“The Presentation Skills class was an excellent experience for our scientists! As scientists they are called upon to be proficient both technically, through their quantitative work, as well as personally through executive and customer discussions and presentations. This program allowed the scientists to intensely focus on the personal interaction process in a truly productive way.

Michelle worked with our scientists both as a team and individually. She was extremely perceptive – of our needs as an organization and individual needs for presentations and discussions. The course was developed with appropriate focus, breadth and depth. Michelle was a fantastic classroom leader, appropriately demanding, constructive in feedback and perfectly on message!”

– Dwight Nelson, PhD/Therapy Chief Scientist/Global Neuromodulation Research

“Michelle is one of the best training partners I’ve had the pleasure to work with. She is not a vendor. She is truly a partner. Michelle will flex and go beyond expectations. Plus, she is someone I enjoy just enjoy being around. For our Leadership Experience Program, Michelle not only did 1:1 coaching of 25 individuals, she did several “stumble throughs” with the four business challenge teams. She prepared them so well that in the Capstone presentations, one team received their $25,000 request on the spot! Plus the President volunteered to be their sponsor. This rarely happens. Michelle is a rare find.”

– Jon Pappas, Global Learning & Leadership Development Consultant

 Check out the BURGER KING WORKSHOP VIDEO!

 “Michelle provided tremendous value in many ways, first in each project, she took the time to understand the business and it’s challenges and opportunities, then she provided us with a series of customized virtual practice and coaching sessions to improve the communicating with impact skills of our clinical customer facing specialists, there was immediate value realized with participants showing greater skills and confidence, and because of that freeing up sales resources to address other customer needs. She conducted several sessions that were cost effective and tailored to audience and is still asked for more projects at other parts of the organization.”

– Jack Frangipane, Director, Leadership Development (2003-2016)

 “Do you want to be more effective on the podium or in the boardroom? Do you ever feel that your message falls short of your intended goal? Or, does even the mention of public speaking cause you instant anxiety? Then perhaps Michelle Hutchison may have the perspective you are looking for. I have worked with Michelle for years to successfully train my scientist team members on how to deliver an impactful and engaging story of their work. By using skills from improvisational acting, sensory awareness, and building on audience feedback, Michelle can grow the poise and energy of any message you need to delivery. Her recipe is unique and her results are outstanding. Results in business, research, and all other fields thrive on effective communication.”

– Dr. Greg Molnar, Professor, Industry leader, Entrepreneur

“Coaching from Michelle Hutchison has been tremendous benefit in my career. She has a comfortable, approachable, and straightforward style to her coaching and interaction. She has improved my perspective on my approach to presentations and increased my focus on the manner on which I articulate and present myself; rather than relaying predominantly on my content to deliver my messages. Her techniques are easy to practice and integrate into my presentation skill set. I thoroughly enjoy working with her and plan to continue to utilize her expertise throughout the rest of my career.”

– Peter C. Tortorici, Ph.D. – Senior Principal Materials Engineer Neuromodulation Research

 “Michelle recently facilitated a workshop for a small group of physicians. Her energy was infectious and the workshop was the perfect way to kick start our day. When everyone was asked to incorporate something they had learned into the afternoon practice sessions, they delivered. Wow! This was my second experience working with Michelle and would recommend her for any type of audience.”

– Suzanne Dawidowicz, BKP – OsteoCool Curriculum Manager | Medical Education and Training

 “Surprisingly effective techniques to develop confidence in personal communication skills. Michelle is a keen observer and provides immediate feedback to complement all the interesting exercises to practice in class. Training session time goes very fast and I kept looking forward to the following session. I will continue practicing these techniques going forward. Fully recommended.”

– Arnoldo Ganuza – Sr. Software Quality Engineer

 “I signed up for the Presenting Outside the Box training with some doubts about its usefulness, but came away with a powerful method of creating and delivering a great presentation. Using the method, I was able to organize my thoughts and formulate an important presentation in just one training session. I’m now a true believer of the method and would highly recommend the training to others who wish to hone their communication skills.”

– Wei Gan, PhD, PMP – Senior Engineering Manager | Master Black Belt | CRHF Numerical Modeling

“Communicating with Impact was a 3 week training that had great impact in not only my day to day professional operations, but also my future goals. I learn techniques such as “taking a breath” when in difficult or stressful situations, the importance of preparation, and telling my story with a beginning, middle, and end. I highly recommend strong engagement in this course as it can truly shape you to not only be more impactful in your current situation, but to set you up for the next steps in your career.”

