Keynote Speaker, Author, Change Management and Leadership Expert, Colleen Seward Ryan
“Colleen was a wonderful addition to our jam-packed day of education. She was there to present to our young bankers division of around 100 attendees as the opening and closing session speaker along with a breakout session. Some of the comments on the evaluations are as follows: “Colleen gave practical solutions for managing workloads” “Colleen did a great job making me think more about what I do with my time at work and how to improve my productivity” “Colleen was awesome! I came away with awesome ideas and can’t wait to implement them when I return to the bank!” Colleen was wonderful to work with in planning process and with the final execution of the program. Her PowerPoint presentation was useful for the participants as they furiously took notes during her sessions. Her three programs were not only practical, but also motivational in nature.
"Colleen was the Opening Keynote Speaker for the AHPCO Spring Conference and the AAHC Annual Convention. Colleen's topic for both programs was leadership and the title of her presentation was, 'Managing Change, Embracing Accountability, and Achieving Success.' Her dynamic, uplifting and personable style was a great way to start the day. She provided more than motivation, she provided relevant, usable content in an engaging way. The feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive. Below are a few of the written comments we received: 'I especially enjoyed the leadership presentation by Colleen, which gave me the opportunity to self-evaluate my leadership skills and think about areas where I can improve.' 'Great information presented in a fun, learning way.' 'Colleen was passionate and smart about her topic. She had us all engaged and interested.' ' I enjoyed the interaction throughout her presentation and appreciated her depiction of experiences in her life and her friends, related to leadership and employment skills.'
"I attended Colleen's seminar in Dallas in June, and the insights from her book are spectacular. It has helped me not only to think what is my boss thinking, but has helped me to deal with current employees. I deal with multiple generations in my staff and she has an approach for all of them. A great read!"
"Excellent workshop! It has given me new ways to deal with difficult people."
- Easy, practical “prescriptions” for making difficult people disappear (if only in your mind)
- Specific time-tested strategies for managing difficult employees – especially those with a sense of entitlement
- New tools for avoiding conflict and improving productivity
- Proven methods for improving public speaking skills
- Guaranteed strategies for learning from past mistakes, minimizing stress and maximizing success!
"Colleen's workshop is the best - and most informative and enjoyable. Really got my attention!"
"I really got a lot of good information from your Presentation Skills class and have already had the opportunity to put some of it into practice."
“Colleen, your talk was well-received and you got great reviews on your ‘Tune Up Your Team’ program. My boss, the Mississippi Bankers Association president, was especially impressed with your address. You were very easy to work with, reliable, fully-prepared, and low-maintenance as a speaker. I would recommend you to any group!”
“Colleen was very animated! Great speaker! Really liked use of scenario based training.”
Colleen, your workshop and the feedback was great! Here’s a sample of the written comments: ”Great examples and I liked the acting and role playing – good balance!” “Great interaction with audience. Very informative and useful tools for effectively managing difficult people.” “ Liked the realistic scenarios and humor!”
'I enjoyed your presentation and found great value in the points you raised. I hope NACM has you back so we can hear more and discuss many of the interpersonal communications issues you raised in greater detail!"
"Thank you! I enjoyed hearing you speak and thought you did a fantastic job. I really enjoyed hearing your story. Thanks again!!”
"Colleen, regarding your keynote, I can't tell you how many came up to me after the picnic - actually still coming to me this morning to say what a wonderful picnic & awesome speaker we had. Thank you for making yesterday such a wonderful day!!"
"Colleen is a dynamic speaker and the role-playing really helped bring the ‘employees’ to life and make the examples and strategies useful and believable.”
"Thank you, Colleen. Our feedback was so great that at some point I'd like to talk to you about coming back for a full day!"
"Being a co-owner in our business I felt the information provided and discussed in Colleen’s seminar was very helpful and enlightening. It will help me out in my day to day management decisions."
“The information presented was concise and very relevant. The examples were very helpful. I enjoyed the practical processes and being able to stand up and practice speaking.”
“Great presentation with role playing. Exciting presenter who kept our interest!”
"Colleen, Many, many thanks! Thank you for sharing your energy, wisdom, and expertise during your session at our closing lunch. Your program was filled with valuable and insightful information. Attendees gave it high marks both for content and enjoyment. It was also a pleasure working with you. Thanks for being responsive and timely!"
"It is very rare that a presenter can hold my attention for an entire day but Colleen was able to. I found everything she had to say extremely useful."
“A very enlightening workshop with immediately useful and applicable information!”
“Colleen, You were full of ideas as well as entertaining and witty, while providing the educational values we all expected to hear about. I am positive that everyone who attended, walked away with a new concept to apply to a specific (difficult) employee (s). Organized, prompt and flexible were an added bonus to working with you. I will be anxious to recommend you in the future.”
"Colleen, thank you for giving such an outstanding presentation to the employers of Central South Carolina! Participant evaluations were extremely positive and included statements such as, "the best speaker I have ever seen..." Without reservation, I highly recommend you to any business or organization considering utilizing your services."
