Rave Reviews
Video Testimonials
What Our Clients Are Saying
“Michelle lit up our convention with an opening keynote that was dynamic, humorous, and timely. Her ability to draw on her past experiences and translate them into leadership lessons for today’s audience lent a sense of authenticity to her presentation. The call for care and compassion in our leadership endeavors struck a chord with an audience looking to manage in a hectic, post-pandemic world. Perhaps what set Michelle apart the most was her willingness to meet with many members of our association prior to her keynote. This allowed her to focus on topics that were relevant and meaningful to our audience.”
- Executive Director, Saskatchewan Association of School Business Officials
“Michelle was an incredible addition to our program. Her presentation style was dynamic, fast-paced, and yet thoughtfully curated for the audience. Attendees came away with tangible ideas to nurture powerful, personal, and positive relationships with employees; increased appreciation for maintaining an open mindset to respond to the unexpected; and meaningful strategies for building a future-ready workplace culture.”
- Assistant Director, Corporate Planning & Strategic Project Support, City Manager's Office, City of Victoria
“Incredible! You masterfully stitched our key themes into your message and left an already energized audience even more pumped! It was a wonderful way to wrap up the day.”
- AVP, Sales Strategy & Effectiveness at TD Wealth
"Thank you so much for an amazing session. I have had nothing but extreme praise regarding your presentation.”
- Director Customer Success, Americas CSM, Microsoft Corporation
"Our Canadian Association of Exposition Management (CAEM) Conference ended last evening, and the group was still talking about your sessions. That is the mark of a fantastic, meaningful, and engaging session! Thank you so much for really kicking off the conference on the highest possible note and for leaving our group with so many nuggets of wisdom.”
- Executive Director, Canadian Association of Exposition Management
“Michelle is a very compelling, thoughtful, and engaging speaker. During our conference, Michelle sat in on various sessions leading up to her time slot and was able to embed the concepts she heard and personalize her session perfectly for our audience. She added a great mix of humour along with powerful messaging. It was wonderful that Michelle was able to stay afterwards and meet one-on-one with many of our guests. This allowed our participants to feel even more connected to her message.
Michelle was a delight to work with all along our planning journey, and she took the time to really understand the key takeaways we wanted our participants to leave with. We could not have asked for anything more from Michelle and appreciated her attention to detail, care, and professionalism.
- Royal Bank of Canada, Southwest Ontario CFS
"We really appreciated the way you interacted and engaged with the audience, and your presentation was very well received. Thank you for making our inaugural EVOLVE conference a success!”
- Director, Education & Outreach, International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans
"Thank you again for speaking at our Unlocking Potential: Inspiring a Health and Safety Mindset in Future Leaders. Your presentation on ‘Safety Leadership: It Starts with Me' was very engaging, thought-provoking, and inspiring. We are so grateful for the time, effort, and expertise you provided.”
- Chief Operating Officer, Service Hospitality
"Michelle was our keynote speaker for our 2020 virtual Ramsey County Support Staff Conference. We were a little nervous at first as this was our first virtual conference. However, Michelle not only provided great tips and long lasting visual concepts and reminders on how authenticity creates greatness in our work and life, but did an excellent job in engaging our participants through our virtual platform. Some of our participants stated “the chat is on fire”. Michelle’s presentation left our employees with tangible take-aways on how to tap into our innovative potential to bring out greatness in ourselves and others. We were very pleased and our participants loved it! Michelle is simply a rock star!"
- Diversity, Inclusion & Organizational Development
Human Resources, Ramsey County
"Michelle Ray is a one-of-a-kind leadership trainer. She provided an ideal class for the Federal Trade Commission Leadership Academy that will significantly enhance future leadership actions throughout this agency.
In preparation for her session, Michelle eagerly engaged with the training staff and gathered recent issues and trends in leadership at our agency. These precursor meetings led to accurate depictions of current events during her presentation, providing our emerging leaders with methods to address conflict, how to be counterintuitive, and how to focus on the big picture.
