Testimonials

Photo by Dennis L. Maness

Selected Responses to Presentations/Writing

“Paul Signorelli is a master facilitator. He has a knack for making sure all voices are heard and sessions are productive, constructive, and timely. It’s a fine balancing act that he does with all the grace and polish of a Wallenda. “

–Stacy Hawthorne, colleague in the Arizona State University ShapingEDU community (June 17, 2022)

“Thank you, Paul, for previously mentoring and supporting me many years ago when I was a new member of the Association of Talent Development [South Florida Chapter] community. You were always genuine and generous and you played an important role on my journey, managing to strike that ‘delicate balance.'”

–Marla S. Grant, Esq., Certified Executive Coach (April 22, 2022)

“Thank you for the wonderfully inspirational time together today. I will be incorporating your ideas into my stories as I build a class on team building this afternoon.”

–Sylvette Wake, participant in “Inspiring Positive Action Through Storytelling” online workshop (ATD Sacramento Chapter, March 24, 2022)

“You are not dry and we appreciate that…You are like an atmospheric river storm.“

–Participant, “Making Meetings Matter: The Art of Effective Meetings” (Claremont EAP session), December 2021), in response to the question “What made this ‘meeting’ [the hour-long facilitated conversation about effective meetings] effective?”

“Paul was very engaging and presented the material in a way that was easy to understand. He showed not only his level of knowledge in the subject matter, but his compassion and belief in the topic.“

–Participant, “It’s About Time: Tips for Time Management” (Claremont EAP session), October 2021)

“I’ve really enjoyed this course and [have] gotten so much out of it. Learning about goals, objectives, [and] outlines has helped me tremendously…I also appreciated your humor and funny, light-hearted videos that you mixed in with the lectures. Thanks for keeping it interesting!”

–Jill Peth, participant, four-week online “Creating Online Tutorials” course, May 2021

“I’ve been doing advocacy for over 30 years and this reinforced ideas that I know but don’t put into practice all of the time. The idea of using stories to be more engaging and relevant with lawmakers and their staff is really a good approach and is effective.“

–From participant in “Storytelling for Advocacy” session at the California Library Association virtual conference, May 13, 2021

“I liked the interaction and involvement by the participants. This could have just been a lecture but wasn’t. The presenter did a great job of encouraging feedback during the program.”

–From participant in “Storytelling for Advocacy” session at the California Library Association virtual conference, May 13, 2021

“I took your class on social media when I first came back into the library world full time in 2010 or 2011. I wanted to tell you that through Twitter I have reached out to others in the profession as well as authors etc that I have used for many book discussions, readers advisory or other problems. I just wanted to thank you and let you know your course helped me develop in a way I didn’t think possible at that time.”

–From Patty Graziani Sussman, participant, four-week online “Rethinking Social Media” course, January 29, 2021

“I’ve been following @paulsignorelli’s blog since the #etmooc [Educational Technology & Media massive open online course] in 2013. His article about #ShapingEDU’s #LearningMan summer camp is typical in how it connects readers to a vast network of others who are committed to #learning #innovation and #creativity.”

–From Daniel Basill, President, CEO, Founder, Tutor/Mentor Institute, via Twitter July 22, 2020

“Thanks for this amazing thoughtful post about the #DigitalAdoptionSummit@trainersleaders. – buildingcreativebridges.wordpress.com/2020/05/27/ada… You have been quite an inspiration to our entire summit team!”

–From whatfix, the sponsor of a magnificent online three-day Digital Adoption Summit (conference) I covered on my Building Creative Bridges blog, May 26-28, 2020

“Thank you so much for providing such a great learning opportunity. I have downloaded the PowerPoints and saved the links to the video recordings of our sessions.  I know that I will be referring to these as I plan my trainings and try to learn more about effective training techniques.”

–From a participant in a four-part train-the-trainer series that started with a full day onsite and continued with three highly-interactive webinars (using Zoom) over a two-month period, March – May 2020

“Your [Future of Libraries] webinar was timely and important. Artificial Intelligence and Entrepreneurship aren’t something that everyone is either versed with or very comfortable with in their lives. But – you presented it in a way that was relatable.”

