Tim Stranges

President, The Timothy Group

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Whether it's a group of 20 or 200, when you speak you commands attention.  You connect with every person as if he/she is the only one in the room.  I have seen audience members so focused on you that they lose track of time and place. They laugh, they cry, but above all they listen. And when it's over they want more.

I think your success as a speaker is because you illustrates you points with sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, personal stories.  Many of the stories are based on her own experiences or those of her family, friends as well as those in your audience . All of the stories are ones that audience members can relate to, i.e. they have happened to them or close family/friends.  And to my mind storytelling is one of the most powerful tools a speaker can use.

As a trainer, Dr. Jo, your skills are equally excellent.  I have worked with and/or observed you conducting dozens of training sessions, ranging from workforce diversity to communication to conflict management. I have personally seen you cajole a group of 90 hostile white men into doing a group exercise on workforce diversity issues that none of them wanted to do.  Upon completion almost all commented on how worthwhile the exercise had been.

Dr. Jo, your facilitation skills are a superb.  You have a knack for getting people engaged in team building, visioning, and other group activities, even those who say they are just going to sit there and not participate. You know how to keep a group on track and when to energize or de-energize it, i.e. when conversations get too heated. You also know when to interject yourself in the process and when to stay on the sidelines as a coach.

In working with her, I have seen hundreds of participant evaluations of your work.  You are uniformly rated in the Very Good to Excellent range, even by participants who were mandated to attend one of her presentations or training sessions.

In short, I strongly recommend you for further speaking, training and facilitating assignments. Most of all, I look forward to working with you again in the near future."