Providing meaningful training on a soft topic in a virtual environment is a huge challenge. However, we know that powerful learning occurs when the audience is engaged and participates interactively throughout the presentation. That is difficult to do when the learner has distractions and is not co-located with their fellow classmates or the instructor. Michelle has a unique personality and an engaging charisma that draws in the virtual participants and has them riveted to her stories, accounts and concepts. Her interactive exercises allow meaningful discussions and productive debate that she masterfully synthesizes to profound outcomes.
Attendees praised Michelle as “Fantastic! Excellent choice for a speaker. Very engaging and provided great food for thought” and “Appreciated her speaking from past experiences, which makes the situations and topics more relatable.” Michelle was further described as “engaging” and “her real life examples and steps for dealing with the difficult person on your team was the most valuable information.”
Michelle Ray clearly delivered over and above our expectations in every way. She is collaborative, understanding and a joy to know. Her knowledge, wisdom and expertise in a wide variety of industries and professions makes her an ideal keynote speaker in most any forum. I would highly recommend her for any leadership program, as she will deliver a most rewarding learning experience."
- Chief Learning Officer
U.S. Federal Trade Commission
"Michelle spent 90 minutes with our top leadership group. Her presentation was spectacular. It was very inspirational. She provided many ideas on the concept that “leadership starts with me”, helping our group take the themes and ideas back to their committees within the ABA as well as their regular work environment. I am certain that as a result of her presentation, the productivity of our members is going to increase through the enthusiasm and the encouragement she provided.”
- In-house counsel, The Coca Cola Company & Chair, American Bar Association Anti-Trust Law Section
"The feedback from our team was extremely positive regarding your presentation. Your messaging and your delivery were excellent and we all found great value in it, adding to a very positive day all around.- President, Terminals and Stevedoring Western Stevedoring Company Ltd”
- President, Terminals and Stevedoring, Western Stevedoring Company Ltd
"We very much appreciated you being an important part of our leadership session and your commitment throughout the day to understand our company and our people. Your message resonated and you certainly have the ‘speaker gift’.”
- Vice President, Finance & Administration, Western Stevedoring Company Ltd
"Michelle, you immediately understood exactly where we were going, made sure to adapt to our reality to the point of going to the Vancouver station to meet VIA employees, listened to the presenters before yours, adapted your message to the audience, energized everyone in the room and got them on their feet. You were amazing!! I thought you would be happy to know that we were meeting with the executive committee this morning to discuss the role we wanted our leaders to play in our transformation and you were quoted more than once by our president and others around the table, a fact that speaks volumes regarding the impact you had.”
- Senior Advisor, Organizational Development, VIA Rail Canada
- Conseillère principale, Développement organisationnel, VIA Rail Canada
"Michelle spoke at our Annual General Meeting in November 2019 on Corporate Culture and the integral role that owners and senior managers plan in establishing and maintaining a culture that retains great employees. Michelle worked with my staff prior to the event and did her research to ensure that the presentation was personal to the audience. She also contacted a number of our members for personal comments that were integrated into the presentation. Due to the work she did prior to the meeting and the integration of interactive exercises the audience was highly engaged throughout the presentation. I highly recommend Michelle. She is a great speaker and does her homework!”
- Director of Member Services, Roofing Contractors Association of British Columbia
"Michelle Ray was our keynote speaker at our annual Americas Regional Conference held in Vancouver, Canada. As an internationally renowned management and leadership consultant the expectation was the she would energize the audience and set the stage for an outstanding meeting. Her presentation, “Leading Your Firm into the Future “did exactly that. Using wit, audience participation, charm, and a positive leadership message, Michelle raised the bar for all the speakers to follow. She is an exceptional speaker and we look forward to having her back at a future conference.”
- Sr. Manager Meetings and Programs, BKR International
"Michelle, we were very pleased with the outcome and to have so many delegates enjoy the experience of the power of a conference. Your presentation received ‘rave reviews’ and was a fitting end to our keynote presentations.”
