TESTIMONIALS
'One-to-one sessions with Laura really helped me to regain my confidence after a difficult period in my life. Laura is an excellent communicator and mentor, she has a great ability to holistically understand a situation and focus on the key issues, she has taught me many practical skills and techniques which have made situations, that previously might have felt impossible, completely manageable. Thank you so much.' M Le May, Cambridge
'The team at MKA benefitted hugely from Laura's course introducing us to assertive behaviour in the workplace. The workshop sessions were particularly useful for trying out the techniques under Laura's expert guidance. We were new to soft skills training but have already resolved to do more when our busy season is finished.' J Kohler, Director, MKA Ecology Ltd
'I found Laura flexible, responsive, and willing to go the extra mile to help us get the most from the course, and from the 1-1 follow-up coaching sessions that some of us have had. The key benefits from her assertiveness training for my teams has been the vocabulary for talking about our behaviour and the strategies for dealing with undesirable behaviours.' J Thomas, Head of Testing, Linguamatics
'In my assertiveness one-to-one coaching, Laura took me on a journey of discovery about myself which has had unexpected, fantastic results. I am not the same person that I was before - Laura has delivered exactly what I asked her to do.' J Thompson, Cambridge
'Laura is an excellent trainer, obviously an expert in her field! Through the coaching and practical sessions, I've gained something to take away with me to use in real life. Already seeing a change in my professional life! I highly recommend Laura.' Dr S Lakshmanan, Snr R & D Engineer, OGM
'Excellent - I came away with practical skills ... I feel that I've been able to make some profound changes. Thank you Laura.' R Bond, Cambridge
'Exceeded my expectations ... Laura your program was fully supported by your high standard of professionalism and the high level of communication skills you demonstrated and used to guide me.' M Honour, The College of West Anglia
'The coaching has been excellent, it has helped me to understand and challenge any negative thought processes and push me out of my comfort zone. It has helped me in my work life and also my personal life. Thank you Laura, you have been a great help to me.' Charlotte Grant, Artworker, NAPP
I value what you have done for me and your advice, thank you!' Rachel Conn, Rachel Conn & Co Solicitors, Cambridge
'Laura is a highly skilled professional. I found her coaching support practical, focused and beneficial both in my personal and professional life. Laura is not only sympathetic but also very intuitive - her support was invaluable to me in getting through a difficult period.' K Smith, Cambridge
'Laura's relaxed yet focused style of facilitation encouraged our staff to contribute openly in the workshops and helped identify areas we can work on. I'd have no hesitation using Laura again in the future.' Steve Lunn, Chief Executive, Madingley Mulch
'Laura was by far the best trainer I have had - the training (supervisors workshops) exceeded my expectations and proved to be extremely beneficial. Laura's approach is very well balanced, professional and approachable, with the ability to reduce tension with humour, and she kept us all fully engaged throughout. The course materials were great, especially the follow-up notes which really highlighted the key points discussed and will allow us to refresh our knowledge at any time.' K Fincham, Senior Planning Engineer, Execujet UK
'The coaching was well worth the time spent and the alternation of sessions in person and by phone were really good. Gives you time to put advice into practice. I found the advice very practical and easy to use in everyday situations. I'd definitely recommend Laura.' B Fernandes, BARD Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge
'Absolutely loved the Assertiveness Training, and already seeing a change.' Lewis Cornwell, Cornwell Media, Cambridge
‘Superb (assertiveness) course. Laura was an excellent trainer and the course changed my life for the better.' J Lambie, Lecturer, Anglia Ruskin University
'Laura has been a wonderful teacher and very inspiring. Her advice and suggestions have stayed with me on a day to day basis. I have gained something to take away with me and use in real life. It's been a real help and I'm glad that I attended the Assertiveness Training.' Dan Biggs, Artist, Cambridge
'Laura helped me to look beneath the surface and gave me many valuable insights and opportunities to practise new techniques. The coaching sessions have been fun, insightful, and at times challenging. Laura consistently maintains a professional approach and I would not hesitate to recommend her. It has been a real eye opener and I am grateful to have stumbled across her website and made the connection. I have gained many benefits from the sessions - Laura helped me to improve my work and home relationships and I believe that in a short space of time the coaching will have easily paid for itself as my clients and staff are able to connect and negotiate with me in an improved way.' John Gaston, Founder, The Woodburner Company, Coventry
'I wanted to take this opportunity to express my thanks to you for the help you have given me. The combination of your professional and direct approach, together with the support and encouragement of the others on the Assertiveness course has surely opened my eyes. For so long I have been happy to take the easy option, not wanting to rattle any cage and letting others speak for me. It took a bit of effort on my part to bite the bullet - but how glad I am that I did. I don't think I could have done it without your advice and guidance. Just a few short weeks on and I feel more confident, and am far happier to make my own decisions. What's more, I am sure others have noticed too, and particularly my husband feels I have changed for the better. I know there is still some way to go - but now you have shown me the way - I am looking forward to the future ready to take on the challenge, rather than with trepidation. My sincere appreciation Laura for opening up a new way of life.' Gillian Start, Cambridge
