Testimonials

Colleagues

“Janell is a dynamo. We are so fortunate to have her as one of our contract trainers. She is an out-of-the-box thinker, a strong writer, a content expert, a stellar coach and an engaging trainer. Janell is able to build rapport with workshop participants quickly, which allows them to improve faster than they would otherwise. Her coaching is warm, direct, clear and specific. She has a relaxed, fun personality and a great sense of humor. I can’t wait to see Janell progress through PowerSpeaking, Inc.’s programs and services.”

Melissa Schwartz, former VP of Training, PowerSpeaking, Inc.

Janell training at PowerSpeakingInc.

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“Janell is a fantastic professional to work with. She brings in fresh ideas with a solid know-how. She is able to adapt her materials as well as her teaching style to diverse audiences. For this project, Janell taught speech delivery skills to a group of international MBA students. She gave insightful feedback to students who gave their speech in Finnish, and absolutely amazed me by recognizing repetition from a speech that was delivered in Finnish!”

Minna Holopainen, Founder, President at inFlux Communication Research & Consulting, LLC

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“Janell gave a dynamite Delivery Skills presentation for our Menlo Park Toastmasters Club. Her slide show was well organized and easy to follow. She engaged us for 75 minutes with four interactive exercises to practice essential speaking skills: stance, eye contact, gestures, and avoiding filler words. The activities were fun and a great way to lock in the skills. She’s an inspiring role model for what she teaches—a natural speaker with great stage presence and extremely knowledgeable in her subject. We intend to invite her back to Toastmasters to teach another workshop on Listening Skills.“

Donne Davis, Founder GaGa Sisterhood

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“Janell contributes to the college is so many ways. She is an associate faculty member in our Communication Studies department and does a phenomenal job inspiring students, creating a sense of excitement about her discipline, and supporting students’ development of vital skill sets and genuine awareness and deep understanding of the critical role communication assumes in our lives. Janell also serves as an associate faculty representative to our faculty’s participatory governance body, Academic Senate. I also asked Janell to co-coordinate a major fundraising event for the college and in her characteristic highly competent manner, she excelled in this role. Janell has a strong work ethic, a commitment that is unwavering, and a strong sense of purpose. It’s an absolute delight to work with her.”

Lori Gaskin, Superintendent/President, Santa Barbara Community College (former President, West Valley College)

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Janell Payne is one of the most creative, inspiring, and caring college instructors I have had the privilege of working with in my 38 years of teaching. As past Communication Studies Chair and current Language Arts Division Chair, I have observed and evaluated hundreds of instructors. Janell shines as one of the finest.

Randy Fujishin, former Language Arts Division Chair, West Valley College

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Janell demonstrates a rare capacity to apply a substantial grasp of communication theory to her understanding of real-world interactions. She is a creative and gifted teacher who models expert communication and inspires others to follow her lead. Her unassuming pursuit of excellence in her graduate work led  to her winning the 2007 Outstanding Graduate Student Award from the Department of Communication Studies at San Jose State University. As the former Graduate Director of that department, I continue to follow her career with interest and would welcome any opportunity to employ her as a consultant.

Elissa Foster, PhD., Medical Educator, Department of Family Medicine, Lehigh Valley Health Network
Associate Professor, University of South Florida College of Medicine

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Janell is a collaborative professional, educator, and colleague. Her communication style is engaging, relevant, and multi-dimensional. I recommend her to anyone who is seeking a motivational coach who will hold you accountable and adapt to your specific needs and goals. I endorse her as a facilitator to deliver a dynamic presentation or training.

Kristin Tedford
Co-Founder and Principle of Bold Echo Communication Solutions

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Janell Payne has all of the abilities and aptitude of an excellent leader, teacher, consultant, and person. She is incredibly collaborative, detail-oriented, supportive, and bright. Specifically, she enacts excellent leadership, strategic thinking, and communication. I can always count on Janell to provide timely, creative input and deliver on her commitments on time. Further, she is always willing to share her ideas and engage in thoughtful discussion. I can unequivocally recommend Janell.

Matt Abrahams, Communication Consultant,
Bold Echo Communications Solutions
Professor and Chair, Speech Communication Department, De Anza College

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Janell Payne is a wonderfully effective communicator, teacher, and coach. I have witnessed how her approach to classroom teaching, paired with her genuine curiosity for life-long learning about conflict resolution and communication, holds the attention of learners of all ages. She translates theoretical concepts into concrete practice with ease, making these ideas accessible and easy to integrate into everyday life. I would highly recommend Janell for any consulting, coaching, or teaching opportunity as she delivers!

Mary Oleksy, Associate Director, Joint and Dual Degree Programs, Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), MBA Program

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Janell develops projects that provide civic engagement opportunities for students and enhance the community. In collaboration with The Institute for Community and Civic Engagement at De Anza College, Janell has been a key faculty member designing civic engagement opportunities for her students. Janell offered a course that taught students the important skills of designing and facilitating events and processes. Janell trained, coached, and supervised students in the design and facilitation of two events: First, a service learning project on “Financial Literacy” in collaboration with Generation Engage and special guest, former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich; and second, a Block Leaders community event, bolstering social capital for the city of Cupertino’s population of approximately 75,000 citizens. These students spent the quarter working with Block Leaders in the City of Cupertino to design and facilitate an event for the city. It was an amazing learning experience for the students and it was extremely helpful to the city.

