CORSPAN: Testimonials

Deb Kowalczyk nationally certified and licensed speech/voice consultant and owner of Clearspeak, www.clearspeak.net

Juan Carlos Bedoya is President of Easy Call, a Chicago pre-paid phone card company.

Columbian-born Juan Carlos Bedoya works in Chicago with primarily Spanish speaking employees and customers. He had the desire to improve his English, but did not have the chance to speak English in his everyday environment. ESL (English as a Second Language) classes did not give him the individualized attention needed to make the big improvements that he wanted.

Juan worked with Deb Kowalczyk one-on-one for several months to improve his accent. Their work together included not only structured reading and exercises, but also the opportunity to practice pronunciation in every session.

Juan is very pleased with the improvement he has made in his accent. He notices the difference especially on phone calls and during negotiations. He recommends this type of one-on-one work with a Speech Pathologist to improve accents.

Shelly Wallace, Founder & President of Accent Management and Director of the Institute of Language and Phonology, www.800language.com

Shelly's client, Mauro is an Engineer working at a Fortune 100 company. He is from Italy originally, and now works in the USA.

Mauro's position demands that he travel internationally and also conduct business on the telephone. He found that many people, especially those who are not native English speakers, could not always understand him easily. He would have the 'feeling' that people did not understand him and also sometimes they would ask for him to repeat what he had said.

Mauro worked with Shelly Wallace to modify his accent. He worked with her for a total of 13 lessons, which included 1-on-1 practice sessions and homework. At the beginning of the sessions, Shelly evaluated his intonation and pronunciation so they could focus their work on specific areas.

Mauro was recorded speaking English both before and after his training and is very pleased with the results. His wife and co-workers notice the difference, too.

Dale Klein, Corporate Communication and Speech Specialist and Owner of Profitable Speech, LLC. www.profitablespeech.com

Dale Klein's client, Karen Brown is a successful woman, and Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region.

Karen had an upcoming fund raiser event where she needed to deliver a presentation to hundreds of prospective donors. She wanted to make sure to get across her passion for the organization that she has been involved in for more than 12 years.

Dale worked with this client individually for a 2-month period. During Dale & Karen's sessions, they addressed: relaxation techniques, visualization, breathing exercises, development of speaking points, nonverbal language, intonation, rate, and volume.

Karen successfully delivered her speech at a major fund raising event and felt she achieved her goals and met her job expectations.

Jayne Latz, M.A.,CCC-SLP, President of Corporate Speech Solutions www.corporatespeechsolutions.com

Howard, a NYC attorney who contacted Corporate Speech Solutions to develop a stronger, more dynamic speaking voice as well as to develop overall confidence in business and social communication settings.

Wanted to improve his vocal quality and increase his self confidence in business situations. Prior to last session he emailed Jayne Latz to say he had an interview the next week to work with a prominant Judge.

Last sessions was spent reinforcing all that was learned to date with the addition of "prepping" with interview questions to get client prepared for a variety of situations.

Client contacted Jayne Latz to inform her that he was offered the job!