'I highly recommend Laura as an extremely competent and intuitive trainer. What I like about Laura's style of training is that her teaching is about being assertive and yet empathetic. Not only did the Assertiveness Training help me with my confidence and to express myself more effectively, but also improved my personal relationships.' Fahim Rochford, Cambridge
'We'd like to thank Laura Dain of Soft Skills Training for the excellent workshop she delivered on our behalf for the 'Women for Integration' community group. The feedback from the training, which was designed by Laura specifically around 'creating an effective management team' received excellent reviews. Delegates were fully proactive throughout and expressed their appreciation in particular for the guidance around dealing with conflict and how to handle those situations, and also for clarifying roles and responsibilities and how to share and structure these.' Sylvia Lingwood, Director, ABMEC CIC
'Laura's Soft Skills Training was brilliant - really helpful, friendly and practical.' C McClure, Registered Osteopath, Rugeley
'Found the Assertiveness Training very useful and helpful. I can use the techniques learnt during the course in my everyday job activities (meetings, discussions, brain storming sessions - internal and with clients). I can see it clearly my confidence level is higher and I feel more relaxed. I used to be a shy person, unsure of myself. But after the course it's changing.' Bart Kwiatkowski, Cambs
'Wasn't really sure what to expect but this course was exactly what I needed and more. Ended up with loads more confidence and lots of "tools" for dealing with tricky situations. The tutor was was really encouraging but doesn't let you off too easily. I now need to go away and practice some of the skills but I'm actually looking forward to doing so. Thanks.' C Turner, RSM
'I recommend Laura Dain - very good training, tailored to our specific requirements and very competitively priced.' Elton Koeberg, Professional Services Manager, EMEA, HID Global
'Laura's been successfully delivering skills programmes for a number of years and built up a very good reputation as a trainer at BLT. Evaluation of Laura's programmes have always been excellent. Laura is extremely knowledgeable in her key areas of soft skills and has the ability to be flexible and adapt to constantly changing circumstances, in both her style and content, which is vital. Always a pleasure to work with.' Rose Dale, Asst Learning & Development Manager, Barts & the London NHS Trust
'Laura has helped us with a number of our programmes to global financial services groups. These have ranged from client service to high-potentials' development interventions. Her contribution has been very powerful in the design phase - bringing new ideas to us as well as reflecting new thinking around our own content. Laura has then co-delivered a number of programmes with our team, and consistently brought out a very effective learning experience for the participants.' Ian Dawson, Founder, Alpha Development Partnership
'Laura is a skilled and imaginative trainer. I've both employed and worked with her for nearly 20 years and have always found her combination of intelligence and ability to deal sensitively with a whole range of different people an absolute winner. She manages to get to the heart of an issue quickly and calmly and knows how to engage and empower people so as to bring out the best in them. She'll be a great asset to any team or organisation; I'd recommend her anytime.' Jonathan Smith, Associate Lecturer in Psychology, Birkbeck, London University
'Very happy to recommend Laura.' Vicky Lyons, Asst Director of Learning & Development, East London NHS Foundation Trust
'I thoroughly recommend Laura Dain as a trainer of high calibre who is dedicated to her delegates. She has many qualities, including: her emotional intelligence is highly developed which means her sessions are always given in a calm atmosphere, where delegates' interactions are valued, enabling a flexible approach; and her research and preparation which is extensive, shows rigour and is always relevant, pertinent and client based.' Gillian Neal, former Senior Advisory Teacher SEN, Learning & Language Support Services, Surrey CC
I've attended several of Laura's sessions over the past 10 years and always experienced her training as clear, very beneficial and enjoyable. I particularly appreciate her practical approach to problem solving and self development.' Tony Morris, Psychotherapist, BACP & UKAHPP
'As a manager of a number of staff within an NHS setting, working within a diverse staff group, I attended Laura's Personal Effectiveness and Communication Skills course. It was well delivered and extremely useful, as it gave me further insight into how communication can be interpreted in one way, where the meaning or intent was actually quite different. In addition, some helpful advice was received within a supportive environment as to how my own personal style of communication could be improved. I would recommend this course to all employees as a way of improving professional communications.' Tracey Wootten, Asst Head of Finance & Performance, East London NHS Foundation Trust
'Laura has a warm, empathetic approach and her understanding of learning theories ensures that learning is enjoyable, relevant and valuable. I commend her careful preparation, thorough research, well structured programmes, excellent handouts and intelligent grasp of her subject.'Liz Noble, Retired Headteacher Staines Primary School
'I've always found Laura's training to be educational - excellently researched with well prepared handouts that are very useful for future reference; inspirational - enabling me to think deeply about the subject and stimulate my own ideas; innovative - using a wide range of learning styles and techniques that make sessions stimulating and fun; and encouraging - she facilitates and promotes the sharing of ideas and learning from experience in a safe group environment. I return to her courses regularly and recommend her to others.' Sara Young, Trainer, Citizens Advice Bureau