Participant Comments

Comments from people attending Verbal Judo Training

"Hi Lee: I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you again. The response we received to your presentation was overwhelming positive. We will definitely use your talent again at our next ULA meeting."
-- Michelle Miller, Unlicensed Activity Investigator, Florida Department of Health, West Palm Beach

Thank you very much for the Verbal Judo training. The audience consisted of County social workers and employment councilors. Among the feedback:
   "I'd say it is one of the best training I've ever gotten.”
   “Lee is very dynamic and entertaining without losing the message."
   "Verbal Judo was an excellent training.”
   “Mr. Fjelstad was very professional, but also very engaging."
   "Other County departments/divisions should consider this training for their staff."
    Several members have also communicated to me that they are finding ways to use Verbal Judo in their communication on a daily basis. Given that many of the people in the audience present their own workshops and seminars and are a 'tough crowd' it is even more noteworthy that they were so impressed by your training. Needless to say, I consider this to have been effort and money well invested.
      -- Racy Ming, Program Manager, Marin County Employment Connection, CA

"Thank you very much for your OUTSTANDING 'Verbal Judo' training sessions here in Marin County last month. Your presentations were totally engaging, very entertaining, and though provoking. But, more important, you conveyed solid communication strategies for dealing with difficult people and our staff definitely 'got it'."
   -- Peter D. Schiller, Manager, North Bay Job Service, Employment Development Dept. CA

"Lee, I can't thank you enough for a really terrific and pertinent presentation today. I haven't seen our crowd so quiet and attentive in years! I'm hoping to bring everyone on board with the Five Steps and I'm hoping it will make out tense situations go more smoothly. Again, thank you so much!
-- Jill Huff, PACE West School, VA

"Lee recently presented at the Region 16 Educational Service Center conference 'Educating the Challenging Student.' His presentations were both entertaining and practical... I would recommend Mr. Fjelstad's training to any organization interested in improving employee communication skills and reducing interpersonal conflicts."
   -- Lana S. Fry, M.A., L.S.S.P., Education Specialist. Region 16, TX

“I want to thank your for your participation in our ‘Coaching the Champions’ program for our shipboard and shore side management. Your presentation in Verbal Judo made our training compelling and relevant. Your enthusiasm from beginning to end helped escalate the ratings to make the summer training a huge success.”
   -- Roberta L. Jacoby, Senior Vice President, Air/Sea Operations and Corporate Training, Carnival Cruise Lines

“The Feedback was extremely positive. Your presentation provided valuable information, and your delivery of the material was excellent. Thank you for your commitment to us. I hope we have the opportunity to work together again in the future.
   -- Joanne Martinico, Sandia National Labs, NM

“Thank you for the opportunity to be a student in the Verbal Judo class. The training was inspirational and direct. It provided new tools for me to use in the day to day communication challenges of a hotel sales person.”
   --Charlie Roundabush, Hyatt Regency, Dearborn, MI

“ The program was fantastic. Obviously Lee Fjelstad is well versed in the subject presented. His delivery was dynamic.
   --Candy Gusst, SR. Training and Development Specialist, Philadelphia Savings Fund Society

“Mr. Fjelstad mesmerized the audience with his motivational, humorous, state of the art presentation.”
   --Shauna Steele, Administrator, NM Human Services Dept.

“I love how the principles are presented by using situations to demonstrate the example. I wish I had understood these principles in my first marriage.”
   --Glynn Ann Fry, Administrative Secretary, Chico, CA

“The one tool that makes your seminar so successful is your use of examples and antidotes to relay your message across. You seem to have the ability to capture an audience from the word go and leave them with the feeling of satisfaction knowing that what they learned can be easily applied to their everyday lives, as well as work.”
   --Joe Vivian, President, Coronado Center Merchants Association (NM)

“Thank you for what could be the training highlight of the year at G. Fox.”
   -- Michael Lang, Training Manager, G. Fox, Division of May Department Stores

“I would definitely recommend Lee Fjelstad as a leader of professional development training.”
   -- Wendy Sue Lyttle, Director of Member Benefits, Canadian Professional Sales Association

   “Excellent.” “Very appropriate and tailored to our jobs”
   “Presentation was fun, amusing, and helpful – I wanted more”
   “Very helpful in my everyday work”
    "As you can see, your program was well received. Again, thanks for a fun and informative program.”
   -- Cindy Sterns, Assistant Bureau Chief, NM Department of Taxation and Revenue

“Your talk on Verbal Judo at the Westin Hotel in Denver on June 19th was great. I hope PCMA has you as a speaker again.”
   -- Mary Ann Acuri, American Heart Association of Colorado

