Testimonials

Parul Chopra has engaged with Duke-NUS on several occasions to conduct training in various areas for our researchers. Her latest session with us on Impromptu Speaking was very well received. She focused on skills training that we found extremely beneficial. The adaptation of theory to practice was very relevant and comfortably paced. Several rounds of practice using the various models allowed us to reflect on the many ways that impromptu speaking can be used whether in a casual conversation with peers and team members, or in conversing with supervisors and leaders. She engaged with all the participants to give immediate and valuable feedback. Parul’s energy and rapport building with the participants helped to create a very conducive atmosphere to learning such skills that can be otherwise quite challenging to learn.

Thanks a lot for your detailed & comprehensive insights on various nuances of customer relationship management The session was very insightful. I have attended business communication workshop before both at my earlier organisation, Linde and SMU, but I never came across such a scientific and logically coherent framework for constructing an engaging and meaningful dialogue: - I particularly relished the usage of "pacing & leading" in a conversation. Moreover, I also realise how powerful and versatile this CRM tool is: - this framework will help me for managing the recruiter's expectation as well during job interviews. Thanks a lot once again for such a wonderful and impactful session.

Emotional Intelligence; Developing Empathy in the Workplace; High Impactful Communication; Personal Branding and Professional Presence - It was a such pleasure to attend your workshops and I can still feel the energy and positivity you have brought to us which I and take with me on my daily life. Thanks for that I also look forward to working with you again in the future.

Parul conducted bespoke training for our sales team over two days. Her engagement with the teams from offices all across Asia Pacific was excellent and she brought her knowledge of regional cultures and mores to bear as we progressed through the course. The delivery was clear and concise, but with time to ensure the messages were reaching our team members and for them to practice as we went through the day. That we still use these skills today and refer to the benchmark that was set should be a good sign of the quality. Our only regret was our own lack of time for more.

I love the feedback we receive after we do the presentation. It motivates us to be better and to improve our mistakes. On behalf of Unilever Activation Department, I would like to thank you for your hard work & efforts in the successful training of Pond's BA Program Pool, along with the Unilever Brand Stewardship Program and Unilever Management itself. The outcome was much greater than anticipated. Not only did the pool of brand ambassadors acquire in-depth learning and knowledge of the entire product range, but their soft skills & grooming were polished as well. The session was overall well balanced between the two mentioned divisions and the overall participation and enthusiasm seen in the trainees prove how successful the sessions were. This could have not been possible without your leadership in training the ambassadors. The entire team of Unilever and attendees of the sessions send their deepest appreciation for your support. Looking forward to seeing you in the future for continuous development and enhancement of our team's skills.

Stafford and Chan is definitely one of the leading capability development companies in the field of imaging and high-end service. We have a great partnership with them in transforming our front-end service advisers. They have the agility of a boutique company with the network and professionalism of a global one. We were able to roll out our custom-designed workshop in five countries in four languages in a span of three months. Once they agreed to take on a project, you are assured that they will do their best to exceed your expectation.

The trainer was fantastic! The way she communicated the concepts made it easy to understand; a great coach, who gives good feedback and uses a lot of case studies. Harrison Assessment was interesting. I discovered new things about myself!

The training was excellent, and I see our ladies are much different from now on how they present when they attend duties. Great job on your training! Thank you for the note and great job for such a fantastic session delivered to our Management Team. Mark was very pleased with the sessions. Also, during this morning meeting our management was talking to each other about the grooming and their presentation and giving feedback to each other about what to improve.

"We received good feedback on the content of the course, presentation of the speaker, and relevance of the course. We were pressed on time since many there were many questions and discussions from the participants who were required to internalise the learning. Thanks again to you and Shradha for arranging a great session for us."

Please help to convey our appreciation to Shradha for her passion and energy. She made a strong impact on all of us and I do appreciate that she spent the time and effort to share her ideas for improvement with me after the session. I would recommend Shradha's training and coaching services to anyone else without any hesitation.

