VoicePRO is non-threatening, and very conducive to learning new skills. I really appreciated the one-on-one coaching and feedback from you. Through the Executive Presence™ course, I have increased my personal effectiveness – and ability to influence others – by learning how to adapt my natural presentation style to the varying demands and demographics of different audiences. The skills acquired through the Executive Presence™ course have strengthened my relationships with clients, executives, direct reports, and even with friends and family members
Jeffrey, Chief Operating Officer, Financial Services Industry
The week after attending the VoicePRO workshop I gave a presentation to several clients. Two of the partners of my company attended the presentation and thought that it was “fabulous”. They were thrilled with their “return on investment” from sending me to the workshop. They noted my posture, confidence, eye contact, transitions, and other things that I worked on in the class. I still did not project my voice as well as I had hoped, but they had only positive things to say. Although they laughed about the Ha’s and Blah’s, they worked for me.
Kelly, Realty Advisor, Commercial Real-Estate Industry
This was the most productive class I have attended during my tenure at my company. I truly gained so much from it. The team teaching technique enabled mutual agreement about my strengths and weaknesses with a different viewpoint from both coaches.
What I have taken from this class is so valuable. Most public speaking courses have you focus on the content on of what you say. Attention is never paid to body language, expressions and how to really open yourself to your audience so your message is received and sticks with the audience. I came away from this course with a new level of confidence. I now have new tools which enable me to overcome the fears and get my message across assertively, openly and with power.
In closing, Executive Presence™ is a course that should be open to all employees in my organization. My viewpoint is not unique. Tuesday night, we had gone out to dinner with a few members of the class, and it was unanimous, that this was a class that really had an impact on all of us.
I really can’t wait until my next presentation.
Kevin, Senior Associate
Multinational Professional Services Industry
Thank you so much for a wonderful day yesterday and the info! It is never fun moving out of one’s comfort zone but what a kind spoken, nonjudgmental professional to help us thru this process!
I learned a lot and look forward to using the tools you gave us to move forward with my communication.
Kimber, Non-Profit Health Services Organization
When my boss mentioned I should consider an executive presence course, two things came to mind. Firstly, they are trying to turn me into a corporate android and secondly, I don’t have time to sit in a classroom for two days!
After spending two days in a classroom….I would now thoroughly recommend this program. Through working with the VoicePRO coaches in a small, fun group I learned so much about myself. The course helped me personally and professionally to fine tune my techniques around presenting to groups, talking to people one to one, and generally being a more effective and confident “me”, whatever the situation. Two days very well spent.
Mark, Global Marketing & Communications Leader
Materials & Manufacturing Industry
Just a quick note of thanks for a wonderful session. I gained a great deal, was gently forced out of my comfort zone, and shown a range of areas that I can improve in. Anyway, before having any chance to use my new skills in a presentation setting, I’m forced to use them in another way – my VP, and direct manager, who has been a supportive and collegial presence, who understands and appreciates my efforts, is leaving the company. So I get to sort of re-invent myself, connect with someone new, show all those good traits (self-starting, organized, impactful, committed, knowledgeable), and still try to have fun doing what I do. Wow! I guess I couldn’t have attended SPI at a better time. I have a lot of areas to work on, but you’ve shown me how to get started. I’ll be sure to let you know how the story plays out.
Thanks again for an enjoyable and productive two days.
Paul, Product Management Team
Global Medical Technology Organization
I am sending you this email to let you know that you have changed my life. I used to say…”numbers are my thing, I love numbers”, but you changed that. Remember during the training, the exercise with the 7 words sentence? You made me realized that there is magic in the words!…One sentence, saying it in 7 different ways, had 7 different meanings! The same words in one sentence! It was amazing!
Thank so much for helping me to open this new door of possibilities and new opportunities. Have a great day!
Prima, Customer Service Agent
Consumer Product Industry
What started out as a training to improve our individual presentation skills turned into so much more. Our VoicePRO training certainly delivered, upping our presentation abilities, but also providing the added benefit of team building. Our training involved a series of exercises pulling out our strengths and identifying our development areas; working together as a team, we made ourselves vulnerable to each other, consequently strengthening our team interaction and bond. I would highly recommend VoicePRO for those seeking to take their presentation skills to the next level.
Rob, Strategic Business Management Lead
Chemical & Pharmaceutical Industry
I recently participated in the Speak! Present! Influence!® workshop and it was nothing short of transformative! The curriculum was a perfect combination of simple, practical advice and hands-on experiential learning that made the process both engaging and effective. The instructors were so personable and able to almost instantaneously ascertain our greatest development needs and give us the perfect advice to maximize our potential. Even though there were many others in the class, I felt as if I was engaging in a one-on-one private coaching session. Upon the completion of the course I had a much better understanding of my strengths and how to utilize them to be engaging and persuasive in all manner of business communications. I was applying the skills I learned successfully the very next day! Thanks, VoicePRO!
Bruce, Senior Project Manager
Major Manufacturing Organization
As I say “We killed ’em!!” I had several people come up to me and say that my presentation was very inspiring. Yes, I did breathe and I did smile and I did use real examples and I did keep my hands down at the starting point. And yes, I did know my audience and ask myself “What questions would I receive from them?” I was fortunate as the 3 questions that were asked were all ones that I had anticipated. I have had several opportunities since I returned to make presentations to different groups and the smiling with examples and seeing the audiences heads nodding or other forms of acknowledgement is very refreshing that they indeed are onboard with me.
Rod, Facility Director
Plastics & Chemical Industry
My coaching experience working with VoicePRO was very rewarding. Prior to working with VoicePRO, it was very challenging for me to talk to some of our board members and certain financial analysts. VoicePRO taught me various techniques that gave me confidence and enabled me to project myself in a much better light. I was encouraged to seek out those individuals I seemed particularly challenged with and make an effort to learn more about them by engaging in more one-on-one conversation. Leslie, my coach, taught me how to be more articulate when addressing larger audiences, thus making me feel more comfortable and professional. There has been a marked improvement in my communication skills because of my VoicePRO coaching.
Don, President, Energy Industry
I had to present to our senior board, including the CFO to request funding – over $3M.
The outcome was in doubt – as this audience was very skeptical.
I used the suggestions you provided, and we were granted funding – all agreeing that my presentation, and the business orientation to the discussion was the key turning point in the program.
Your training has improved my skills – and for that I am very grateful. You truly helped me achieve the gravitas and presence I was hoping for.
Steve, Senior Manager, Security Governance & Framework
Insurance & Financial Services Industry
This is now my 4th professional speaking workshop and this is hands down the best I have been through… I was trained by some of the leading experts, and I have to say Voicepro is a step above…
The concepts within the material were concepts I have learned before, but they went down 2-3 layers deeper. The 2 instructors were extremely sharp and you can tell they have a lot of experience and passion for the business. I have many takeaways and some that I will be implementing as early as this weekend.
I would recommend this class to any developing leader and professional sales speaker…
John Bowens – Supervisor, Retail Sales