“I enjoyed the all-to-brief two-hour ‘Verbal Judo’ session you gave in Ottawa for The Professional Convention Management Association on April 15th here in Ottawa.
   –- Michael J. DiCola, Director of Communications, The Canadian Association of Optometrists

“On behalf of Maria Breeser, Joanne Mayer, and myself, I’d like to thank you for inviting us to ‘Verbal Judo’ on June 22nd. We found the workshop to be relevant, informative, interesting and enjoyable.”
     -- Judy Principe, Administrative Training Specialist, Corporate Staff Development, AAA Mid-Atlantic

“It was the biggest gathering of Radio Management, Sales and Marketing executives ever held in the world! More that 2,200 Radio men and women from all over the world were there and many of them came to hear what you had to say. Thanks again and please let me know whenever RAB can be of service to you.”
   -- Wayne Corniles, Executive Vice President, Radio Advertising Bureau

“Lee gave a first rate, five star presentation. On behalf of our General Managers and their spouses who were fortunate enough to hear Lee’s presentation, please convey our thanks for a job well done.”
   -– Bruce, President/Chief Operating Officer, Beasley Broadcasting

“A number of people requested your address for possible future speaking engagements.”
   -- Robin Brassie
“Your presentation was a significant factor in the success of our annual conference. The review from the evaluations of your keynote address revealed that your audience felt they received valuable and thought provoking information while being thoroughly entertained.
   -– Shelia Allen, VAWA Program Grant Manager, State of New Mexico Crime Victim Reparation Commission

“Your ‘OUTSTANDING’ presentation really brought home the need for the use of positive communications between the workforce and the public and how the utilization of these techniques can help diffuse even the angriest individual.”
   -- John Fairchild, Conference Chair, OR Pupil Transportation Assoc.

“On behalf of the Charlotte chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants, I would like to thank you for your valuable one-day training and keynote speech delivered to approximately 40 Management Accountants. We enjoyed having you back for a second year in a row. On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest, there was unanimity in our evaluations that your training was a 5, regarding knowledge, delivery, impact, and usefulness. Thank you again for your fine work. I look forward to seeing you next year.
   -- Warren Deutsch, Vice President or Education, Institute of Management Accounting, Managing Director, Accounting Principals.

“Please let me take a moment to thank you for your wonderful presentation at the Minnesota State College and Universities Human Resources Conference in Rochester, MN. Despite the serious nature of the topic, your dynamic and entertaining style kept the entire audience with you the whole way.”
   -– Mary J. Millar, Director of Personnel, Office of the Chancellor.

“Mr. Fjelstad’s command of his subject matter, delivery, humor and ability to relate to all audience types has generated incredibly positive audience feedback like no other speaker CSRMA has engaged. It is with great enthusiasm that CSRMA endorses Lee Fjelstad.”
   -- David Patzer, Risk Control Adviser, CSRMA

   “It was very entertaining, thought provoking, and informative.”
   “It was really great.”
   “Great class”
   “I particularly appreciate your ability to relate the topic to our diverse audience including staff from our multi-purpose arena, a campus hotel, student health department, housing and food services, as well as others. We also appreciate your ability to take what can be a challenging topic for many people and making it educational as well as entertaining.”
   -- Kim Mahoney, Assistant Director, of Event Services and Administration, Jerome Schottenstein Center, Ohio State University

“…Just wanted to give you some follow-up from our Verbal Judo training. I’ve attached the poster I presented to the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists Mid-Year Meeting in New Orleans this past week about the success of the training. It seems the staff still talks about Verbal Judo so we admittedly had a successful day of training.”
   -- Cindy Clegg, RPh,, Supervisor, Ambulatory Pharmacy Services, Harborview Medical Center, WA

“Thank you for such an informative and enjoyable training session. Those of us from the library who attended are very excited about what we learned. You definitely have a way with teaching. None of us were the least bit bored, and hopefully with some practice we will be able to put a good part of the training into effect…and thank you again for such a wonderful class.”
   – Geri Bezio, Livermore Public Library, CA

"The Verbal Judo Institute has provided training to our county for the past eleven years. The main reason I ask them to return year after year is that the message they provide is invaluable to public employees. It is a pleasure to offer any form of encouragement for the training provided by Lee Fjelstad and the Verbal Judo Institute. Any and all employers would find the classes very valuable in the conduct of whatever business they conduct; whether they are in retail, schools, manufacturing, or any type of business.
   -- Mazie Chauvin, Training Manager, CEO/Human Resources, County of Ventura, CA