It was great to attend the training on quality and high standards. The presenters were very friendly and effective in their communication and the demonstrations and examples used were very practical and relevant. It was a very interactive session where you felt comfortable asking questions. All in all, it exceeded my expectations of classroom training and I would like to attend any others held by Shradha and the team at Stafford and Chan, Singapore in the future. The workshop was excellent. Starting from the presenter to the content, atmosphere everything was really good. A big thank you to all of you who initially identified the need for such a workshop and for all those who went through the trouble of organising it. I'm glad I got the opportunity to attend this workshop. The delivery of the workshop was of very high standards. I did attend the Grooming Workshop today. Just wanted to convey my appreciation for that great initiative and to you for driving it across the Bank and all the effort and hard work put in to make this workshop a real success. It was very well delivered & I enjoyed it whilst learning many things, which I never thought or knew all this while it was so useful! Thank you very much once again! The Grooming Workshop was beneficial, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and everyone who was involved in coordinating the below workshop. I'm sure that it helped a lot of people and many thanks again for the opportunity given to everyone.

We received very positive feedback on the course, and everyone spoke very highly of Stafford & Chan as well. We want to thank you for putting so much time and effort into tailoring the workshop to meet our needs. I personally think the workshop was a smashing success, and that we formed a valuable new relationship with your firm. We will definitely contact you for future training workshops. As Mark alluded, we hope to make team building and corporate training an annual event. We look forward to working with you and your team in the future.

Stafford & Chan has worked with our group since 2002, in Singapore as well as Hong Kong. Stafford & Chan has taken a personalised approach to our business by envisioning our competitive surroundings. Knowing our past, Stafford & Chan takes a step-by-step approach through different training modules to upgrade our customer service level and implements instrumental tools to monitor the service. The entire staffs have enjoyed the classes and have repeatedly requested more training. Besides, the cultural background and professional experiences of Stafford & Chan allow them to gain great confidence from any staff member at any level. Stafford & Chan allows great attention to detail with all the staff members, and no questions remain unanswered or are too complicated to be addressed. The staff are at ease and are willing to learn and adapt. Stafford & Chan is a part of our future strategy to remain competitive through high customer service levels as well as staff development. We highly recommended their services.

I attended 'Building A Professional Image' last Thursday at the York Hotel, and I've meant to write to let you know what an impact you've made on me. Throughout my career, I've always prided myself on my work, and my thinking is that Senior Management will see that and recognise me accordingly. Up until last Thursday, my idea of 'Professional Image' is to wear whatever I like to work - often too casual, revealing and inappropriate. And it was during your introduction of the 'Contents' of the course that I received the greatest enlightenment. Your description of how a Professional Image gives a person a competitive edge and communicates a message of oneself that truly woke me up! I am now acutely aware of the messages I am 'silently' communicating and it has given me a whole new perspective to how I view my image, as well as that of others. Throughout the day, you inspired me with many things you said. I like the way you introduced yourself: your work, your role as a mother and your passion. It speaks volumes of who you are as a person, and I felt you presented it excellently. I especially liked it when you said we are role models for our children. I have 3 young children, and I decided that since I learnt so many useful tips at your course, I shall impart them to my children by modelling the right behaviour for them. Wish me luck! And your perspective of 'small talk' as a way of getting to know people and being connected challenged my negative perceptions. I will now endeavour to make a game out of it and see it as an opportunity to learn something new and have fun doing it! I sincerely feel that what you're doing has a great impact on your participants; you're changing the world – one person at a time! Here's a heartfelt 'THANK YOU' from an appreciative participant: YOU are an EXCELLENT teacher and a truly INSPIRING person! Have a great week, Sharlyn.

I had compiled the training evaluation, and here it is. The team gave very positive feedback on the training, and I enjoyed it as well. I could hear the agents use what they¹ve learned, and they are also saying that it is working. They really enjoyed and learned a lot from the SENSE Training. They would like to have you back here soon. The only area for improvement is making the training longer so you can stay here longer. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude for the training and spending time with the team.

"Dear Shirley, Thank you too for conducting such a lively and interesting training session with the participants. I can say that it was a success! As much as you enjoyed the meal, we enjoyed your company as well. It was our pleasure and to our advantage, having you as our trainer. Your valuable insights made us realise that we can learn from our everyday dealings and be at our best, even in simple circumstances. We thank you for sharing life lessons and helping us improve to be a better person (employee). You have made a mark in all of us you have instilled confidence and refined our etiquette, where we felt needs improvement. Your style was very useful, and the participants find it very easy to connect with you. If ever we have more training conducted by Stafford and Chan, we hope they send you again."