– Renee Early, Therapy Support Specialist, InterStim Therapy

 “Michelle was instrumental in helping me develop the opening speech for the 35th Science and Technology Conference. She guided me in organizing the key messages and tailoring the information to a diverse audience both live and virtual. During rehearsal she provided me the coaching I needed to increase my self-confidence and ensure that my delivery was engaging and professional.

Thanks Michelle – your coaching made a huge difference in my approach and final outcome. I could not have done it without you”

– Lucy Nichols, Director of Research Feasibility, Cardiac Rhythm & Diagnostics Division

 “Michelle was excellent in coaching me through improving my presentation skills and comfort in delivering presentations. She helped me to discover the key elements to a successful presentation including a simple framework for preparation, key nuggets to differentiate myself, and how to better connect with the audience. Michelle was extremely perceptive and was able to guide my learning appropriately and build my confidence in my natural ability to be a great presenter. I concluded my sessions with Michelle excited for my next big presentation!”

– Katie Pilkington, Sr. Manager – Corporate Strategy

“Presenting Outside the Box: Build the Talk of Your Life!” helped me connect with the physicality of using my voice in a way I had never really understood. Deceptively simple exercises in breathing, vocalizing, and stretching made me more capable of noticing and of controlling how I was speaking. Some of these exercises have become part of my standard preparation for public speaking. In the second phase of the class, improv games provided an entertaining way to practice new-found speaking skills in a way that also helped us learn to connect effectively with an audience. While it sometimes took me outside my normal comfort zone, this course was worth the effort, both entertaining and very educational.”

– Mark Viste, Principal Scientist, Research & Technology Department, Cardiac Rhythm and Heart Failure

 “I recently took both of the PRESENTING Outside the Box: Building the Foundation for the “TALK” of Your Life 101 and 201 courses from Michelle Hutchison. Each student came prepared with a presentation they were planning to give. I was greatly impressed by the transformation of these talks as Michelle helped each of us get to the One Big Idea and why people should care about it.

This process was harder than I thought it would be; but I find that now, when I speak to an assembled group, they stop doodling or looking at their computers, and lean in to hear every word.

Many of us have important and complex ideas that need to be communicated to our peers, and have trouble being succinct and interesting. These courses helped with that!”

– Jane Lanctot, Engineer, Firmware Specialty

 “I took this course to increase my overall presence and confidence when presenting. What I gained was a much more profound insight. Michelle has the ability to bring to light other underlying issues; in my case, it was my lack of confidence in speaking about myself. Michelle was fantastic she helped me understand that my unwillingness to share my experiences was unfair to the people I either present to or deal with on a daily basis. Michelle opened my eyes to a better understanding that the way you share about yourself is not boastful but can be a gift you give your listener. I would definitely recommend Michelle’s Presenting Outside the Box webinar…you never know what you will learn but I can guarantee you will not go away empty handed!”

– Steve Angeles, Senior Sales Representative

 “The Presenting for Non-Native English Speaker webinar allowed me to gain confidence and, as a non-native english speaker, use my accent as an advantage for my presentations. Michelle is an amazing teacher that not only provides great feedback to each of the participants but also expects each of the participants to support each others in a fun and interactive environment. Surprisingly, WebEx worked quite well for this class. The instructions that Michelle provided allowed all of us to interact, present and work on the materials without any problems – Finally, this class met my goals to be more aware of my current skills, understand the things I need to improve, improving some of them during the class, and with tools in hand to continue improving.”

– Yvan Paitel, Sr. Principal Software Engineer

 “I first met Michelle in November when I hired her for a team building event for my team of scientists. She worked with the team as a whole, doing a very good job of tailoring feedback and encouragement to the level of the individual (ranging from native speakers to a person who recently moved to America from China). After the course, the feedback from my team was very positive and we still discuss Michelle’s tips within our team as we help our colleagues continue to improve. After having such a positive experience with Michelle, I decided to engage her on an individual basis to help me prepare for a significant talk in the fall. She has been invaluable, asking all the hard questions and providing the level of critique I needed as I selected the scope and content of the course. Based upon my positive experience, I have recommended Michelle to several colleagues for both types of work, team training and individual coaching.”

— Kimberly Chaffin – P.E., Ph.D – Distinguished Scientist, Technical Fellow, Bakken Fellow

“I had never had a class with so much fun, but so helpful. The way Michelle taught is so unique and made me realize the differences of articulating English vs. Spanish. It has helped me tremendously and feel much more confident during presentations. The breathing and enunciation exercises were awesome, I keep practicing!”

