Testimonials

"Given that I have had many opportunities to participate in many similar types of engagements, it is very clear to me that we were all were the beneficiaries of Gilda’s extraordinarily effective skill, expertise and style while serving as our facilitator. Gilda seemed extremely well trained in the art of facilitating and never detracted from our effort in any way.

I was particularly impressed that by the time Gilda entered her facilitator role during day 2, Gilda had already successfully gained trust and respect from all of us. Clearly this accomplishment enabled Gilda to successfully take the disciplined and directed demeanor manner she assumed.

Simply stated, she was, by far, the best facilitator I have ever experienced."

“I wanted to take a moment to thank you, and to let you know how helpful the “How to Schmooze” workshop was for me. It has completely changed how I approach networking events. Rather than spending most of the time speaking to people I already know, or standing in the corner of the room looking at my phone, I now feel comfortable and confident in approaching people and making new contacts. In fact, after using your techniques at a number of events, I can now honestly say that I look forward to networking events, rather than dreading them. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”

"Gilda is an excellent resource for our employee skill building and development. We first partnered with her to teach our team how to develop and deliver more effective, clear and concise presentations. The results were so good that we brought her back to do more presentation skills training with another group of employees and also our finance team which was preparing to present overseas to International customers and colleagues.

"As a seasoned executive, I have given many presentations but I knew I needed help in refining my message to make it more strategic and delivering it with confidence. Gilda walked me through a clear, easy-to-follow process for creating and practicing a presentation.

After working with Gilda, I know how to design and confidently deliver a presentation that connects with the audience and communicates my message, whether I am speaking at award presentations, soliciting contributions from corporate donors or providing education to my team. I highly recommend her."

Gilda did a fantastic job at making the audience think about what is important to them, and how life is too short (~28,000 days) to delay goals. I highly recommend that you hire Gilda as a speaker.

“Gilda was a great resource in developing my presentation skills. She simplifies things so that they can easily be remembered and implemented. Not only that, she is an absolute pleasure to work with. If you are looking for an organized, honest coach, look no further. You will see results!”

Congratulations on the excellent presentation given at the SNEC conference. Presentation skills are so basic to what a project manager does it continues to amaze me that there is so little emphasis on such a critical PM tool. Your presentation was very entertaining as well as educational – the best kind! Thank you for your excellent contribution to the conference attendees.”

Gilda’s workshop was effective primarily because Gilda modeled what she was talking about. She had great stories. She paced the presentation really well. She modulated the volume, tone, timing of her speech, use of humor, etc. Among the valuable things I learned, I will definitely work on having stories well thought out before I speak.”

Gilda Bonanno’s webinar on Executive Presence for Leaders: Communicating with Confidence, Competence and Composure for the Manhattanville School of Business Women’s Leadership Institute was truly invaluable. Gilda herself is an example of a great communicator. Her webinar had excellent content and the presentation was organized and enjoyable. I would highly recommend Gilda for any communication training.”

“I highly recommend the talented Gilda to you! Gilda led a fun team building event for our GE Capital Controllership team. The belly laughs we all had at the event were a great way to let off steam after a challenging business quarter. She employed techniques used in improvisational comedy to engage the team, challenge them to ‘think outside the box’ and most importantly, let their hair down and laugh! Under the umbrella of good-natured fun, the team picked up subtle negotiation skills, as presented in Gilda’s “Yes, and...” improv exercise, and met that important ‘thinking on your feet’ challenge. Thanks, Gilda!”

“It was an absolute pleasure having alumna Gilda Bonanno present her workshop on “How to Schmooze” with our institution’s alumni. Her training and coaching credentials and her ability to engage a diverse audience with a wide range of professions provided a wealth of knowledge and opportunities for our participants to actively learn and craft their networking skills.”

“It was a tremendous thrill getting to work with and host Gilda Bonanno, who was the featured speaker at Dominican College’s President’s Lecture Series in November 2013. Gilda’s commanding narrative of her experiences had the audience of mostly high school and college students riveted. Additionally, Gilda’s strategies for enhancing communication skills and maximizing opportunities were especially helpful to the adolescents in attendance, particularly in today›s economic climate. Working with Gilda proved to be one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had hosting speakers. She is a consummate professional, generous with her time and someone whose passion for what she does is contagious in the best of ways!”