"Dear Shirley, I wanted to thank you for sharing your expert advice on personal branding with us. I was surprised that something as small as changing my hair parting could make such a difference. Something else that I did not know about before was the proper way of entering and leaving a group conversation. This workshop has been one of my favourite classes since I started the MA training workshop and I hope that I have the pleasure of learning from you again in the future."

"Dear Shirley, The team is looking forward to have you back to our shores for another enriching experience for the betterment of the company so that we even rise and shine further to thoroughly delight our guests even further. With our renewed thanks for all your efforts put together for the success of these workshops which we had the pleasure to host and looking forward to many more …"

"A big THANK YOU to you for conducting a power-packed and fun-filled session! Everyone enjoyed themselves, learned and laughed a lot and most importantly, we're inspired to take action and start making small changes to their grooming/wardrobe." We really appreciate that you shared unreservedly and that it was an absolute joy to work with you!"

"To the Director-In-Charge, I've attended Ms Shirley Han's training class "Business Etiquette" in Jun 2008, and I want to compliment her for her professionalism and competency in her coaching given to me then. I've gained so much valuable knowledge in the workshop and have been applying the knowledge gained from Shirley Han. The knowledge gained is very powerful and applicable to our daily working as well as personal life. I want to congratulate your company for having Shirley Han in the company, and she is a valuable asset who I believe can generate a continuous stream of satisfied clients for the company. Shirley has also built a very strong brand value of your company. Well done! Shirley Han."

"I really love Shirley’s style of teaching where there was a good balance of theories and practical demonstration. I really benefited a lot from her in terms of social skills and professional dress codes." "Shirley was very approachable, and her greatest strength lies in her vast grooming expertise and experience. She really took the initiative to make the class engaging and enjoyable and genuinely cares about if we learn or not." "The lesson was extremely engaging and interesting. I like how points were illustrated with stories shared. There was a lot of advice given after lessons and tailored specifically to the individual's dilemma. Shirley is extremely patient and friendly. There was also sufficient practice and easy to understand explanation." "I really want to share with you that the mere 2-day workshop has impacted and helped me a lot. I usually dread career workshops, so I did not expect it to be so engaging, enjoyable and meaningful. I benefited most from the small talk section. If we were to do a 1-to-1 practice, you would totally know why I say this. Let us just say that I have a unique talent in making any situation awkward. Other than imparting technical knowledge, it has changed my mentality too. In class, you shared your story on the yellow brick road. At that moment, I thought to myself, what if I am a character that is lacking courage, a heart and a brain at the same time. Maybe even Dorothy would not be able to help. However, I feel more confident now. It is not that I have improved exponentially in my Unique Selling Points or small talk skills. After attending, I felt that there are actionable plans I can make to reach my goal, that it is not too late. Also, I will conquer it because I am from your batch! Once again, I just want to let you know how much I appreciate your workshop. Thanks again for answering all my follow-up questions."

I'm the 'cockroach' from your career foundation 2 class. Just want to drop you a thank you note now that the semester is coming to an end. Your incisive questions, insights and support have proven extremely valuable to me personally. Especially your topic on grooming and have the right standing/sitting posture. Thank you!

"It's Monday again and feels a little strange not having to dress up in business attire to attend my 8.30 am morning class with you. Just wanted to drop you a note to tell you how much I have enjoyed your sessions and am glad that you encouraged me to make up the lesson on (bird) personality profiling. My takeaway insight to the ultimate objective of interviews and networking is to establish a connection / meaningful relationship with the other party – and thank you for creating that safe and conducive environment for us to learn and practice that skill. I especially enjoyed how you infused psychology into your lessons. I thought it was a real bonus to have a more in-depth insight beneath our surface sentiments; like how perfectionism is only a root cause to perfectionists not feeling good enough, or how awkwardness only really exist in our heads. And I was moved when you eloquently talked about what Avatar's "I see you" meant! Felt that it was so meaningful on many levels. I am very keen on being more sensitive to such distinctions and wonder if it's your background as a psychoanalyst (remembered you briefly mentioning) that helped you uncover such insights? I look forward to taking up golf lessons (haha) this summer break and have even signed up for "The Winning Formula" workshop – not sure if your company conducts this full-day personal branding workshop. I am hoping that it'll have more nuggets of psychology thrown in as well. I find it amusing how career foundations are my favourite class this semester where I feel the things we learnt are most useful and relevant – which was reinforced by your advice not to study so hard (haha!). So thank you for the great class :)"