–From a viewer of an archived webcast recording, April 16, 2020

“Paul: I wanted to thank you for your contributions to the panel presentation this afternoon at ATD. Your human-centered approach (storytelling, humor, empathy) was refreshing!”
–From participant in the “Implementing Machine Learning and AI in Learning–Global Cases and Best Practices” session at the ATD (Association for Talent Development) 2019 International Conference & Exposition, Washington, DC, May 2019

“You brought in a lot of energy, humor and audience engagement through polls and questions. I personally believe the Q&A session nailed it.”
–From the colleague who arranged my “Future-Ready: A Roadmap to Using Ed-Tech to Hone Your Workplace Skills” interactive webinar for a global company based in India, November 2018

“I can’t say enough nice things about Paul Signorelli. He has a presence that transcends any medium. I was a virtual attendee and his passion for blended learning was palpable through the virtual connection. He proved, by virtue of his ability to connect with me and present content in an engaging manner, that we don’t have to learn face-to-face.”
–From an online (offsite) participant in the ATD Orange County blended program “Blended 2018: A Hands-On Evening of Engagement,” May 2018

“Very good presentation; kept everyone engaged.”
–From participant in the ATD 2018 International Conference & Exposition “Out of Our Seats: Road Maps for Learning and Collaborating Through Movement” session (San Diego, CA), May 2018

“#librarians: snatch you up some @paulsignorelli for your next staff training day. you won’t regret it. #elearning #mpplside16”
–Tweeted by a 2016 Mount Prospect Public Library Staff Inservice Day“From eLearning to Learning” participant, May 2016

“Great webinar; thanks for the knowledge.”
–From learner in “Giving and Receiving: The Nuts and Bolts of Moving from ‘Networking’ to ‘Building Sustainable Relationships'” session for PCI Webinars, April 2016

“Thanks for facilitating The Big Give! I left energized and with tons of ideas–a great evening.”
–From “Facilitating the Wisdom of the Crowd: The Big Give” session, co-facilitated with Janet Isom for our colleagues at the ATD Golden Gate Chapter (San Francisco), March 2016

“Thank you for a wonderful experience in your short course. I found it to be very informative and my ‘brain juices’ are flowing when I think about the different ways in which I could help promote library services and programs.”
–From learner in “Rethinking Library Instruction: Libraries as Social Learning Centers”four-week online course, March 2016

“Thank you for participating on the SMC (Saint Mary’s College of California Library] External Review Committee and for all of your efforts on our behalf.”
–From library administrator who organized and facilitated the efforts of our three-person external review committee that was convened to help the campus community plan for the future of its library and library services, February 2016

“This has been a wonderful class, and I’m so appreciative of the opportunities.”
–From learner in “Rethinking Library Instruction: Libraries as Social Learning Centers”four-week online course, February-March 2016

“It was so awesome. Someone today in another meeting brought up a point you had made…so already a ripple effect!”

–From “Learning for the Future: Habits of Mind and Teaching for Life Skills” session for faculty at Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, CA, October 2015

“Outstanding session. Thank you for being so focused on being interactive. Awesome!”
–From “Levels of Engagement: Attracting, Placing, and Retaining Volunteers” session at ATD (Association for Talent Development) Chapter Leaders Conference, Washington, D.C. area, October 2015

“Thank you so much for an excellent, interactive session!…The interaction between you and [co-facilitator] Maurice [Coleman] was such a perfect method of demonstrating how all of this works – and how easy it is that they should all try it.”
–From “Playing With Collaborative Tools Online” session via a Google Hangout for a live audience onsite at the Northeast Kansas Library System’s Innovation Day, April 2015

“…you have been the most engaging teacher of any on-line course that I have ever experienced. You certainly put a lot of time into responding to each person’s post with more than just a cursory acknowledgement. I have truly gotten more from this particular class than I have in a long list of classes that I have taken online. So thanks for what you are doing.”
–From learner in “Rethinking Social Media to Organize Information and Communities”online course, November 2015

Additional Comments

“Paul Signorelli is a consummate professional–he is pleasant, easy to work with, clear about his expectations and flexible in meeting yours. Paul is an outstanding instructor and educator–to work with Paul is to learn from him.”
—Dan Freeman, Editor at American Library Association