- Director, Acclaim Special Events and Meeting Management, Queensland Mining Health and Safety Conference, Australia
"Michelle Ray was our opening keynote speaker for Sodexo’s Talent Acquisition 2019 Annual Conference. I had the pleasure of hearing Michelle present at the Women's Food Services Forum Annual Leadership Forum and was excited to be part of the selection committee that chose Michelle for our company's event this year. Her preparation was meticulous and our audience was fully engaged from the moment Michelle took the stage. She instantly built rapport and engagement, maintaining the interest of every attendee at all levels of leadership for the duration of her 90 minute keynote. In addition, Michelle referenced many examples that were highly relevant to our group and demonstrated a deep understanding or our business by incorporating our internal language into her key messages and stories. She was authentic, outstanding and dynamic and I would recommend Michelle for any keynote around leadership and driving for change!”
- Director, Talent Administration, Technology and Branding, Sodexo USA
"Michelle Ray was our opening keynote. We chose her because of the energy she shared. Michelle took the time to understand what our conference was about, spoke with a few of our members and tailored her presentation around our local industry strengths and challenges. Michelle was engaging, inspiring and professional. Thank you Michelle for kicking off our conference, working with you was a true pleasure”.
- Conference and Events Manager, CPHR Alberta, HR Undefined Conference 2019
"Michelle’s presentation was very engaging and relevant to the collaboration & customer focused themes of our three-day conference. You could tell that she took the time and care to customize the content to our business and audience which was very much appreciated by all. People felt motivated and inspired by the message that we each play a role in improving our customer’s experience. Michelle reminded us about shifting to a positive mindset and approaching each interaction with kindness and collaboration, creating excellent customer service as natural outcomes”
- Municipal Proposal Team Leader, Suez Water Technologies and Solutions
"Your presentation received rave reviews with comments from staff stating that they feel really energized and looking forward to the new direction of our division and the coming changes. You gave some staff an eye opener into how their own behaviour can affect the collective attitude for both better or worse, and going forward we will reference your presentation to remind everyone about their role in moving us forward to see the opportunities with a positive attitude among the changes.
- Manager, Quality Assurance, Innovation, and Staff Development, City of Peterborough 2019 Division Day
"Michelle, you were fantastic! You really engaged with the audience and people really appreciated that you took time to know what Bayshore does and also to talk to individual people at our Monday night dinner. Lots of positive feedback. Thank you!”
- Senior Executive Assistant, Bayshore HealthCare Ltd. Annual Leadership Conference
“Michelle, thank you so much for presenting at the ASAE Executive Leadership Forum in Edmonton! Your energy was contagious, and it was such a pleasure having the opportunity to meet you!"
- Learning Director, Operations, American Society of Association Executives
“Michelle opened up our WorkSafeNB Annual Health and Safety conference with an engaging keynote for our delegation. She shared some valuable, practical advice about leading conversations about safety in a humorous, dynamic fashion! I highly recommend spending some time with her if you have the opportunity!"
- Conference Program Chair, WorkSafeNB
“Your closing keynote “Leadership Starts With Me” was fabulous and very well received by our members. Attendees comments were very positive and full of high praise. Many noted that you were a great speaker, highly engaging, enjoyable with a great sense of humour. We did our due diligence to select you by watching your videos and reviewing your content. Your examples made us think and your presentation aligned perfectly with our theme: New Generational Leadership.
It was wonderful meeting with you and talking with you at our banquet the night before. During your keynote, I looked at the faces in the crowd and saw a lot of smiles. Our group genuinely enjoyed your presentation. You were a great choice to end our conference on a high. Now we will need to find a way to improve on this year for our 2019 event...a good problem to have!"
- Executive Director, Manitoba Association of School Business Officials
“Thank you for being so wonderful to work with and for helping to make our 5th Annual Committee Leadership Conference a success, including a sellout crowd. Michelle, the work you put into customizing your keynote and getting to know our audience truly shows. Thank you for your time and commitment to doing this. I really believe that your investment in time in preparing for our audience was appreciated by everyone in attendance at our event.
