Testimonials

Writing & Editing 

 “Kathleen Ellis is what she teaches. How she communicates, how she structures a sentence, how she conveys an idea makes you want to just listen and learn and get more and more. I have worked with Kathleen for several years in both writing and presentation training.  he has not just taught me, but she has got me to change my how I communicate. I use shorter sentences, I pause, I wait, I connect better with my audience or reader. I actually like to read what I write, now. Kathleen has invested her time and energy and passion for what she does into me as a customer. I have brought her into my company to teach and coach others. The greatest thing I have learned from her is that communicating well is the first step to caring for and serving others.” — Rick Carter, former CEO, Equation Consulting 

 Kathleen gave unwavering support and sure-handed guidance as I completed the daunting task of revising my dissertation for publication. She has helped me stay focused on the skills that will help me be more productive in the future, including greater self-confidence and joy in the writing process.Halbert Barton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology, Long Island University  

 I am happy to tell you that I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation. It was a long and difficult road to get here. With your support in writing, I was able to complete the dissertation. Thank you for all of your help.Mike Marroquin Ph.D, BCBA, The Graduate Center City University of New York 

 “I worked with Kathleen on my book, Youth Participatory Evaluation as Serious Play: A Performatory Approach to Evaluation and Youth Development. She was amazing. First she worked quickly and efficiently around my incredibly crazy travel schedule. Second, she made fantastic suggestions while maintaining my personal voice and writing style. No writer should be without someone like Kathleen.” — Kim Sabo, Ph.D., Kim Sabo Consulting

Presentations and Public Speaking

“Kathleen was amazing. I learned so much about how I personally present and how to be a more powerful presenter and leader. It was the perfect eye-opener for “recovering actors” who might think they’re presentation skills are pitch-perfect, when in fact we use the same bad habits that everyone else uses – and more so! Highly recommended and would take another class in a second if I could.”  —Elizabeth Findlay, AKA NYC

“Extremely valuable training. Top 5 things I learned:

  • Seeing her model the ideas she taught as she explained them reinforced gave life to the principles.
  • Content: I need to “look” and think about my story/presentation strategy as much as I work on the data inside a report.
  • Organization: Framing is extremely effective in leading audience toward the facts in a presentation. I had known this principle, but overlooked its potential until I saw Kathleen’s effective demonstration of the same.” – Mike

“I have taken an entire university level course on presenting and feel like I learned more useful information and technique in the hour and a half with Kathleen than I have previously.  I found her ideas regarding the verbal and posture cues particularly helpful.  Overall I found her time and advice incredibly valuable.”  — Dan

“I was not looking forward to the presentation training – who loves to be critiqued? However, Kathleen is so engaging and gave feedback of our negatives in such a way that she made the uncomfortable experience a positive one. I would welcome doing this again  – same small groups. I appreciated the feedback about framing and transitioning – extremely helpful.”– Cheryl

“I very much enjoyed the opportunity to learn from Kathleen.  Her instruction and critiques were thoughtful, insightful, and helpful. Her feedback, along with that of others in my group, has motivated me to regularly practice my oral presentation skills. I look forward to incorporating her insights into the Equation way of PPT construction and delivery (e.g., story, sequence, style). Overall, a great training, one we didn’t realize how much we needed until we experienced it. I would love to work with and learn from Kathleen again. “– Dave

“I really enjoyed the day. Kathleen’s training was very helpful. She helped make me more aware of my voice inflections, mannerisms, and use of my hands when I speak. I also realize that I need to remember to slow down when I speak. Good training. I saw each person in our group make improvements in their presentations after listening to her critiques & recommendations.” – Phill

She was a fabulous teacher and was very insightful during the lecture and while critiquing. I really liked the format that she used:

  • Teach what to do and which pitfalls to avoid
  • Give an opportunity to present
  • Critique
  • Given an opportunity to present and make improvements  –Nathan

“I was amazed at how much I learned from her. Until yesterday, I never realized how much impact the smallest changes in intonation, body language, and wording have on the presentation. In watching each other, it was very clear to see how much those things mattered in how well we as listeners understood, were engaged, and interested in what was being said.” – Katherine

“In the two months since participating in this class, I’m finding it really useful to focus my meeting presentations on telling a story with an end result or goal in mind.  I’m presenting better and I’m accomplishing more in meetings using less time and fewer words!” – Janette

Interviews

When I first learned that I would be interviewed on Live TV, I immediately knew who to call. Kathleen  helped me focus on my message and technique and, most importantly, gain the self-assurance I needed to appear on TV.  After  only two meetings, Kathleen’s insight and attention to detail made my TV debut a hit! – Michael Chait, Producer, Connecticut

“Kathleen helped me prepare for my interviews with the Wall Street Journal and Financial Advisor magazines. I was the lead quote for the article in Financial Advisor. She also helped me prepare to speak on a national teleconference. Not only was my message concise and targeted, but I was told I sounded confident and passionate.”  – Paul, financial advisor, New York

“I had been feeling pretty stuck and anxious in this slow economy and having Kathleen Ellis as a resource to partner with as these interviews come up has been a huge game changer for me. She provided me with a fresh perspective, practical suggestions and invaluable insight while preparing for the interview process. Kathleen encouraged me to focus in on my strengths, empowered me to be direct about my weaknesses and gave me the courage to seize every opportunity to shine.” –Kim, cosmetics industry, New York

“I find Kathleen’s encouragement and direct feedback very useful. The coaching process gave a boost to my confidence and helped me fine tune my message for a recent television interview.” – Marci, individual, marriage, and family counselor, Missouri

“From the moment I began my work with Kathleen, my expectations were surpassed. While I knew that I had the skills and experience for a good management position, Kathleen surprised me by bringing out my authentic enthusiasm for the career I had been struggling with (something I had forgotten) and showed me how I could bring that into the interview in a confident, clear and concise manner.  She also surprised me with her insights on very subtle things, such as the way I changed the tone of my voice and the effects of the filler words I used—things I hadn’t noticed in 10 years of work.  After incorporating her suggestions, I was impressed that I had what it takes to be articulate and interesting throughout an interview—I had the whole package!  It’s been insightful and exciting working with Kathleen and I am so grateful to her for her help.  I can’t wait for interviews now!” — NR, Manager at a chemical company, New York

Resumes

I just wanted to thank you for the fabulous job you did on my resume. You made the process of transforming my old resume into a new and improved one very painless. I am already receiving more interest in just one week after posting my new resume. I appreciate the professional, yet personal, manner in which you conducted our project.  — John, Manager of Corporate Treasury

I got an interview on my first submission!  — Howard, Corporate Credit Manager

The process of preparing a resume after 20 years was a daunting task.  However, with Kathleen’s help, it was an enlightening experience as she helped me identify the important aspects of my career that I may have taken for granted and helped to put them in a logical and thoughtful order. —  Mike, Senior Vice President, Insurance

To my utter surprise, the company offered me a job within a week and a half of me sending out that first resume. The guidance you gave me last fall made a huge difference in how I was able to approach my job search this fall, so I really wanted to share this success with you.  Thank you so much for your help! — Mary, Product Manager, Pharmaceuticals, NY

The resume is just what I was looking for–sophisticated, simple and professional. This is exactly how I want to present myself to potential employers.  — Bill, graphic designer

The resume & cover letter you wrote for me are excellent. You are extremely talented. I feel confident they will help me change my career.  — Susan, administrative assistant and trainer