“Paul Signorelli did an outstanding job facilitating the Future of Libraries 5.0 event at the San Francisco Public Library on Wednesday, September 23, 2009…I was particularly impressed by the seamless way he kept things moving during lulls in the question and answer sessions through asking thoughtful and provocative questions that helped the presenters share their expertise and connect more meaningfully to the audience.”
—Brian Castagne, Computer Lab/Families for Literacy Coordinator, Project Read, San Francisco Public Library

 

“Recently, I was managing a large project to create a professional development toolkit for public librarians. I needed someone with the highest abilities for editing the final product. My only regret was that I hadn’t brought Paul on the project sooner, because his contributions were phenomenal. Not only did he provide his usual stellar work product, he suggested two additional components that made the resource even more valuable. Paul created a detailed style guide to provide consistency in the content as it was being developed. The guide will be invaluable as the resource grows over time. The additional contribution was a compilation of all the organizational acronyms found in the resource with links to the organization web site. This list is a useful addition to the toolkit, and it would not have been possible without his assistance. I’m looking forward to working with Paul on other projects.”
—Kelli Ham, Consumer Health Librarian at NN/LM, PSR, UCLA Biomedical Library

“Paul…has the power to make everyone feel as though everything they say, their opinions and their work, are the most important thing on earth. His positive spirit is infectious and helps to move projects forward in a positive way…”
—Sarah Houghton, speaker, writer, and trainer

“Just wanted to drop you a quick note of appreciation for your advice on my social media presentation at SFPL. It was quite successful and I think it showed the powers that be at the library how much people are into leaning more about social media and all the possible uses…Because of the great feedback I got SFPL is giving me the opportunity to teach a blogging class in February.”
—Anissa Malady, staff member, San Francisco Public Library

“Paul is a great communicator—both written and verbal—and these skills make him one of the best meeting facilitators I know.”
—Lynda McDaniel, Director, Association for Creative Business Writing

“Paul’s positive energy, thirst for knowledge, and enthusiasm…make him an asset to any organization of which he is a part.”
—Michele Mizejewski , instructor, Infopeople

“Paul’s incredibly positive energy and outlook make him a delight to work with. His enthusiasm is contagious! He has a real passion for training, and for creating systems that help people find the information they need.”
—Valerie Nuzum, Training Manager, Health Reform Implementation Project, Blue Shield of California

“Paul is a kind and patient person who is able to break apart complex projects into multi-step milestones, respects timelines, works quickly and efficiently, gives exquisite attention to detail, is fully open to suggestion, and is willing to meet seemingly contradictory and ever-morphing requirements with grace and great humor. Paul understands the online learning environment and how to write for it, and learners of this new decade will benefit greatly from his work.”
—Alese Smith, LE@D Project, began using Paul as a writer of online courses in 2009

“Paul, this was an excellent course. Trained as an anthropologist, I see your role as someone who not only explores new tools, but expands their use, and shares that knowledge with others in a creative way. What a great thing to do! Thank you very much.”
—Jan Stehlik-Barry, student in Paul’s ALA Editions “Social Media Basics” online course

“Paul has been able to immerse himself into helping to grow the ASTD Mt. Diablo chapter. He has a gift to be able to see what is possible in people…”
—Phillip Tanzilo-MBA, CPLP, MHRM , volunteer/consultant: San Diego President 2006, National Advisor to Chapters 2007-2010 , ASTD; worked directly with Paul at ASTD Mt. Diablo Chapter

“When Paul walks in the room, you know it because the positive energy just increased tenfold. I was lucky enough to be at ASTD while Paul was leading the Mt. Diablo chapter and volunteering for national committees, and learned a great deal from him about persistence, optimism and a genuine can-do attitude. He helped turn around a chapter on the brink of dissolution to one recognized as the national “chapter of the month” – no small feat considering they had 130 counterparts to contend with for that honor. Paul’s a great asset to the ASTD community, and they’re lucky to have such a dedicated leader.”

—Geoff Woliner, director of education sales at Global Business Travel Assocition; worked directly with Paul at ASTD Mt. Diablo Chapter