I will share the formal feedback from our conference with you once it is tabulated. The informal feedback has been fantastic. We have yet to have a keynote presentation that was customized so perfectly for our audience of Workplace Safety and Health Committee Co-Chairs.”
- Portfolio Leader – Public, SAFE Work Manitoba
"On behalf of CPABC, I would like to thank you for participating in our 2018 Spring Pacific Summit "Masters of Change" as our opening keynote speaker. The feedback that we received from our delegates on your presentation was very positive! Your presentation was energizing, inspiring, thought-provoking, and humorous…a perfect way to start off our Summit. Thank you again for contributing to the success of our event!"
- Manager, Events, Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia
“We truly appreciated your preparation time and delivery of an engaging, thoughtful and very relevant presentation at our Construction Leadership Forum, 2018. You are a natural on stage!"
- President, Vancouver Regional Construction Association
“You kicked the conference off in grand style with your keynote. We’ve had nothing but positive feedback on the conference itself and on your presentation. I’d certainly be happy to provide a recommendation."
- President & CEO, Workplace Safety North
“We contracted Michelle to open on both days of our conference in 2017 and she did not disappoint. She executed both presentations with ease, and impactfully shared her messages, captivating and engaging the audience in her conversation-like style, using story telling, questioning, and activities to relate her points. She is collaborative, lively, humorous, and creative. She demonstrated a professional manner in all of our interactions, and as a conference organizer, I appreciated that she was prompt in her responses, was well organized, and punctual the day of our event. During our customization meeting, she came prepared with a list of questions about our industry, and ideas for how to ensure her message related the experience of our industry workplaces. I would highly recommend her as a presenter to anyone looking to deliver practical strategies for professional growth.”
- Safety and Injury Management Advisor, BC Construction Safety Alliance
THANK YOU for a fabulous keynote!!! The standing ovation was much deserved and you were a huge asset to the event. I look forward to the opportunity to work with you again!
- External Events Manager, Re/Max Integra
“Michelle Ray delivered the closing keynote address at our 2017 Safety Conference. In the weeks leading up to the event, Michelle Ray partook in preparatory tele-conferences reviewing the audience make-up. During these sessions, Michelle revealed her greatest asset to be an incisive ability to uncover the specific hurdles faced by delegates to the Conference, to probe in order to gain a deeper understanding of their leadership needs, and then, as proven by her delivery at the Conference, a high-level ability to integrate audience-specific messaging into a custom-tailored speech. Indeed, Michelle Ray employed in-situ role-plays to great effectiveness as a means of communicating real-life examples of leadership in the workplace.
But please don’t just take my word for it –survey results from delegates in attendance at Michelle’s closing keynote assigned an average of 4.93 points out of 5 to her performance, the highest of any speaker or presenter during the 2-day Conference!”
- Chief of Corporate Affairs, Manufacturing Safety Alliance of British Columbia
“Thank you for your presentation to our entire team on the topics of accountability and service excellence. It was an absolute pleasure and I know the team appreciated the learning.”
- CEO, Personal Eyes Pty Ltd
“Michelle Ray was an absolute terrific hit at our Annual Trans Canada Advertising Agency convention. The convention was titled “Bend Don’t Break” and Michelle was our opening keynote speaker. She demonstrated outstanding insight to her target audience but also was able to get them totally engaged with her communication style. She was well versed on the message she was asked to speak on and inspired the attendees with new approaches and new thought leadership examples & applications for their businesses.
Over the year’s, I personally have listened to many motivational speakers, but I would place Michelle at the top of the heap. It was especially great that she took the time to understand our industries cultures and our issues.”
- Chairman/CEO DDB Canada, Trans-Canada Advertising Agency Network
“Your presentation set the goal for the start of our convention. We had tons of positive comments about your presentation and that positive attitude continued on through the rest of the convention. You definitely are a leader in your field.”
- TB, Board of Directors, Credit Institute Of Canada
“Michelle, Thank-you again for sharing your experiences and expertise with our TELUS Leadership Now group.
