Testimonials

This was a very useful seminar that was flexible in its format.  John really stretched me to be structured and yet expressive.  The studio session was particularly fulfilling and allowed us to use the structures we had learned in a real-life media setting under pressure and having to think on our feet.  All-in-all a very worthwhile training that produced a big difference in me with my performance and confidence in handling an Anglo-Saxon media environment.

Michael Broening, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

On-site supervision interview training

• This was a fantastic workshop and I would not have expected such a useful output from a soft skills training. The inter-active roleplays and working in small groups were highly efficient and the trainers were not only competent, but also highly entertaining. Many thanks to John and his team!


• Taking the course has been a great experience. John and Ben (the trainers) have been superb throughout. They have listened to all comments and always answered any questions enthusiastically and to the point. They provided concrete steps to deal with difficult situations and to build good relationships from the start. These steps are clearly described and explained and the role-playing provides a platform to practice and to observe others in order to understand what adjustments need to be made when applying these techniques.


• Given the difficult circumstances of the pandemic they make excellent use of the available technology with breakout rooms, polls, downloads etc. I would definitely recommend the course to anyone that has a client-facing role or deals with supervision and audit. It will probably make your life easier if you are unsure of how to deal with specific situations.


• I have never participated in such an interesting and practical training in soft skills. I very much appreciate the effort that you and Ben put into organizing and conducting it. It wasn't easy, also because of technical problems, but you did great.  The IRIS technique is the one that I liked very much.


• “I really feel the benefit of the practical application of the theory through the role plays, observations and discussion. It has provided me with a tool set to deal with challenging interviews and situations in my role. More importantly it has increased my confidence to deal with these challenges head-on!”


• I would like to thank you for organizing such a useful training. I am glad that you intend to offer this seminar to other supervisors, I am sure they will find it as interesting as I have.


• I have already given to the head of my department a very positive feedback concerning the seminar and you (John and Ben) for being really nice personalities. I suggested you to give a lecture to the whole department, as we would benefit by improving our communicating skills. We would be very glad to see you in person, talk and have fun in Athens!


• I just wanted to say that the course was fantastic and I really mean it

 

ELICIT team leadership

• I would like to thank again you and Ben for the excellent course - as I told several colleagues already, it is the best course on so-called "soft skills" I ever attended. I found it very useful and I am sure that this experience will be beneficial for my future professional life.


• I think this course is useful independently on whether a person has a team lead role. This course is really about developing effective ways to communicate with others, be them peers, superiors or team members. The main value added of this course is the training method. Other courses adopt a more traditional approach and one tends to forget the notions acquired after a short period of time. In this course, one learns by doing and by observing others, and this has a strong impact on how the notions are assimilated. This course challenges the participants and makes them actively participate in a series of activities which resemble daily life situations. Furthermore, through personalised sessions, the course is tailored to the needs of the participants and helps them reflect upon past situations and better ways to handle them. I already recommended it to colleagues and will be very happy to sponsor it further at the ECB!


• The clarity and approach of the trainers was simply outstanding. I cannot think of anything that could have been explained better.  Both John and Ben are very clear and catch the attention of the participants.   I found the preparatory sessions extremely useful and that the information I provided was used to full extent during the sessions and the live issues.


• Many thanks also from my side for yet another wonderful course and great interaction, now we are officially alumni.