A) Executive Summary
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B) Feedback Overview
Feedback Samples from Staff
“A worthwhile investment [for grantees]. I wish I could have had this training earlier.”
Kyle Kutuchief, Program Director, Akron
“We worked on the storytelling and the power of the message. Marc helped me to identify great examples of success to share with large audiences or in a one on one conversations. I walked away with ideas and a confidence I can use right away.”
Karen Rundlett, Director/Journalism
“Elevator Speech training is a powerful tool. It gives you a strong framework to organize and present your key points in a compelling and highly relatable way.”
Meredith Hector, HR Director
“While watching yourself can be painful, it very quickly illustrates pain points and objective ways to view yourself in order to find areas of improvement. Marc’s ability to distill the essence of your pitch and help reorder the narrative was a great exercise in seeing how you can say the same thing with a different framework and deliver more impact. “
Alejandro de Onis, Director/Digital Strategy and Design
Feedback Samples from Grantees
“The one to one training session was great to start building up my confidence. Thanks for making me feel comfortable throughout the session.”
Regina Moore, Miami Lights Project, Winner, Knight Arts Challenge Miami
“This was a really good way to massage all the raw material I had (concepts about my project) into a digestible pitch for potential patrons to consider. Marc worked deftly on and off script to help me shape my message.”
Baron Sherer, Moving Image Alliance, Winner, Knight Arts Challenge Miami
“As an artist, Elevator Speech Training was a great way to practice communication strategies for my work and to prepare me for fundraising my project.”
Lauren Shapiro, Artist, Winner, Knight Arts Challenge Miami
“Honestly, this training changed my life.”
Michelle Andonian. Core 375, Winner, Knight Arts Challenge Detroit
“It was all extremely helpful and energizing. It got me excited about talking about my project in a new way.”
Amanda Crider, Illuminarts, Winner, Knight Arts Challenge Miami
You can browse all unedited feedback below.
Video testimonials
C) Appendix: All Feedback
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Select Testimonials from other Clients
“The Elevator Speech training helped me hone my message and understand the value of a strong closing.”
Shelly Prichard, President & CEO, Wichita Community Foundation
“Marc listened carefully and provided specific feedback, which I found to be extremely helpful.”
Diane Samuels, Vice President of Talent and Human Resources, Ford Foundation
“Seriously one of the best trainings I ever had.”
Marielena Hincapie, Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center
“It was a great training that provided me with concrete things on how improve my elevator speech. Watching myself, debriefing after to identify areas of improvement was incredibly helpful.Thank you Marc, truly appreciated your patience and support.”
Julieta Garibay, Director and Cofounder, United we Dream
“The training gave me so really great tips on making a strong presentation of my organization!”
Ralph Williamson, President, Faith Organizing Alliance (FOA)
“I like how after each iteration of my speech, we went over pluses and deltas and worked to improve my speech. It was a very focused activity that helped me think about not only how to structure my speech, but also to include elements of viscerality and urgency, so listeners are moved to support our work.”
Anni Leming, Co-President, Asian American Association of New Mexico
“The training allowed me to understand an area of growth for myself to integrate stories into my pitch to clarify who we serve, how, and why. The modeling of examples of stories was so helpful for me to see how simple but effective these stories are. The clarification questions to help me find the flourishes in our own stories was also helpful. I appreciated how the coach also challenged me to immediately try another pitch after receiving feedback and seeing the story element modeled by the coach. While I don’t have all the stories we need now, I am excited to have concrete next steps to generate those stories with my team, and to apply the framework in so many different scenarios – from meeting with funders, to advocacy with policy makers, and pitching to media.”
Quyen Dinh, Executive Director, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
“The session with Marc was transformational. It can be hard to talk about the work we do all day, every day, because we are so close to it. Marc showed me how to home in on what matters and share it in a way that resonates. He had concrete and spot-on ideas about how to describe what is most important. I appreciated the generosity and warm humor he brought to the coaching, as well as his earnest commitment to helping me improve. It was incredibly helpful!”
Melissa Rodgers, Director of Programs, Immigrant Legal Resource Center
“Marc Fest is an excellent coach. His elevator pitch training provides a very efficient and effective way to get leaders to practice their key messages and turn them into compelling pitches for joining their cause.”
Carol Goglia, Senior Director of Marketing & Communications, Communities Foundation of Texas
“It really helped me elevate my pitch to a more personal and strategic level.”
Eneide Geiyer, International Director for Human Resources, Ford Foundation
“This elevator speech training was the best speech training I have ever had! Every leader of a non-profit should take this training as it will dramatically improve their ability to talk about their organization.”
Eric Cohen, Executive Director, Immigrant Legal Resource Center
“Great way for a non-profit board member to structure and refine their convictions and thoughts about their cause to help others quickly understand why a cause is worth supporting. Direct and to the point and worth the time and effort.”
Roger Wu, Board Member, Immigrant Legal Resource Center
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