2004 and Earlier – Training Feedback

“The course was extremely well run with a wide variety of activities from throwing balls to giving a small presentation. There was also a good insight into why some of us hate presenting so much but more than this some helpful tips on how to overcome/deal with the stress of presenting. Our trainer was excellent making it easier to say that I would highly recommend this course.”
Syngenta Crop Protection

“I wanted a practical environment and this was ideal.” 
Royal & Sun Alliance

“This has been the most informative and dynamic course I have attended. I have learnt a huge amount on this course.”
London Borough of Barking & Dagenham

“Just to let you know I gave my presentation on Friday, and it all went well. I managed to keep the cool, remembered my speech speed, hand gestures etc etc!.. so felt the course was very worthwhile, and have fed that back to our HR manager here.”
BP

“I’d have no hesitation in recommending this course for anyone starting / refresher.”
Orchard Information Systems

“Excellent, I cannot believe the improvement a 1 day course can make. Investing in yourself can only be a benefit and I benefitted greatly from todays event.”
SL (personal booking)

“The best course I’ve been on in 20 + years in local government.”
Gateshead Council.

“An invaluable training session and hats off to a brilliant facilitator – Steve.”
Scynexis Europe

“Overall a well structured and well presented day. I think the trainer’s style worked well with the structure of this course and really put us at ease, creating an atmosphere that meant we felt comfortable in really participating.”
DF (personal booking)

“The overall scoring from attendees is amongst the highest I have seen in recent years specifically to a 3rd party company provider. … I would not hesitate to recommend Skillstudio to other companies.”
Shell

“The best course I’ve ever attended. Will definitely recommend to H.R. Very personal, relaxed & comfortable environment. Feel very encouraged.” 
Lincoln Financial Group

“I really feel I have developed and learnt a lot of new skills.”
Barracudas

“I found this course a real confidence boost and am sure my presentation technique has improved 100% and will continue improving.”
LloydsPharmacy

“The best course I can remember attending.”
Wandsworth Borough Council

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and skillstudio for the excellent workshop. The facilitator was motivating, inspirational, clear and consistent. The workshop exceeded my expectations and left me feeling confident in my ability to become a better presenter.”
KC (personal booking)

“As a professional from medical background, I was initially sceptical about the usefulness of this type of course in my own profession where we interact with public and often present the technical subjects to the peer group. After attending this course, I felt I benefited tremendously. This course gave greater insight into the art of presentation. The course contained a mixture of passion, team spirit, and imagination all contributing greatly to self development and enhancing self confidence. I emerged from the course with a renewed sense of vigour and self esteem. This course comes highly recommended.”
Dr MH (personal booking)

“Very enthousiastic / friendly / effective presenter – thanks Alison.”
CVD (personal booking)

“Thank you again for an excellent course last week. I have not enjoyed a course so much before. I will be recommending you to my head office. I was/am amazed at the improvement in all of us in just 2 days. Given the correct preparation, I am 110% more confident to undertake a presentation after completing the course.”
Rethinking Construction

“Brilliant day, Alison is an ace instructor.”
Specsavers

“Course was perfectly pitched and exactly what I had hoped it would be. Spellbinding presentation!”
Telephonetics Interactive Voice Systems

“I was on the First Presentation Skills course in November and I promised to let you know whether I got the job which depended on that presentation. Well…I got it! I had a call on the Thursday night to tell me the job was mine, with no contest, as I was head and shoulders above the others! And…I was able to get the salary at the top of the range on offer, straight away! Still now I find my transformation hard to believe. I would never – and I mean never – have felt so confident if I hadn’t done the course with you. I just put everything you taught me into practice, but it’s incredible to realise how much you have achieved in just one day! Needless to say, I shall recommend Skillstudio with passion everywhere I go! You’ve gained another advocate, if you need my help in any way, just call.” 
CW (personal booking)

“My experience with Skillstudio was an excellent experience. Liz Banks is very thorough and professional and she has a brilliant method of keeping the course fun and stimulating. Presentation is everything in my industry. Confidence and giving a good first impression to my clients is vital. Liz gave me the advice and support I needed to become more diligent and better prepared. I have recommend Skillstudio to not only my own colleagues but also my clients.”Allegis Group International

“I would like to thank you for an extremely enjoyable experience on the recent Effective Presentation Skills training. I was fairly wary of attending the course and my nerves were all over the place before it started. However, with the exercises and approach to the training I found that the difference in all trainees from day one to day two was astounding; I even shocked myself with what I had learnt and the change in my ability to present. How did you do this? You must have secret magic powers! Thank you! I learnt so much in this two day course. I never thought I would say that I cannot wait until I give my next formal presentation to try out my effective presentation skills. To sum up – effective location, effective training and perfect experience.”
MicroCompass Limited.