I thought the principles you presented aligned very nicely with many of the key elements and experiences in our LNow program so it was very good reinforcement for the participants as they prepare to graduate from the program. Your storytelling was very engaging…I’m still amazed at the courage it must have taken to don the cat woman suit! It was a pleasure to meet you and work with you!”
JS, Senior Advisor, People & Culture, Telus
“Michelle brings tremendous energy to the room and is able to engage the audience at a whole new level. We had attendees who told us they felt like they could take on the world after attending our event and hearing her message!”
– Chapter President, Lean In Canada
“Michelle , the audience showed such a warm and spontaneous response to you – thank YOU so very much! Everyone was thrilled and you were exactly the right closing to bring it all together. I am so pleased that we chose you and that you were able to attend. It takes a special kind of person to attend the full conference to pick up on the culture and the topics and then to thread it all together. From the bottom of my heart – thank you!”
- General Manager, Healthcare Supply Chain Network
“Outstanding performance! Super content with great delivery! Michelle, many thanks for sharing your talents, wisdom and energy. You really set the stage for all of us to Make A Difference!”
- White Spot President and CEO, White Spot Restaurants
“Michelle, it was a true privilege. The insights were invaluable. Thank you for helping us grow an already remarkable leadership team!”
- President, Global Sales and Customer Operations EMC2
“Michelle impressed me from the first time I heard her speak approximately 10 years ago. She is a truly gifted story teller who uses personal experiences to set the stage and drive home important messages about “The Art of Me Management”. I was recently asked to set in as Interim Director of Care for a residential care facility dealing with the aftermath of years of poor leadership and staff who had difficulty letting go of what had been. Everyone was tired of the drama, yet seemingly powerless to extricate themselves from it. I knew I needed Michelle’s help to re-energize and re-focus our teams.
Michelle took the time to really understand what we were looking for and spent a lot of time preparing with our senior leaders to ensure the session would be inspiring and the turning point we so desperately needed. When Michelle speaks, she has a mesmerizing effect, blending humour, passion and information that inspires one to become “the best version of me”. Her customized presentation, drawing on her own family experiences with residential care truly made the difference as she connected with the staff. It made her message that much more impactful. It was so easy working with Michelle. As a result of her presentation and professionalism, she has given us a great foundation on which to build our success.”
- Interim Director of Care, Rest Haven Lodge
“We recently had the please of having Michelle Ray speak at our quarterly team meeting for our dental company. Her energy and enthusiasm for her work is abundantly clear in her presentations. She took the time to sit down with us in advance to discuss topics that were most important for us and make sure to focus on them. Michelle also made the topics very relevant to our industry which made it easier for our team to understand and conceptualize. We highly recommend Michelle Ray and would not hesitate to have her back”
– Managing Director, Inspire Dental Group
“Michelle crafted a customized educational session for our Chapter Meeting that incorporated inspiring stories, interactive elements, and great take-aways for leadership from within and banishing drama from the workplace. She was an absolute joy to work with and the response from the attendees was overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic. The board was very happy with the session and I’m glad we achieved our goal with the tight turn around. I would recommend Michelle for any group looking for a dynamic, high-energy educational session.”
- Director of Education & Events, PCMA Canada West
“We can’t thank you enough Michelle! I have heard nothing but positive comments about your presentation! If you ever need a recommendation, please let me know.”
- Vice-President, Marketing Metz Culinary Management
“The positive energy that you brought into that room was infectious and your energetic presentation style and sense of humor had our attendees laughing, (and almost crying at one point) and nodding in agreement!”
- Canadian Payroll Association, Pacific Region
“Michelle takes the time to really understand her audience and frame her remarks in a manner that is meaningful and specific to them. Our team came away from her keynote speech feeling heard and understood.”
- Regional VP, Commercial Financial Services, Royal Bank of Canada
“Judging by the word-of-mouth comments, you were a huge hit! Thank you for speaking at our conference, and bringing your special message! It has been a pleasure working with you again!”