– Jorge Hurtado – ASQ CQE- Principal Quality Engineer, Design Quality

“I speak multiple languages, Russian is my native one. It was always hard for me to present for public, even in Russian, doing it in non-native language was a challenge. I wanted to break this path and decided to take “Presenting for the Non-Native English Speaker” course taught by Michelle Hutchison. From the first section, this course was an eye opener for me. During each class, Michelle worked with each person individually and we also provided feedbacks to the group mates, it is extremely powerful and helpful tool. Acknowledge how other see and hear you, learning from other mistakes, was HUGE help in identifying and addressing my errors. Michelle made me think beyond the usual and not underestimate my abilities. She taught me to think differently about presenting. Yes, you need to work harder, and practice a lot but isn’t what we all have to do to reach our goals!”

— Olga Furman – Principal Chemist – VenaSeal R & D

“Really enjoyed all sessions of the Presenting for the Non Native English Speaker webinar. Michelle’s experience and skills blend for a very formative and enriching course, a significant contribution in our continuous journey to shape our presenting skills. I highly recommend it to all my Non-native English speakers colleagues around the globe.”

— Jorge A Gonzalez Smith – Site Director

“The Presenting for the Non-Native English Speaker course was incredibly helpful! I would definitely recommend it to everyone who is not a native English speaker. Everyone who participated was very engaged and progress was noticeable from the very beginning of the course. Michelle is a great instructor, she keeps everyone on track and makes this class enjoyable.”

— Ilya Gonikman – Principal Treasury Analyst – FX | Corporate Treasury

“I loved the Presenting for the Non-Native English Speaker training. I found the exercises we did very helpful. It has been mind-blowing that even small details can make a big difference. I’ve been trying to practice daily since, started paying more attention to the small things like pronunciation, and actually can see the improvement. Cannot wait to prepare my next presentation on the job!”

— Denisa Kořínková, Sr. Financial Analyst | Surgical Innovations | Global BU

“I went from not being able to comfortably speak in front of a couple people to captivating a TEDx audience of 100 thanks to Michelle. Michelle has a true gift, she is able to help you feel comfortable and free in front of anyone. Michelle gave me so many wonderful tools to get rid of stage fright, memorizing speeches, captivating an audience, projecting my voice, and being present. I would recommend her to ANYONE, I am so glad I worked with Michelle, and will absolutely be returning for her insight and help in the future. She’s an INCREDIBLE resource.”

— Julia Albrecht, Creative Lead for PURiS

“Evolve Your Presentation Skills Community Course” significantly improved my presentation skills and helped me reach a new level of comfort with presenting to multiple levels across the company. It enabled me to set aside any nervousness and focus on delivering my message in a clear and engaging manner. Michelle created a safe and enjoyable environment for practicing effective exercises, rehearsing presentations, and receiving real-time feedback from her and another course member. She also referred me to specialized resources to meet my unique needs.”

— Beth Blevins – Principal Regulatory Operations Specialist

“I recently completed Michelle’s Presenting Outside the Box class, and I strongly recommend it both as someone who has had formal speaking training previously in college and also as an individual contributor currently focused on career development. Michelle’s structure is easy to use, remember, and implement, and I really liked how the class participants provided feedback to each other.

Whether you’re an experienced presenter or just now starting to think about focusing on your presentation skills, this class will help you improve. It’s also a lot of fun!”

— Amanda Taylor, PhD, Sr Technical Writer | CVG Technical Communication

“I found Michelle’s “Storytelling 101: Engage Your Audience” sessions to be very effective. The framework and feedback she offers to build one’s story is immensely helpful in crafting the message and keeping your audience truly engaged. With the growing trend of working in global and virtual environment, she also offered some great tips on how to make impactful speeches in such “online” settings.”

— Rohit Kulkarni, Statistical Programming Manager, Global Clinical Data Solutions

“I met my goal of finding ways to improve my presentation skills. At first I was doubtful that the class could be interactive enough since it was conducted via Webex but it worked! I would absolutely recommend this class and instructor and feel MANY people could benefit from taking it. Michelle is a dynamo and really takes the time to compliment skills that are present and also identifies where you can improve and then offers helpful suggestions and tips. Absolutely worth the time.”

— Presenting Outside the Box Participant Webinar

“I really enjoyed the Storytelling 101: Engage Your Audience class! It was recommended to me and I would recommend the class to others in my group. Michelle was excellent to work with and gave great feedback. I learned a great deal and will be practicing what I learned in my presentations. Practice won’t make me perfect, but I’ll improve after each presentation!”

— Ryan Wyszynski – Principal Systems Engineer, Cardiac Rhythm Management