“The feedback I’m getting from our employees in Reno has been overwhelmingly positive, just like the reaction from our Las Vegas employees the month before. In fact, I haven’t had any negative reaction from any of the three sessions you did last month. We had everyone from maintenance people to senior staff from Rates and Regulatory Affairs, and all had positive things to say. All seemed most impressed that what they learned will apply in all areas of life, not just work. I should warn you that the word is out about your classes, so you can expect larger crowds when you return in May. Our Major Accounts Manager as requested that he be allowed to invite some of our larger customers to send some of their people to participate. There would be people from some of the hospitals, government entities, hotels/casinos, etc. Given the positive response from our employees, he views this as an excellent opportunity to add value to our customer relations effort.”
   -- Bill Neiles, Senior. Staff Consultant, Human Resources Development, Nevada Power

"Thanks again Lee for educating and enlightening our city employees. The presentation reviews were excellent. I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks in Whittier." Howard Fishman, Risk Manager, City of Manhattan Beach, CA

   Evaluations from an Open-Enrollment One-Day Verbal Judo Course in the Los Angeles Area.
   This ICRMA University session was conducted on, April 26th, 2006 and April 27th, 2006, at the Radisson Hotel Whittier. There were 142 persons who attended the two sessions, 128 of which completed evaluations. The evaluations were rated on a scale of one to six, with six being best. The averages were as follows:
   Content of presentation Average score of 5.75
   Ideas to apply at work Average score of 5.84
   Effectiveness of presenter Average score of 5.97
   Knowledge of presenter Average score of 6.00
   Presenter held interest Average score of 5.96
General Comments:
   "This workshop is excellent, Lee is the best speaker I have ever known."
   "This was a great addition to ICRMA University."
   "Thoroughly enjoyed this session. You should bring him back for future session."
   "Make it a two day seminar covering issues more thoroughly"
   "Great workshop—the speaker energy is outstanding"
   "Thanks! Excellent and adequate information. Please inform of other workshops"
   "Excellent course."
   "Lee is an outstanding presenter. Captivates audience and made training enjoyable"
   "Fabulous training"
   "Would be nice to have each class filled with people in same careers/situations."
   "Overall, very good"
   "Lee did an awesome job in presenting the material and keeping the audience attention."
   "GREAT SUBJECT."
   "Best workshop I’ve attended in a long time."
   "Outstanding, I want this program to be shared with all our employees."
   "Also, it is very effective to hear training from a person who has been personally involved in experiences, not just “academic” lecturing."
   "The pace of the session was perfect. I feel that Mr. Fjelstad really connected with the participants on a very personal level."
   "Great presentation."
   "I enjoyed this workshop and hope to take what I learned today to others at the workplace."
   "Outstanding course."
   "I wish it were longer."
   "I want to learn more."
   "Thank you very much."
   "Overall, great class, maybe extend to two days so can be more detail."
   "This was an excellent seminar."
   "Lee presented the information in such an interested way and never lost my attention."
   "The trainer was great."
   "Wonderful training."
   " Learned many things to apply at work and at home.
   "Instructor was great."
   "Really enjoyed the examples."
   "...his sense of humor."
   "I loved this class and I would recommend this class to everyone."
   "He was an excellent speaker."
   "Speaker was incredible, kept it interesting."
   "Excellent facilitator."
   "...kept the topic interested and will use/apply ideas in my daily activities."
   "A very good instructor who kept interest up during the day."
   "Incredible and charismatic instructor."
   "Great training."
   "Wonderful."
   "Great speaker; kept the training interested and fun.
   "Great job by the presenter."
   "I was able to retain much more information."
   "The presenter was great."
   "He was funny and knew what he was talking about."
   "Great session—enjoyed very much."
   "Pleased with explaining/setting “principle” prior to the teaching (presentation) of techniques."
   "Thank you."
   "Lee, he is awesome!"
   "Thank you."
   "Good speaker."
   "Taught from, or as if law enforcement…made for a very interesting experience."
   "Good presentation."
   "Nice to see a council member here form a local city."
   "Effective training, exceeded expectations."
   "Uncanny, but this workshop will be helpful for me in my work, grad school, and personal life. It may be due to the enduring universal message, but even a couple of months ago I was not in the situation(s) I am in now and may not have gained much from this workshop. When the student is ready (or desperate enough) the teacher shows up. Weird how that works, huh."
   "It was great."
   "Presenter has a unique and fun way of presenting his ideas."
   "Really enjoyed entire workshop."
   "Lee is a great instructor."
   "Funny."
   "Excellent program.
   "Great communicator—relevant examples—very good day."
   "Well done! Please come to our city."
   "Great job."
   "Excellent."
   "Lee is just great."
   "Thanks."
   "Very well presented."
   "Thank you; and I would like contact info on the presenter so I can hold a session on site.

My hope is these references and client list will offer a small indicator of the program. Thank you for considering the Verbal Judo program and my skills as an effective presenter.

W. Lee Fjelstad, Vice President, Verbal Judo Institute, Inc. 941-350-9559