- Meeting Planner, ICAN Women In Leadership Conference
“We LOVED Michelle!! Her “No More Drama” workshop was exactly what our members needed. Michelle is an amazing lady and so warm and sincere. We didn’t want to see her leave.”
- CEO, Canada East Equipment Dealers’ Association
“Well done! A first-rate presentation – both content and delivery. Thanks for adding so much to our Leadership Conference.”
- President & CEO, White Spot Restaurants
“I thought that your presentation was not only engaging but thought provoking. Your energy is contagious and you really are in touch with your audience.”
- CFO Fire Chief/Chair, FCABC Conference Committee
“Michelle helps us pull ourselves up out of mediocrity and demand more for our lives. A great message!”
Jane Atkinson, author of The Wealthy Speaker and The Wealthy Speaker 2.0
“When I looked on the agenda and saw that the keynote address was going to be 75 minutes, I cringed. However, the time flew by and I loved the speech! I could have listened to Michelle for longer.”
Manager, Matching and Internal Referrals Section, Canada Revenue Agency
“Thank you for being a part of our Digital Workspace Services (DWS) Leadership Meeting. You kicked off our event with such an inspiring, motivating, fun and thought provoking keynote address. The ideas you taught us resonated with attendees throughout the day as we discussed the behaviours and attitudes associated with poor and great leadership. Moreover, it set the tone to commit to action plans that will take our organization to the next level. It was truly a pleasure to meet you. Thanks again for inspiring our team and sharing your passion for the lifelong pursuit of becoming a better leader.”
- Sr. Business Specialist, Digital Workspace Services, Employee Technology Experience Team Bank of Montreal
“You brought expert, timely, and cogent insight into the world of meetings … and the world itself. Our attendees cut across such a wide range of career tracks, professional responsibilities and experience. You were able to lead us into examining the aspects of our lives and work where growth opportunities lie, and helped forge a way forward in this grand world of meetings and events. Mission accomplished! Please know that we were honored by your participation, and would be glad to be a resource for reference or recommendations as you need.”
- Conference Chair, MPI Mid America
“No words can adequately express my thanks for making the impact you did on us at MPI MidAmerica One World Conference. Your message resonated, your enthusiasm shined, and the way you were able to hold the room and carry us with you was palpable. Thank you for connecting with us so meaningfully, and for being part of all the festivities. I know you will get official thanks and follow up from the committee – I just wanted to let you know how very much it meant that you were there.”
- Principal, R2 Impact MPI Mid America
“Michelle Ray is a talented, gifted speaker. She immediately connected with close to 200 attendees and held their attention from start to finish. The leadership team and employees experienced a very positive, fun, engaging, and valuable session. We learned skills that will enhance our professional and personal lives. Michelle’s exceptional professional standards were evident in her research prior to the event and in the content delivered at the event.”
- Executive Director, Corporate Management Branch, Pacific Region RCMP
“Michelle’s program was phenomenal! She hit the stage and held the attention of our audience for the full 90 minutes. Without a doubt, Michelle is ‘the best version of herself’ that she can be one-on-one or in a room filled with people. She is genuine in her message without being demeaning to anyone who might not immediately recognize or trust in the power of her leadership tools! Michelle provided our audience with a wealth of powerful tools to take back to their staff that was positive, uplifting and overwhelmingly engaging. On stage and off, Michelle is a dynamic bundle of positive energy.”
Paul Myers, Director of Education, HBMA
“Michelle’s inspirational stories strongly resonated with participants, exceeding our expectations and providing the perfect ending to our “Learning Week” event. Michelle’s engaging keynote and workshop Lead Yourself First encapsulated our overall theme of empowering oneself to take the lead in both our professional and personal lives. Michelle left participants wanting more!”
Angela Foraaunet, MA – Leadership Human Resources Advisor | Couseillére, Ressources humaines Fisheries and Oceans Canada – Pacific Region | Pêches et Océans Canada – Région du Pacifique
“You are an energetic and engaging speaker and your presentation was dynamic, inspirational and funny! Thank you for bringing your stories and experiences to our staff and for helping us realize that we can all make a difference in our division’s ability to achieve our vision.”