"Colleen's presentation style engaged every attendee. Employers walked away with practical tools to increase their leadership skills and create a better work environment in their area of influence at their company. I would recommend any of Colleen's seminars to anyone who wants to improve their leadership skills."
"Colleen, I found your topic on Team Leadership to be very valuable. Your unique conversational presentation style, quick wit and high energy made the seminar fun and informative. I especially appreciated how your specific examples of real life work situations were easy to understand and apply in the workplace."
"Colleen, terrific program! Lots of good ideas on improving public speaking skills."
"Allowed me to walk away with information to improve my interactions with my peers, management and friends/family."
"Awesome! Exceeded my already high expectations! Excellent speaker!"
"Colleen, your presentation skills course was outstanding! Our participants achieved results the very next day. I was impressed with your ability to keep the attention of a very tough, scientific crowd."
"This letter is to let you know that the South Carolina Employer Council recently met Colleen Seward Ryan and we could not be more pleased. For the past nine years, OEC has produced a speaker showcase for the purpose of meeting and auditioning 10-18 professional presenters that are new to us. We partner with several organizations including the South Carolina chapter of American Society of Association Executives, Society of Government Meeting Professionals, the state training network and Meeting Professionals International. More than a 100 event planners agreed that this year the star of the day was Colleen (Kettenhofen) Ryan. Her evaluations were fantastic, here is a sample: catches the audience right away with her questions - really liked the statistics to back up message professionalism is clear - great material and knowledge of it, engaging, nice humor, polished, poised. personable - good practical info - good interaction slick and energetic - her experience shows high energy, fun engaging conversational style with down-to-earth information
"A wonderful motivational speaker! Gives the keys to success on how to deal with difficult people."
"Excellent speaker! Held the entire group's attention 2 full days. Great examples of her own experiences - easy to relate to. Great voice projection!"
"Colleen is very professional, well organized and is a very good communicator! You can tell that what she has to offer comes from a wealth of experience and not just "head knowledge."
"Colleen provided great direction for resolving issues. Best/most useful class I've attended!"
“Colleen, what a great evening!” Thank you for your wonderful presentation, “Turning a Negative into a Positive,” a highlight of our activities in March to promote Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Many of the persons who attended took time afterwards to comment on how much they enjoyed your warm and creative program. The group dynamics were incredible and it was a joy to see so many of the participants sharing and participating in the exercises, which were so meaningful. Your willingness to share your own experiences with cancer helped our audience gain a better understanding of all the positives that can result from a cancer diagnosis. Your speech was both informative and uplifting! Thank you again for your very inspiring message. Keep up the positive sharing!”
"Colleen, thank you for everything you did, the enormous time you spent in preparation, your flexibility, and your extremely engaging method of presentation. You achieved and exceeded all the goals I had for this course. Great job!"
“Colleen, I rarely attend a seminar that is so useful I must share it with others. However , this is how I felt following your seminar I took last summer for Team Leaders. The tools provided by your seminar helped me develop important skills – amongst them, creating the special chemistry that influences others to take risks and want to win. Additionally, I became aware of my own interpersonal style and began understanding what makes other personalities “tick.” Another tool I draw from all the time is recognizing why teams fail and why each person needs to be accountable. Your wonderful speaking style delivers a clear message, making it easy to understand how to make a difference with positive changes. When our teamwork forum was looking to improve teaming skills, I jumped at the opportunity to suggest you come to ALZA. Our forum is looking forward to your return on Feb. 28. I’ll be attending that session and can’t wait to restock my toolbox!”
“Colleen, your keynote address was inspirational and motivational. The feedback I've received has been impressive and extremely positive!”
“The workshop was well organized and very easy to understand. The concepts, the worksheets, and the various work related examples. She allowed time for groups to share their ideas and experiences. She was very considerate of the needs of the participants. It was worthwhile for me to travel all the way from Hawaii in the wintertime!"
"Colleen captivated her audience with a creative logical flow of information! She invited and encouraged participation which fostered a more informative climate."
“Colleen, the instructor, was not only excellent but superior. Best overall seminar I have ever attended!”
“Colleen was a popular course leader and scored highly in the evaluations. In my opinion this is an exceedingly high assessment, considering this group of predominantly senior scientists is invariably particularly critical.”
“The evaluations showed that your session was extremely well received & contained much valuable information for our agency staff.”
“Colleen was obviously very well informed and does her homework.”
“Extremely useful course. Colleen is an excellent seminar conductor. Dynamic and enthusiastic!”
“Colleen, thank you again for providing training for our organization relating to the development of Effective Team Leader Skills. The class provided excellent open interaction, and we had participation from all those in attendance. After reviewing all of the positive feedback, we will definitely contact you again for additional training. In fact, I will be contacting you at your earliest convenience.”
“Leader was excellent! Great attitude and explanations! Excellent pace that covered plenty with direction for follow-up work."
"Colleen, I will be able to use many of the skills learned today in my daily work life - thanks!"
