Endorsements

“The instructor moved at a reasonable pace, presented great examples, encouraged individual participation, and offered great feedback on assignments and different scenarios proposed by participants. … The instructor made the class very interactive compared to previous sessions I had done remotely.” – Some of the comments made after Tom presented a Business Writing Make Simple workshop through the American Management Association on Dec. 8, 2023.

“I thought the presentation was great, nothing done too much or too little. This was especially helpful for my emails going forward. … Thank you for the excellent workshop. … I just wanted to thank you for taking the time out of your day to teach us about writing. Getting to hear about your prior experiences was amazing. I think you did a great job covering all the topics well. Keep doing what you’re doing. From someone new to the working world, hearing all of your knowledge/stories was incredibly valuable. … I felt all of the information was useful. Your voice was easy to listen to. I enjoyed how upbeat and interesting you kept it. … I enjoyed all the topics and would not change a thing. The way you engage with the participants is wonderful. … I really enjoyed this workshop! … Today’s workshop was amazing. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us. I enjoyed the section on “High Impact Business Writing”, especially Brevity and Simplicity. I am very detail-oriented, which tends to translate in my emails. This was a problem I didn’t realize I had. Your presentation will help me build new habits. The manner in which I speak does not have to be how I write. Thank you for that realization. The presentation was perfectly balanced. You covered a lot of ground in such a short time. I could have listened to you for another two hours! Thank you for taking the time to put this on. This workshop has been so informative. I can’t wait to implement some of the techniques to my writing. … It was a good use of time and I feel like I learned some valuable tools going forward. … Everything was well balanced. It was great how you kept everyone engaged in this workshop by having us answer questions and do some demos.” – Some of the comments made after Tom presented six Business Writing workshops to employees of two clients in October and November 2023.

“This workshop was very well put together and full of great information! The instructor was excellent in all aspects and the exercises were very helpful! I’d highly recommend this workshop to anyone. … The faculty member’s energy and enthusiasm kept the participants actively engaged. … Overall the instructor was effective (e.g., responded fully and completely to questions, provided relevant examples, was interested in my learning). … The faculty was knowledgeable about the subject. … The instructor’s teaching methods, style and pace helped me to learn.” – Some of the comments made after Tom presented a Business Writing Make Simple workshop through the American Management Association in May 2023.

“The email portion was a great reminder. Brevity is key! … This was a great workshop! It was helpful, informative & interesting! … Nice job interacting with the participants and asking participants questions. The workshop was engaging. … You were great. Thanks for the professional, relevant and helpful writing advice. … Having taken your class twice, I continue to have many takeaways. Thank you, Tom!” – Some of the comments made after Tom presented two Business Writing workshops virtually to a client’s employees in May 2022.

“I took away a lot of good information from your entire course. Thank you Tom! Tom was a great instructor! … Overall, this workshop was informative and gave me a better understanding on how to use business writing. … I really enjoyed the workshop. It was insightful and educational. I will be using these guidelines from now on. Plus, you made the class fun. … The presentation was interactive and engaging. … Very fun workshop. … The presenter showed that he had relevant experience and was knowledgeable in the field of writing as well as how it pertains to financial institutions. … I thought the presentation was great and informative. … This was a lovely workshop and has made an impact immediately on my communication. I find myself using these tools every day in my email and spoken communication, which is helping to make them the new habit – shorter and sweeter!” – Some of the comments made after Tom presented four Business Writing workshops virtually to a client’s employees in November 2021.

“You made some great points, offered some excellent tips and takeaways – our group needs to hear from an ‘outsider’ every now and then because 1) we tend to re-hash the same things over and over and 2) it’s great to get another perspective! I especially like it that you took time to learn what we already do so you avoided duplication. Your real-life examples are very valuable. Thanks so much, Tom! … Great refresher and overview on items we work with every day! I thought the portion on writing, editing and review process was spot on!”  – Some of the comments made after Tom presented an Internal Communications workshop virtually to a client’s employees in April 2021.