Tina Wenckowski, Manager, Administrative Services, MacEwan University
“The feedback from the workshops was excellent. Michelle, your efforts are so much appreciated. The managers of the CSOs were bombarded with great reviews. They, as well as the rest of the team here, want to thank you so much for the time you spent in getting to know our staff to ensure successful workshops.”
Barb Curtis, Trainer, Education, Culture and Development, Government of North West Territories
“I was fortunate enough to see you speak for the second time in just eight months (I also saw you speak at the Canadian Home Care Summit last fall in Vancouver). I just wanted to say thanks for your inspiring words – you are a wonderful speaker and I could listen to you for hours.”
Joel Stoddart, Business Development Manager, Careforce Home Care Worker Co-operative Ltd.
“You are a most engaging speaker with a message that we always need to be reminded of. You utilized laughter and with your dynamic personality, you struck a chord as you encouraged us to tap into our strength and purpose of our leadership abilities to affect change in others and ourselves.”
Sydney O’Sullivan, Interim Chair, Aurora College Board of Governors
“Medavie Blue Cross received rave reviews from delegates. Your keynote session “The Power of Personal Leadership” was certainly humorous, engaging, energized, and reinforced the importance of positive thinking in today’s work landscape, a truly wonderful way to start any conference. Your professionalism from our first meeting to your support on-site was very much appreciated and I hope to have the pleasure of working together again in the near future.”
Shannon Hunter, Strategic Marketing Consultant – Group Marketing, Medavie Blue Cross
“Michelle Ray’s keynote, filled with quick wit and insightful story telling about leadership and life, had our audience of 400 Paypal business leaders feeling energized and engaged. Michelle empowered everyone to become the very best version of themselves regardless of the adversity often faced in today’s complex corporate environment. For a conference producer, Michelle Ray is a gold nugget of talent wrapped up in one of the most authentic and enjoyable personalities one could ever hope to work with.”
Mary Prefontaine, President & CEO, Institute for Career Advancement Needs
“Michelle, on behalf of SHRM, I would like to express our gratitude for speaking at our 2014 Annual Conference. The conference was a success and we appreciate your contribution. Attached you will find your evaluation summary report for No More Drama! How to Build High Engagement, High Morale and a Happier Workplace. A Score of 3.8 or better (on a scale of 1 – 5) is acceptable, rated in the following manner:
| This Session (Your Average) | All Sessions (Overall Average) | |
| Quality of information presented | 4.5097 | 4.3497 |
| Michelle Ray: | 4.7432 | 4.4377 |
| Content matched the session description in conference program: |
4.4597 | 4.2917 |
# of Attendees in your session: 974
# Evaluations Tabulated: 225
“I can’t express enough how much we enjoyed your presentation. Over the course of the weekend, members had time to reflect and apply many of the personal leadership tips you discussed. It reinforced the importance of our group’s focus on collaboration and the need to adapt to meet the challenges we face.
Individual or personal leadership IS a mindset and reminding us that “our perceptions become our reality” gives us the opportunity to reassess situations that affect views and our ability respond rather than react. Recognizing we have the power to influence and turn challenges into opportunities is really the key to success (both individually and as a member of a group), but it requires each member to take a leadership role in being the best they can be.
Not only was your presentation motivational but inspirational in providing us with tools to help deal with the constant challenges facing our profession and our industry. I will certainly provide this testimonial to our industry partners as well!“
Alice Abbott, Executive Director, The Alpha Group, Inc.
“Your delivery was masterful in how you connected with the audience, and we have never seen anyone do so as effectively and quickly. Two minutes into your talk, you had everyone enjoying themselves and on their feet. We know you undertook a lot of preparation in getting ready for this address, and it showed.
Michelle you are more than a dynamic speaker, you are in fact an accomplished entertainer who tailored your message around our specific organized goals and this was heard through the crowd present.
