Here are the most valuable learnings I had from our sessions -

• Better understanding of the "sources" of Chinese accent and techniques to reduce them.  More importantly they helped me realize that the content and how you deliver the message are more critical in clear and effective communications (the accent is a small factor for my level of fluency).  Overall it helped me speak and communicate with more ease and confidence. 
• Oral presentation training was really great.  The session made me aware of my body language, eye contact, content organization, tone of my voice, etc.  I am now using the techniques training my reports like a pro.
• Voice training was "revolutionary" for me.  I had been speaking with stress in my vocal system for many years and did not know why I became tired so quickly after speaking for a few minutes.  Now I can control my voice (and stress) a lot better. 

For my team, I felt that the importance placed on the informal communications (picking up signals in team or individual situations) was very important.  As you are aware, this may work on some folks who “get it” and others who do not.  It was important to quickly identify those who would not get it (no matter how often it was presented) so that other work opportunities could be identified where they could be potentially successful.

     Personally it was good for me to have an initial analysis of my communication process (nothing organic identified) noting my strengths & weaknesses.  My strength, I feel, is still in small group or 1:1 situations.  I continue to struggle a bit speaking for large groups but if I prepare well in advance I can communicate effectively.

Vladimir’s effectiveness in the organization has improved dramatically.  This is  evident by his recent promotion to Principal Scientist and him taking over several important aspects of the translational development of our lead clinical candidate.

His interpersonal skills improved – he is now able to negotiate across the organization and get people to cooperate with him.  An example of this is his working with the Research and Clinical  groups on biomarkers from patients that received our product.

Another example is associated with his presentation skills which improved dramatically. 

I really enjoyed the learning program with you. It has been a while since we finished the program. So what is stuck with me is really something I think valuable:

• First and foremost, I realized that Leadership and Communication Skills are really worth learning. After I finish reading the books you left with me, I continue studying articles related to such topics. They are very helpful to my work, and even to my personal life. My wife comments that I am a much easier person to talk to since I had the program with you.
• Another valuable lesson to me is the way to use email.
• I start to learn how to read people and then deal with them accordingly under different situations. It is not an easy one but I recognize it and try my best to learn the dynamics.  I believe it is an ongoing process. It is very helpful for me for several integration projects dealing with people from multiple companies and groups.

I got to say that the most valuable thing I got from my experience working with you was:

• I’m sure now that people can understand me when I say thing, the message gets across
• my ears opened up to a more “in tune English sound” so I’m more sensitive the way I sound the way I speak. I believe that my pronunciation improved significantly
• Your perfectionism and patience in making people sounding better is superb.

I think the most valuable learning among the many is the American society and company culture. As a foreigner, blending into the society and fitting into the company are actually not easy tasks. You were very helpful to guide me in this area during our working sessions. Another very valuable thing to me is the diversified vocabulary learning. I’m not a “reader” so the most of reading material were work related and they are more at the science area. I read many other things during the training period.

Thank you so much for your great work. I had learnt a lot and became a more confident person.

The most valuable learning for me is developing capability of overcome obstacles at work and life with communication skills. The communication skills you taught are not limited to the technical aspect of the English learning, and expended to coaching the mentality and behavior for a better fit to working environment. I started to thing and behave differently after your effective coaching and become happier at work.

I remember you as a very dedicated and effective coach for the people we sent your way.  In particular, I believe you instilled in them a commitment to improve their language and more importantly, their communication style.  I sense that message stuck – they understood that 1) it was important to success, and 2) always keep working on it.  Some of the results were easily apparent:  improvement from practice, seeking help to edit or review, looking to others by example.  I observed more attention to enunciation, slowing down to carefully communicate in oral presentations. 

I would add that you helped me and opened my awareness.  Our conversations and your references are still integral parts of how I interact and manage people who have nuances in their communication style or who struggle with language barriers.  Thank you many times over for sharing that insight.

Dear Karen, 

If Christmas is the season to give thanks, my list has to begin with you, my favorite teacher. I sincerely wish you and your family Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Thank you for teaching my English last year. Although I don’t have much time to continue the learning this year, but I always try to speak slowly and clearly. If there is a chance, I will make efforts to think before speaking out. In this holiday season, I will take out the CDs of MEEC and listen to them again. These CDs do help me a lot about my pronunciation and intonation. Herein I would like to thank you again for your coaching and influencing!!