“Tom Unger worked for several years as a Staff Editor at the world-renowned Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Of the seven writers in the Public Relations Department who reported to me as director, Tom was the most exemplary employee and yes, my most favorite one. Why? He never missed a deadline. His writing was clear and succinct and he always followed directions with a very positive attitude. It was a pleasure working with him and enjoying his sunny disposition. I can highly recommend Tom Unger for any communications projects both because of his considerable skills and his positive team spirit attitude. He is one in a million.” – Paula Correia, former Director of Public Relations, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

“I really enjoyed your class and feel that the value of it will be with me throughout my career.” … “I enjoyed all of the “Pro Tips” and would love to have Tom back for part 2 of Business Writing. The agenda was packed with a lot of great ideas and advice. I learned to put myself in the reader’s space to guide me in the way I communicate. I am focusing on brevity, simplicity and clarity and taking the time to proofread, proofread, and proofread some more.” … “Tom was very engaging. Gave a lot of good tips and advice on the proper ways to compose a communication, depending on my audience. Tom’s tips on matching my language and tone to my reader’s comprehension level grabbed my attention because I tend to think that big words are necessary, but simplicity is best!” … “I loved the workshop. It was very informative. I work with several busy men and the shorter the email the better. I’ve learned they respond with more clarity if my email to them is brief and to the point. They reply in kind, no second guessing on how to translate their response.” … “I enjoyed this workshop very much. I appreciated how interactive it was, as it made my peers and I eager to participate organically. I learned a lot about writing with precision and purpose, without compromising quality.” – Some of the comments made after Tom presented a Business Writing workshop virtually to a client’s employees in February 2021.

“Less is more.” That’s the hallmark of good writing – unless you’re trying to capture the superb talents of Tom Unger, APR, ABC, CTM, Fellow PRSA. A dynamic and engaging communications leader, Tom brings award-winning experience from the corporate world and his outstanding contributions to the nonprofit organizations that have benefited from his leadership. Respected and admired by his peers, Tom has twice received the highest honors presented by the Oregon Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA): the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award and the Olga M. Haley Mentoring Award. As a professional – and as a person – Tom Unger is simply the best.                                                                                                                                       – Barbara Kerr, APR, Fellow PRSA (2020 Chair of the PRSA College of Fellows)

“The workshop was well-organized, contained engaging references, and was presented in a way that encouraged the participation of the attendees. Thank you, Tom!” … “The pace of the class was great. The workshop was inclusive, engaging and effective!” … “It was a great workshop and I learned a lot.” … “I really enjoyed the workshop and you presented very well. Kudos for being very engaging despite being the only one on camera. The activities were fun and well spaced out. Great tips!”… “I think for virtual training we spent a perfect amount of time on each subject. Enough to understand and fully comprehend! … You did a great job and I got so much value out of your session.”  – Some of the comments made after Tom presented a Business Writing workshop virtually to a client on Dec. 10, 2020.

“Tom brings a truly valuable breadth of expertise and counsel to projects from his many successful years in the industry. He works very fast with an attention to detail so critical to putting out timely and credible stories that strengthen an organization’s reputation. I highly recommend working with Tom and using his services.”
– Kurt Heath, External Communications Manager, Umpqua Bank

“For the last five months, Tom Unger has been my writing coach. In that time frame, I have grown as a writer, researcher and editor. Tom has helped me learn how to organize and write news stories in a way that is digestible to everyone. Coming from a research-heavy background, I struggled to develop a news style of writing. Thanks to Tom, I am becoming a more confident writer, and for that I will always be grateful. The attention and care he puts into helping his clients is top-notch, and I’d recommend his expertise to anyone looking to improve their writing.”  – Crista Tappan, MS, Content Marketing Manager, Portland State University

“Tom enhances our publications through his engaging and thoughtful stories about our members. He is also an excellent writing instructor. He conducted a writing workshop for our members and was so good we’re bringing him back to do one for our staff! Tom has also been a mentor to me in my communications role at the OBA, for which I’m very grateful.” – Andee Rose, VP and Marketing & Communications Director at Oregon Bankers Association

