Testimonials
It has been so tremendously helpful to work with Andrew. I feel a million times more prepared for doing presentations than I would have otherwise. The man has the patience of a saint and delivers negative feedback like it’s no big deal.
Staff, Musica Viva Australia, August 2010
I wanted to write and formally thank you for once again an amazing session at RYLA this year. I have just taken the past week to reflect, digest the enormity of the week and review the feedback we received from the awardees. I wanted to make sure I shared some of this with you, as we received so much positive feedback from your session (as always!), see attached. We had people bring up some of the advice you gave or the suggestions you provided all throughout the week to help encourage each other. It was so great to see.
Melissa Kenney, Director, Rotary Youth Leadership Award, January/February 2009
Fantastic – really engaging speaker. Learnt a lot and was inspirational.
Great tips and advice that will be extremely useful in the workplace.
I learnt so much that I will be able to use in the future.
I felt brave enough to speak in front of the crowd once we had heard him speak.
Andrew was entertaining and offered some real insight. His active approach maintained our attention.
Absolutely fantastic speaker!! Gave great ideas and was very entertaining.
Participant comments, Rotary Youth Leadership Award, January/February 2008
An excellent launch … you are an excellent speaker.
Kevin Wall, General Manager, Ferrari – Australia & New Zealand, November 2007
My involvement in public speaking began the day Wotif.com was launched and progressed with the normal hiccups for a year or two before I gained confidence and became effective in speaking at conferences and large meetings. TV and live radio were quite a problem for me which I struggled with until I received training from Andrew Buchanan. Andrew’s tips made all the difference and my confidence levels grew to the point where I now enjoy TV and radio interviews as much as I enjoy presenting to a live audience. I would thoroughly recommend Andrew’s advice to anyone who fears the microphone pointed in their direction.
Graeme Wood, CEO, Wotif.com, August 2007
Andrew is brilliant, and especially at presiding and chairing. It is really nice that he thought of us, and if an opportunity occurs with this or any other event we are organising, I shall pursue him.
Mark Armstrong, Director, Network Insight Institute
Thank you very much for your part in the Supporting Legacy in NSW People with Disabilities Forum. Your session was perfectly focussed and gave us a great insight into your personal journey, disabilities and aging and created a lot of interest. The day was voted an outstanding success.
Stewart MacLennan, Legacy NSW
We very much value the way in which you kept the conference running smoothly coupled with your great sense of humour.
Mary Perkins, Executive Officer, Shelter NSW
On behalf of Open Your Mind. Count Us In. National Conference, I would like to sincerely thank you for your involvement as a guest speaker during the day. Your two presentations seem to be the talking point of the conference, with your ability to relate to everyone in the room on some level. The highlight of the conference is that so many people were exposed to inclusive practices in sport and recreation and it allowed many barriers and stereotypes to be demystified when working with people with a disability. We have received a lot of positive feedback, but it is great to see that the conference has sparked peoples interest in the area of disabilities in sport and recreation. Once again, thank you for your involvement.
Kim Ellwood, Inclusions Officer Disabilities, WA Department of Sport and Recreation
I thought you did an excellent job as MC yesterday. I am sure not a lot of people understand how much planning and scripting goes into an event that runs for a few hours. That, and your quick wit made it flow beautifully. Well done. Where I was sitting there were a number of compliments throughout the proceedings as to your skill. I intend to ask you to MC my retirement.
Brendan O’Reilly, Director-General, NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care
Thanks again, so very much, for your excellent facilitation of the hypothetical at the forum last week. We had some very good feedback on the session and everyone really enjoyed your entertaining style.
Kate Jackson, Principal Analyst, Older People’s Mental Health, Centre for Mental Health, NSW Health
Just a fantastic presentation! Thank you for making the time to ‘light the light (or at least remind them to do it for themselves) inside our Disability Sport Network crew. The post mortem continued for a day or so afterwards! If you don’t mind, I’d love the opportunity to keep in touch.
Dr. Jacinta Baldwin, Senior Sport Consultant, Disability Sport Unit, Australian Sports Commission
Thank you so much for your participation in our Professional Development Weekend. In a word, you were ‘superb’! The right pitch, understanding the audience so well, providing new knowledge, new approaches, humour, engagement – what more could we ask for? And we also liked your jokes!
Leonie Henschke MD, University New England Partnerships Pty Ltd
Thank you for the exceptional job you did facilitating my Ageing, Disability & Carers Discussion Forum.
John Della Bosca, NSW Minister for Disability Services
What a wonderful night and buzz achieved for the launch of International day. My congratulations to you and your team for so much hard work and for the result achieved. I met with a number of people who were excited and enthusiastic and that credit belongs to you in particular. A number of people commented to me how great it is to have a person such as yourself as Chair of the Disability Council. Words such as realistic, a sense of humour, professional and commitment were thrown in when people from the Spastic Centre, Life Without Barriers etc spoke about your involvement. I can but agree.
Brendan O’Reilly, Director-General, NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care
Thank you so much for the wonderfully entertaining and inspirational speech you gave on the occasion of our 44th Annual Foundation Dinner.
Shirley White, CEO, House With No Steps
Looking forward to seeing you and your outstanding talent as an MC will be a tremendous boost to LAICOD.
Mike McCluskey, Radio Manager, ABC
A note to thank you for your extraordinary contribution to our recent conference. Your thorough preparation and relaxed delivery developed an atmosphere which made people feel valued, looked after, comfortable and at ease. I have had a lot of feedback from delegates about your brilliant performance as MC.
Kay Tierney, CEO, Life Activities