What others say

Speaking and Listening workshops:

Maggie has facilitated workshops for us with Volunteers and Health & Social Care professionals since 2012 with consistently impressive results and superb evaluation feedback.

She has the extraordinary ability to take a room full of hesitant and often reluctant people to point where by the end of the day, their self-confidence has grown and they achieve more than they could ever have imagined. For an organisation such as ours to equip people with the knowledge, skills and attitude to enable them to listen and communicate their message effectively is an important asset in our work to influence and inspire others to get involved. I would not hesitate to recommend Maggie as a facilitator.

MJ Holmes, Macmillan Cancer Support L&D Manager SE England, 2017. Mark on LinkedIn.

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“Empowering and myth-busting; building on confidence I already have. I really benefitted from the course, thank you again!’Sophie Thomas, Tours Accounts & Reconciliations Manager American Express UK.

“…I have had to do three presentations to patient support groups and a job interview recently, and all have been successful. I just wanted to thank you again for the day you ran so well – it definitely improved my skills.” Jane Woodhull, Clinical Nurse Specialist on LinkedIn. July 2016

 “Your workshop was brilliant and you made everyone feel so welcome that I think it helped to bring everyone out of their shell. …I used techniques that you taught us (for a presentation) and I have to say that I was an amazing experience. I made sure that I used a powerful start which went better than I could have hoped and I scanned the room whilst talking – every face was watching and you could have heard a pin drop! So, thank you for giving me confidence to do this with clarity and purpose.” Gina Espinosa, Volunteer, Macmillan Cancer Support, June 2016

“This was easily the best course I have been on to help in my career development. I thought the speaker was excellent, gave me confidence.” Macmillan MDT Unit Coordinator, May 2016

Speaker Coaching:

Working with Maggie really helped boost my confidence to speak at a conference. I found her very warm and encouraging to work with and full of useful information. I would highly recommend Maggie to anyone who wants to improve their skills and understanding of speaking in public. I came away feeling I had what it takes, that it was not about doing it perfectly, more about capitalising on my strengths and building confidence through practice.” Rebecca M., Consultant in Gender and Development on LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/2b3pzet July 2016

“… You certainly have the gift of bringing out the best in people, I had so many compliments afterwards.  Question: What is the difference between a good speech and a great one? Answer: Maggie Sawkins.”  Michael D., Father-of-the-Bride, July 2015

“I thought this was easily the best session and most worthwhile. Excellent speaker.” Participant, Macmillan Cancer Voices Conference 2014

“Excellent experience. Very resourceful day. It also built my confidence at the end of the day.” Teresa Kua, Macmillan Acute Oncology Service Nurse, Imperial Healthcare http://bit.ly/2fRxKz4

“Thank you very much for a wonderful workshop, I feel energised from the sessions and far better prepared for public speaking situations!… It’s a brilliant and very useful course for artists, and I would thoroughly recommend it…” Tinsel Edwards, Artist & Gallery Owner, A-Side B-Side  http://bit.ly/2gm5v9Z July 2014

My speech went better than I could ever have hoped (even in my wildest dreams!). I had people I didn’t know coming up to me to give me congratulations – and my daughter was literally in tears with laughter and perhaps a touch of emotion from what I was saying. I really didn’t know that I had it in me! And of course I have you to thank for this Maggie.” Mike Newens, Father-of-the-Bride, 2013

“Thanks so much for the summary email … it really helped calm my nerves on the day! You will be pleased to know, it went amazingly well and everyone complimented me afterwards, thank you so much for your help.” Alan Newman, Groom

“I’ve much enjoyed working with your advice. I now smile more at audiences and don’t tell them that the end is coming up either. Thanks so much for your support and encouragement.” Anonymous writer & speaker

“You are a bargain at the rates you charge. I have just got the video of Lucy’s wedding which includes the speeches. I have to tell you that mine was far superior to the other two; not because of the content, but because of the basic tips that I had from you in only one hour. Lucy says in her card that she thought my speech was great and you don’t know how much that means to me. Thank You !!! Your input has been priceless” Nick, Father-of-the-Bride

“Maggie really helped me with my first major presentation and she’s amazing. It’s like she knows all the secrets – she’s got it! I recommend her unreservedly.” Joe Moran, Artistic Director, Dance Art Foundation http://bit.ly/2fp2u6K

“I felt everyone participated and took risks which enhanced the quality of the training”. Steve Carney, Connexions

“Very well delivered, I feel more confident in my public speaking abilities! Keep up the good work – it’s positive and inspirational! ” A4E Staff Training

“Really enjoyed it, lively, accessible, humorous and instructive. Thank You” and “Helpful and enjoyable. Impressive facilitator – it felt that she not only knew our names, but knew us.” Participants, OWCH Network

“A warm and humorous approach to a scary subject. Very encouraging.” Anonymous

Public Speaking & Interview Skills Training 

Longterm jobseekers: “Very well delivered, I feel more confident in my public speaking abilities! Keep up the good work – it’s positive and inspirational!”; “It has helped me to realise that fear is not a bad thing. I can do anything I put my mind to” and “Very informative especially illustrating our fears and growing to find a solution.”

MC work

“Maggie’s MC-ing I thought was exemplary, just the right pace, balance and content – it could be used in a ‘how to’ training exercise.” Michael Ronayne, College of Public Speaking on LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/2fFIXQg

Life Coaching

“You didn’t ever tell me what to do, nor go off on a tangent of your idea…  Active listening and summarising was good.” Barbara G.

“I think that you are very good at understanding what I was saying, stating them in your own words, and then figuring out what process/tool to use to move forward. I realise only now how important it was that you said back to me what I said. I have heard about this idea a lot but not really experienced it that way and felt like I was being listened to and I never felt like you had your own agenda or pre-determined plan.” Neerja V.

Mediation:

“I would not hesitate in contacting Maggie to deal with some of our most serious issues in the council.” HR Lead, Braintree District Council (via CMP Resolutions)

“The mediator made me feel very comfortable and was able to lay everything on the table openly. She was very professional in the way she handled the situation. I was very pleased with her.” TfL Traffic Unit, (via CMP Resolutions)

“Maggie’s work was excellent and has resolved a seemingly intractable situation.” Andrew Morseley, London Underground (via CMP Resolutions)

“I found the regular summarising of what had been said and issues identified to be particularly useful as it kept our minds focussed and was a helpful recap. I would definitely recommend mediation to others in a similar situation, however recognise that it is critical that both parties concerned are willing to speak frankly and listen properly.” Manager, MHRA via CMP Resolutions

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