“Tom, you have always been a leader and pioneer in your field! Continue soaring and bringing others along for the journey.” – Aben Hill, Chief Lending Officer at Rivermark Community Credit Union

 “The timing and pace were very good. It didn’t bog down. The workshop was a good reminder for me and our team to work on better communication.” …“Thank you for a valuable writing workshop, Tom! I do a lot of communicating via email, and you provided great reminders on brevity and clarity.” … “Thank you for taking time out of your day to teach us about how to improve our communication skills. It was definitely appreciated! Your interactive slides were useful for active participation and retention. I loved the tea analogy! I thought it was a phenomenal way of visualizing what happens when you have too much jargon. The Brevity exercise, specifically, was a helpful way of seeing how to shorten phrases and also made me really think about filler words that I use in my everyday speech.” …“Thank you for your time today and for providing this valuable training to our team. I appreciate it! You did a great job covering a lot of ground. The exercises and examples were helpful. You did a great job engaging the team and I know we all benefited from the information.” … “Thank you for the presentation. It was a good reminder for us wordy people!” – Some of the comments made after Tom presented a Business Writing workshop virtually to a client on April 6, 2020.

“Very good for someone as myself who has little knowledge of the art of news writing. Tom is energetic and engaging.” … “Loved the hands-on interaction. Interesting presentation.” … “This was a good refresher on key journalism principles.” – Some of the comments made after Tom presented his News Writing 101 workshop in Salem on Oct. 24, 2019.

“This is a great course! Taught by a legend!” … “A fantastic workshop! I highly recommend this for any writing level. Thank you, Tom!” … “This isn’t just applicable to news writing but also to journal, article or digest writing.” … “An important voice needed in the industry during this time of change.” – Some of the comments made after Tom presented his News Writing 101 workshop in Portland on Oct. 17, 2019.

“One of the best speakers I’ve ever heard.” … “Loved his energy and overall enthusiasm for writing.” … “Provided great tips that were not redundant.” … “Informative and helpful presentation with audience involvement.” – Some of the comments made after Tom’s presentation on news writing at the 2012 PRSSA Conference in San Francisco.

“Engaging” … “Good review of basics” … “Great refresher” … “Great speaker” … “Tom is awesome; good practical tools.” – Some of the comments made after Tom’s presentation on news writing at the 2012 Portland Communicators Conference.

“The pace and content of your presentation kept the audience engaged—as did the lively Q&A following the presentation.  A spot check after the meeting confirmed our own impression that even the seasoned communications professionals who attended came away with some new ideas that they could take back to their jobs. Thanks again for sharing your experience and insights.” – comments by Oregon-Columbia Chapter Co-presidents Melissa Steineger and Chris Wain of the International Association of Business Communicators after Tom’s presentation on news writing to the chapter.

“Tom Unger has a unique ability to translate thoughts and objectives into award winning presentations. His unique guidance, counsel and communication skills were responsible for my corporate presence. Years after retiring from corporate life, I continue to seek Tom’s advice and counsel for major presentations. As I occasionally reflect back over my career, Tom above all others made the biggest difference for me personally.” – George Passadore, former Oregon Region Chairman, Wells Fargo

“One of Tom’s greatest strengths is his desire to pursue information that the media will find worthy of publication. He understands what reporters are looking for and he has earned their respect as a valued business source. They know they can count on him to respond promptly and professionally. Tom is also eager to improve internal communications, ensuring that all employees are well informed about the company’s business and the accomplishments of their fellow team members. Without question, Tom is among the very best communications professionals I have known.” – Alan Johnson, former Oregon Region President, Wells Fargo

“Tom was my boss, but he felt more like a teacher and manager – a sign of a true leader. I learned volumes from him about writing and corporate communications. He is very results oriented and takes great pride in his work even to this day. I will always be grateful for his excellent mentorship. Tom Unger is truly a master. He is among the top professionals in the Corporate Communications field.” – Lara Piu

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