“It is useful to have a “toolbox” to use when communicating with different people. I will use different aspects of the things learnt when dealing with colleagues, customers and management.”
Lloyds TSB Bank PLC

“A really excellent workshop – Thank you.”
Aldwyck Housing Association Ltd

“I found everything very useful. Some as a ‘refresher’ but also plenty of new ideas – getting me thinking about so many different aspects of how I can deliver with more impact. (Voice, tone, pace, pauses – making it more of a ‘performance’ not just a presentation.)”
National Air Traffic Services Ltd

“I have to communicate with people at every level, including partners and senior management so this will help me on a day to day basis. It will help me with small talk as well which can be difficult when thrown in with a group of strangers.”
CMS Cameron McKenna

“Techniques learned can and will be used daily. Checklists can be kept and referred to again in the future.” 
GL Hearn

“It could have been a boring lecture about communication skills but we actually did it!”
Royal Institute of British Architects

“I attended the course with some trepidation, as I had been on presentation courses in my previous employment. The course content and agenda made it possible to see for ourselves the progress we made over the two days, unlike previous courses where you build to a presentation at the end. Liz was a good trainer and made it interesting and made sure it was enjoyable as well. I have already stated within the company that I would recommend her for future courses.”
Banctec Limited

“Thank you Liz, a very effective trainer with a high degree of skills. I enjoyed working with you. “Public Health Laboratory

“I thought that the use of physical activity was excellent – it aided team building.”
East Thames Housing Association.

“The workshop was a great experience for me to iron out some of my fears when presenting to new groups of people. The training / workshop provided was testing, but highly worthwhile in order to not just learn new skills, but to assess current ones and build them into my presentation delivery techniques. I really benefited from the feedback based upon my presentation performances and having an independent and honest view from Liz and the group to help me develop my technique.

The workshop was innovative and interesting which required team participation allowing the group to interact and get to know each other during the workshop, as a result of my attendance I would definitely recommend the course to my fellow colleagues and friends.”
HI-Q Systems Ltd

“Will improve my public speaking. Improve effectiveness in meetings and team work.”
Royal Instute of British Architects

“Will help me to improve my persuasion & presentation skills. Very useful refresher.”
Nicholson Graham Jones

“I’m already pretty OK with how to develop content for presentations so it’s good to get some insight on how to improve delivery. Our sales team could definitely benefit from learning a bit about presentation delivery. Its good for me to know how to deal with conflict in the audience.”
Staffware PLC

“Good for presenting new projects to different groups and communicating key points to key sets of people.” 
Reuters PLC

“The opportunity to get my presentation technique checked out rather than the presentation content was very useful. Effective for giving “selling presentations” and seminars. Phone call style is a difficult skills and there were some helpful pointers given.”
GL Hearn

“All very useful but the exercises and voice work particularly – gives a firmer foundation.”
London Borough of Camden.

“Thanks Liz I was rather nervous about this course but I am so glad I came.”
CMS Cameron McKenna

“GL Hearn commissioned SkillStudio earlier this year for two workshops: Communicate Effectively and Powerful Presentations. The workshops have helped our town planners to develop their skills in communicating with both staff and clients and also enabled them to confidently deliver presentations of our services to prospective clients. We found the workshops and tutoring by Liz Banks both professional and fun. We would certainly recommend SkillStuidio for similar training.”
GL Hearn

“As for Liz’s skillstudio “effective presentation” course earlier in the summer. This was a well rehearsed and well constructed course that I must add has benefitted me greatly. Liz, is very good at assisting a small group of effective strangers to relax, and then offering the time and encouragement and tuition required to improve.
A fundamental advantage that I took away is how Liz allows and encourages everyone to improve their own self confidence. I would therefore recommend this course to a multitude of professionals in different backgrounds, where public speaking is an integral part of their employment. I am however, thankful that, she never videotaped any of my original blunders.”
NTT Europe

“I very much enjoyed the workshop. It was very hands on which was quite interesting as workshops I have been on in the past have not been as hands on. This gave us (I feel) a great opportunity to relax and get to know others on the workshop in a less formal and fun way. I saw people being transformed from very shy retiring individuals to more outspoken confident presenters. I had to use the skills I gained from the workshop very soon after returning to work for a 5 minutes presentation. The tools and techniques I gained made me feel calmer and more in control of myself and my audience making the message I had to get across more interesting (I feel).

I have passed some of these skills onto one or two of my colleagues and have recommended the workshop to people who have to do presentations. It was nice to have a mix of careers and professions on the day. An excellent workshop, providing excellent tools and techniques to improve presentations skills.”
Nationwide Building Society