Our members have been telling us since the conference things such as, “Michelle certainly earned her reputation as a first rate speaker. She set the tone for the whole conference.” And, “She was ‘spot-on’ with her presentation, knew her audience, and engaged everyone.”
Joy DiBenedetto, President & CEO, Friendship Force International
“Thank you for joining us in Whistler for our 2016 Annual Pita Pit conference. It was a pleasure to have you with us over the activity-packed few days we spent in the mountains. The effort you made to attend our events, participate in activities beyond your own two sessions, and the time you spent engaging franchisees and folks on the national Pita Pit team was noted and appreciated. That extra effort enabled you to relate well to the franchisees, use specific examples during your sessions and achieve a greater impact than if you had parachuted in for your sessions and then left right afterwards.
With a unique combination of passion, energy and empathy, along with masterful presentation skills, you did an awesome job at setting the tone for the conference with your keynote and delivering useful and actionable tips in your workshop on day two. Both sessions — Lead Yourself First and Leading Your Team were extremely well received by all attendees.
It has been a pleasure working with you Michelle. Thank you for bringing such a person-centric perspective to topics that impact our business at the core. You embodied our conference theme It Starts with You and you brought it to life in engaging and memorable ways. At Pita Pit, we REFUSE TO SETTLE for anything that is ordinary . . . and you were anything but!”
Marina Leos, Senior Director of Special Projects, Pita Pit Canada
“Your keynote “No More Drama” was a smash hit with our delegation at the 68th International Institute of Municipal Clerks Annual Conference.As you know, the 700 attendees were from across the world, all of whom have very high expectations. Satisfying their diverse thirsts for knowledge is no small challenge.
After your presentation in 2010 at your Annual Conference in Reno, NC, our clerks requested that you return to the stage year after year. I am delighted to say that you did not disappoint at your call back in Milwaukee this year. Your presentation received rave reviews on the day of your keynote and in the weeks since. Never have I seen such an engaged group of delegates, nor have I ever seen so many smiles walking out the door.
I deeply appreciate the attention you took to customize your presentation to our unique audience and the time you took to prepare additional materials for them. Your well thought out presentation, refreshing honesty and dynamic personality were exactly what our group needed to recharge them on the third day of their educational program. Your ability to relate to our delegation and force them to step out of their comfort zone was a delight to watch.
As a meeting planner, I stand in the back of the room crossing my fingers, hoping the presenter delivers the presentation that I am expecting.Michelle, you went above and beyond what was expected and closed out our 68th Annual Conference on one of its highest educational notes to date. You more than “Quenched the Thirst for Education”, which was the theme for our conference this year.
It was a pleasure working with you and I look forward to discussing your return to our program in the future.”
Ashley DiBlasi, Meeting Planner, International Institute of Municipal Clerks
“93% of respondents agreed the speaker offered advice / takeaways that participants will action as part of their career development. The speaker was referred to as very inspirational, engaging, energetic, dynamic, interactive, humorous, extremely effective, and an excellent communicator.
Top comments about the speaker / presentation / key takeaways:
- The presentation was very focused, so it was easy to take away specific action items.
- Presentation was inspirational and enlightening.
- Her insights were inspiring and made you reflect on your current situation /behaviour.
- She inspired me to think about how I present myself and gave great advice that I can use to grow my network and my perspective.
- I love the way she engaged the audience and used personal experiences to tell her story. Top Ten Tips of The Power of Personal Leadership was a bonus!
- I was encouraged to stop and think when the pressure is on, rather than reacting on impulse, and to hold yourself to the highest accountability.
- [I enjoyed] the example of the speaker’s own story – and how I can do something different and completely outside of the box.
Speaker delivered the key messages effectively with easy-to-remember activities. - Amazing content, so valuable for work, career development, and in life – very engaging!
Rhonda Taylor, Program Manager, Leadership Development Strategy, Scotiabank Leadership
Let Michelle help transform your organization through her speaking, workshops, consulting, or coaching.
