One of the most satisfying parts of my work is hearing about the impact of this type of work in a person's work and personal life. I know, first hand, how big a small shift in attitude can be. I work everyday on putting the skills I teach to use in my own life and I love hearing that others are benefiting from it too. This page lets the work speak for itself. Some of the excerpts below were taken from workshop evaluations. Others are from emails I've received from workshop attendees or clients. |
Comments about Cheryl's Work
Random Recent Comments
"Wow, your workshop got some great feedback: “to-the-point, relevant, engaging, empowering, fun and helpful. " "This was one of the best breakout sessions I have ever attended. Cheryl Gould was very enthusiastic and positive. She has us in groups doing a lot of moving activities which made it very fun and kept me interested. Most of the time I am very quiet and really don't speak that much but in her class I was very social and paid attention." Thank you for a successful training!" "The public speaking workshop that we had in April changed the way I think about putting together my comments for city council and Friends meetings. As a result of the workshop, I try to frame my comments with a narrative that conveys why what we are doing at the library is important, rather than just telling my audience what we are doing." "As a result of the LDP cohort, I have been having monthly staff meetings with all the staff in order to firm up our team. The result has been positive and I have to say that the highest praise came from the most resistant staff member when she told me "I don't hate the meetings.""" "I would like to personally thank you both for this amazing experience in the LDP Pilot. It was unlike anything I have ever participated in, and it was helpful beyond what I can really conceive at this time." Thanks very much for coming and for your enthusiasm which got us engaged and provided us new ways of thinking about interacting with others. We are gung-ho for win-wins all around" "Thank you for accepting our invitation to be the Opening Keynote Speaker at our Staff Day. We knew you would be able to provide an innovative presentation for our staff and get them engaged early on. I'm not sure I expected to be dancing on stage, but I'm sure the staff enjoyed that part of the presentation! Your presentation techniques are unique and allow for staff to step out of their comfort zones and engage with individuals they might typically not." |
Successful "Yes, And" implementation
I implemented the "yes, and..." experiment into
one of our brainstorming meetings and it was a very positive experience all
around.
My team members did not realized how many "yes, but..." were eliminated and everyone had to pay close attention to the person speaking so that they could continue with the next idea that started with "yes, and... The team had more collaborative ideas that pinged of each other and the mood was elevated and sense of teamwork was evident. It really felt different than the usual meeting. |
Comments from working with a management team over time
“I highly recommend Cheryl Gould as a learning facilitator. Attending her training sessions over a number of weeks left me re-charged and excited about engaging with my colleagues to make great things happen. When I first found out our organization was going to be involved in facilitated learning, I thought, “I don’t have time for this. I have too much work to do.” After attending a number of her workshops, I told her, “I didn’t not have time for this.” Cheryl was critical to increasing my professional effectiveness. She is an inspired facilitator who, in any given moment, can draw upon the perfect learning model to bring new understanding to teams. She isn’t afraid to dig down deep to get to the root causes of organizational behaviors. She then helps people uncover new insights and develop new tools for overcoming stumbling blocks. I relish any opportunity to work with her again in the future.” |
Feedback from work with Management Teams
Thanks
Cheryl! I'm very happy with my progress and I appreciate your
support. My work is greatly affected by what
I've learned. I now have the courage to try new things and I'm
discovering strengths I never knew I had. Your
work with us definitely has had an impact on me. After your first
training with us, it was like a switch in my mind flipped and I realized how
much I was holding myself back needlessly. I really needed that
kick! After a coaching session with a high level manager working with a new supervisor. “So
it's been 16 minutes since I sent the email and I've already received 4
expressions of relief. You are officially the only person who could tell
me to jump off a bridge and I would probably do it.” |
Aha moment from a 500 person All Staff Day
This past Monday I had a real aha experience. I was dealing with a very difficult patron and during the transaction that whole demonstration that Cheryl Gould did about "not pushing back" just came to me full force. She's right; if you don't push back, it really diffuses the situation quickly. Thank you for having Ms. Gould at our Staff Development Day this year. |
Feedback on a workshop on New Management Styles
Your active facilitation method certainly allowed the ideas to emerge from the people in the room at the workshop. Thank you for modeling good behavior for how to "get out of the way" and let ideas emerge. Absolutely fantastic! It's great when a presenter is passionate about the topic and ensures the audience gets the main points. Today's program. The best I have attended and I've attended a lot. Cheryl Gould is such a great speaker and really makes the participants get involved. She brings the shyness out of us. I wanted it to go on longer. |
Feedback on a workshop called All Work is an Improvisation
Best library workshop I've ever attended. Interesting, dynamic, and applicable in so many ways to what we do. Also challenging! We don't have enough workshops that challenge us to think differently. Fantastic. Hope she comes back. |
Feedback on a recent workshop on Communication
What I found most valuable was the pace, practice and teambulding. Cheryl was outstanding (but that's why we wanted her). Tied everything very well to our project. I even wish the training had been longer! Cheryl was a very effective communicator ot today's topic because of her knowledge and ability to relate the information to real-life situations and her passion. |
Feedback on Running Open Space for a Conference
You did a great job in holding the openspace at the Applied Improvisation Network conference. Your clear explanation and professionally casual nature set just the right tone for it - and it was so smooth. Just what people wanted. The debrief at the end was so delicious - people filled with joy, inspiration, and motivation. We could not ask for anything better. |
Feedback on Customer Service in a Self Check World
I thought Cheryl Gould did an excellent job. She had an upbeat, well-paced
presentation incorporating lecture with a good listening style. She got people
talking. Her exercises and handouts were very useful. The context of "Customer
Service" in the Self Check World was a very good broadening element. Ruth and I will be
using this workshop as a further way to expand our work around self service, etc.
technologies and transition to the "new library model". |