top of page

Testimonials

Coaching Engagements

As a presentation coach, I am able to help my clients articulate complex ideas in a simple and understandable manner.  Beyond delivering tactical improvements to key presentations and events, many clients shared that the tools they learned working with me have had a lasting impact on their careers.   Here's what my clients at IBM Research had to say.

Jessie Rosenberg

Strategy lead at MIT-IBM AI Lab and manager of IBM Research silicon photonics

Shaheen's public speaking class was a game-changer for me, despite my many years of experience giving presentations. Her framework for structuring a talk completely changed my approach, providing a laser focus on important concepts and when they need to be introduced. Thanks to her guidance, my presentations are now clearer, more concise, and more effective at presenting my desired message to the audience. I consider her guidelines in every presentation I give, and even in more informal or written communication. In the class, Shaheen always pushed us to stretch ourselves and try new strategies, while also being supportive and approachable when we had questions or needed guidance. I highly recommend Shaheen's class to anyone looking to improve their communication skills and audience engagement.

Achille Fokoue-Nkoutche

Distinguished Research Scientist, Master Inventor, Manager at IBM Research

I had the privilege and opportunity to participate in a pilot program led by Shaheen to provide formal training in public speaking to IBM researchers with an emphasis on communicating technical content to business audiences. The first cohort of the program consisted of about five senior researchers and managers, including me, and lasted for about 4 weeks (3 hrs/week). Beyond the tangible and clear progress that we all made between our first presentation on a topic of our current research and another presentation on the same topic at the end of the program, I remember distinctively, two years after this class, how Shaheen’s patient, attentive, challenging and engaging coaching style significantly changed my approach to preparing, presenting and, more importantly, really listening to questions and concerns from the audience. The class took place toward the end of the COVID lockdowns when most of us were experiencing symptoms of zoom/webex fatigue, but it was one of the Webex meetings I was looking forward to. Instead of simply presenting materials that we could read on our own, Shaheen’s socratic approach to teaching made the class engaging as we learned from providing and receiving constructive feedback from Shaheen and other participants. In addition to group sessions, we also had regular one-on-one meetings with Shaheen. Those one-on-one coaching sessions provided significant growth in skills and helped me develop approaches to increase my confidence during a presentation. Throughout those group and individual sessions, I was constantly impressed by how Shaheen could carefully listen to relatively complex technical concepts, quickly understand them, and help us reformulate or reposition them in ways that would better appeal to a business audience. In summary, I highly recommend Shaheen as a presentation/speaker coach who can help you deliver powerful and effective presentations that leave a lasting impact on an audience.

Christian Jacobi

IBM Fellow, System Architecture and Design, System Z

I had the pleasure to work with Shaheen in the preparation of my presentation at the 2021 HotChips conference on how the Telum processor enables real-time enterprise AI insights. Shaheen helped me tremendously honing in on the key messages, making sure the presentation was relevant to a diverse group of attendees, and found the right balance between technical depth and business relevance. The approaches I’ve learned working with Shaheen have helped me in preparing many of the presentations I’ve done in the last few years

Larry L. Light

Business Development Executive IBM

I had the opportunity to be coached by Shaheen Parks in the preparation of technical presentation materials.  I  found her approach and her suggestions very helpful and thoughtful.   Shaheen has a positive style that promotes open dialog and a process which creates improved outcome.  I would highly recommend Shaheen if you are looking for someone to make your speaking and presentations better!

Kenneth Wood

Director IBM Quantum WW Sales

Shaheen Parks is an outstanding teacher, educator and mentor for anyone looking to improve their presentation skills. She provides excellent instruction on the basics and on advanced presentation delivery, including the preparation of a compelling story, the organization of the topics, and the energy level needed to give a great presentation. Shaheen is also patient with her students, and helps the students discover through practice with constructive feedback how to make a truly thoughtful impact on their audience. I highly recommend working with Shaheen.

Anonymous Feedback

Group Training Feedback

This was a great class to make people into better presenters both from a content perspective and an organization/messaging perspective.

Participant

 I particularly liked the one-on-one sessions as they provided a more personalized focused on my weaknesses.

Participant

The focus on clarity of messaging helped me improve my presentation a lot!

Participant

bottom of page