What Our Clients Are Saying

“I first met Esther and Reena when they presented a workshop to our students regarding ways to utilize storytelling in their professional introductions. I was struck by how emotionally powerful storytelling could be, even in a professional setting. I signed up my partner and I for a customized coaching session with my Esther. During our coaching sessions, Esther offered frameworks that we could easily use to structure our stories and connect with our audience. I’ve seen my partner incorporate those approaches when he is introducing himself to potential clients, while I have delivered presentations using that framework. We’ve noticed that our audience members are more engaged in a meaningful way. We convey our message without overpowering our audience with details. I’m looking forward to Esther’s book to continue refining my storytelling techniques.”

“As a veteran of the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, it can be hard to provide others a narrative that shows how my service is an asset in both business and my community. Esther’s training has not only allowed me to find the voice to tell my story, but through her selfless contributions of time and energy she has provided this training to other veterans as well. She is the ideal vision of what it means to be a citizen servant.

“I was just honored by a Chicago charity at their annual luncheon fundraising event and I had to give a 5 minute acceptance speech. Needless to say, speaking to 400 people in a heartfelt manner seemed so uncomfortable. As a finance person, I have given numerous professional presentations to large groups, but using my past approaches would be boring, and certainly not heartfelt. So I decided to tell a story. And I used a number of the techniques from your workshop (have a beginning, middle and end, introducing an element of mystery on why/what is happening in the story) and the speech was very successful and I was given a standing ovation!!So thank you, Esther, for your mission. It is helping communication!

“Esther’s coaching elevated my presentation to the next level. She provided critical insights on how I could increase engagement with the audience to insure that they left the presentation with thoughts and questions that they could contemplate further.

“I have been an audience member while Esther tells her story leaving everyone totally engaged and completely relating to her experience. Esther has a keen ability to really listen to her clients and identify key messages to create a story for optimal communication that is relatable to all audiences. A very special talent indeed!

“Simply put, Esther is an incredible teacher. I took a Major Gift Solicitation Strategy course at Kellogg and was thrilled that it commenced with Esther’s wise counsel on storytelling and its power to embolden relationships among fundraisers, donors, and organizations. As an external relations professional, I’ve always found that stories are at the heart of philanthropy–how we tell them, how we hear to them, how we understand them, and ultimately how they inspire us to change the world. Esther taught me concrete skills to enhance my personal story and my organization’s story. I highly recommend her. She is an effective, insightful, and passionate teacher.

“I rarely make it downtown for evening events during the week, but last night’s event was wonderful and so worth the trip. I found the evening energizing and thought your facilitation was excellent–enough guidance to keep the group learning and to provide a safe container but–as in a lab–you created an environment where we were the knowledge creators. That’s not easy to do. You’re a skilled teacher with a wonderful, encouraging and knowledgeable presence. I will be sending students, clients and colleagues to you.

“The workshop helped me make my reunion interactions about reconnecting with each other’s humanity instead of comparing each other’s statistics. When discussions focus on listing accomplishments – kids, marriage, jobs, etc – there isn’t much to talk about once you go through the list. Setting my outlook to offer my stories over my stats set the stage to elicit a similar response in people I talked to – which led to deeper connections. I left Reunion refreshed and inspired again.”

“I’m able to translate my diverse experience into a strong story that is relevant to private business.

“Esther Choy’s workshop helps me convey my story in a way that helped a civilian employer relate and understand that I’m just like him, making me a more competitive job candidate. Instead of regurgitating the qualification already listed on my resume, I told the interviewer of my journey and what led me to be the person that I am today – representing myself in a much more compelling way. The interviewer knew I was qualified when he scheduled the interview, but with the help of Esther’s workshop, I was able to make myself standout amongst qualified candidates and ultimately get the job.”