"Thank you for the highly insightful lessons these past two weeks for Career Foundation! I am from your Friday at 8.30 am class, and I have learnt a lot about dressing and networking. I used to be in trepidation whenever I think about having to talk to strangers during networking events. Still, after learning about the new approach to storytelling and sharing, I am starting to see networking in a new light, like it could be fun. I have also used the storytelling introduction from the first class and incorporated it into my LinkedIn profile, and I feel it makes my 'Summary' portion stand out. There is also a great urgency in me to revamp my professional wear wardrobe, after learning about all the little details on what formal wear is. So I hope I could learn more from you through the shopping trip! Thank you once again for your interesting stories and highly useful techniques."

"I have attended many such Public Speaking courses and have to admit that I did not pay too much attention to yours till the day before. BUT I have to say that it was one of the best, if not, THE best Public Speaking course I have ever attended. What differentiates you from other consultants is your ability to help us to fine-tune us as presenters with your 'small' but vital tips in the way we present. Examples of hooks using stories and analogies do help a great deal, and I truly appreciate it. Each of us was also made known of our idiosyncrasies; the garbage words, I keep looking down etc. During the critique sessions, and within such an enjoyable environment, we all took them very positively. Please keep up the good work!"

"The highest rating amongst all other trainers. Great! Thank you. I had a quick glance at the students' comments/feedback. They were very good. I think the students really like you. A few of my colleagues who sat in your class were also full of praise. We like the way you engaged the students, getting them out of their comfort zone, sitting on the floor with them during the discussion and the positive messages and encouragement you gave to the students."

"It was similar to what I'm experiencing in lessons such as hands-on and interactive. This approach helps to get me to engage in the session and practice on the spot. On the spot, practices entail on the spot critics, and that's what accelerates my learning. I like that the coach speaks to us like an adult and at times, when needed, coming down to our level to hear our problems. It's very heartwarming. I'm thankful for a coach like her." "Shirley gives off a very welcoming vibe that makes me feel comfortable talking to her." "The activities were engaging and fun. Shirley shared valuable knowledge and skills which I will use it whenever I'm presenting." "The trainer was very engaging and made sure we learn from our activities. The feedback and how we can improve further were very valuable." "I've learnt about how to engage the audience through hooks, things like stories, questions; and as presenters, we need to be audience-oriented with what we are presenting. It's valuable because when presenting, we should have a certain message that we want the audience to take back with and with that in mind, it is important to know how to engage them." "I was given many opportunities to do public speaking. The tips that were given will definitely help me in the future"

"Dear Shirley, Just a short email to thank you so much for the wonderful course you facilitated last week, and I had the great pleasure to be involved. I had so many AHA moments I lost count, and I not only grew as an employee but as a person. Your teaching and love of it were both inspiring and contagious. I developed such a passion for Psychology - thanks to you, I have enrolled myself for University Degree to study Psychology. I am extremely excited by the prospect, but at the same time, a little terrified - understandably - time management!! I just wanted you to know that although it was just a work course, I will remember it always with fondness and know, I actually turned a corner during that time."

“Thank you for leading the session on Saturday. We got really good feedback from our clients. Your ability to adapt to the situation on that day made the difference to enliven the group.”

I was a student in the AB1002 Career Readiness Class with Shirley, that ended last Saturday. I would really like to thank you for teaching the class in the Past 2 Saturdays. It was one of the most fun and enjoyable classes I had so far in my time at NTU! Thank you for doing ‘live’ demonstrations and I learnt many lessons from career to life and social as well. I hope you realize that these lessons and learnings are ones that I will bring with me for the rest of my life. 🙂