Kimberly Pearce
Co-Founder, CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution
Co-Founder, Public Dialogue Consortium

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I have known Janell for over six years and there are many things about her that impress me. What I value the most is her approachability and her excellent communication skills, specifically how she can synthesize many pieces of detailed information into clear and concise points. I work in the field of government advocacy and political messaging and am very familiar with effective communicators, and Janell is one of the best. Additionally, it seems the phrase “hard worker” is overused, however Janell has a passionate work ethic and pays attention to every detail. If I was starting my own company, she would be one of my first hires!

Niccolo De Luca, Northern California Director
Townsend Public Affairs, Inc.

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Janell has received superb training in teaching and facilitation from San Jose State University. As Janell’s former professor and dialogue/facilitation coach, I was impressed with the skills she contributed to design and facilitate a project on dialogic conversations with first-year Graduate Teaching Associates in the Communication Studies Department. Once Janell became an affiliate of the Public Dialogue Consortium (PDC), I hired her to facilitate a Block Leaders Program for the City of Cupertino. She did an outstanding job facilitating a series of small group conversations. I strongly recommend Janell Payne for any private or public speaking event, training, or workshop.

Dr. Shawn Spano, Ph.D.
Professor, SJSU; President and Senior Consultant, PDC; Cabrillo Corporate Training Consultant

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Janelle was an excellent undergraduate student of mine in the School of Communication at San Diego State University. She also served skillfully as my research assistant. She had an outstanding intellectual curiosity and I was delighted when she went to graduate school and completed her Master’s degree at San Jose State University. I have no doubt she will succeed in all future endeavors

Dr. Peter Andersen, Ph.D., Professor of Communication, San Diego State University

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Janell is a professional, kind, and knowledgeable Communication Coach and Instructor. Her passion for teaching effective and meaningful communication skills is evident in the way that she engages students in active learning that is useful in everyday life. I highly recommend Janell!

Shelley Giacalone, M.A., Communication Instructor, Gavilan College

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I’ve had the opportunity and pleasure of collaborating with Janell on various teaching and training events. What I appreciate about Janell is her ability to clearly and thoughtfully assess the needs of her students, and create and deliver content that directly addresses those needs. Her understanding of adult learning theory, and sincere desire for students to learn ensure that her classes, training events, and coaching sessions are highly effective.  In addition, Janell’s warmth and humor contribute to a great learning environment. I whole-heartedly recommend Janell!

Students

“I was terrified of public speaking and extremely nervous going into Janell’s class. She was able to help me get over my fears by showing us ways to cope with the anxiety of speaking in front of your peers. She also made the classroom environment a comfortable place, as we shared embarrassing stories with each other to help lessen the pressure. I continue to use the skills I learned in her class to help myself with presentations and interviews. Thank you so much for everything you taught me!”

Michelle Kimble, Criminal Justice Major

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“Janell’s teaching methods are extremely beneficial and I have even landed a job with the interview techniques that she provided me with! During my interview, I felt completely at ease because of her extreme interview preparation. After learning her tips and techniques, you will leave feeling prepared and more confident than ever.”

Yvette Cruz, Clinical Nutrition, De Anza College student

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“I’ve always been a good communicator but when it came to speaking in public, I was terrified. Janell eased my fears by relating to my anxieties and teaching me ways to cope! I still use her techniques to this day,not only for presentations, but also in life! Thank you so much!” 

Faith Domanski, Child Development, De Anza

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“I am very grateful to have had Professor Payne as a speech instructor. Her teaching style allowed me to grasp each individual component of what goes into creating and presenting a professional speech. Janell was able to eliminate most anxiety that comes with public speaking and establish a comfortable environment that made it easy to get up and speak confidently. From the skills and methods she has taught me, I will be able to carry these teachings with me for the rest of my life so I will be able to give a successful speech wherever I may be. Whether it be a prepared or impromptu speech, I will be ready for whatever may be thrown my way in the future. Thank you for everything Janell!”

Westin Bolliger, Mechanical Engineering, De Anza student

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“Miss Payne is very good at putting her students’ fear of public speaking to rest. She’s also very good at identifying subtle problems in your public speaking and how to improve them. I still use the tools I learned in her class when giving speeches and when talking to a new group of people. I highly recommend Janell.”

Guillermo Miguel Gomez, Political Science, University of West Georgia

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Professor Payne is an exceptional teacher. I had the privilege of having her as my instructor for the summer course of Argument and Debate. Janell is well-organized and easy to understand. One of the many reasons why I enjoyed being in her class was due to her ability to connect with her students. I began the course feeling unprepared, nervous, and undetermined to succeed, but Professor Payne changed all that. Not only did I learn how to communicate dialogically and think critically, I learned how to open up to an audience and communicate effectively. Professor Payne provided me with all of that in just 6 weeks and I could not have asked for a better instructor.

Monita Sieng, Student of Biochemistry, San Jose State University

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Professor Payne is a great teacher! She explains things in a clear and concise way that makes it very easy to understand complex concepts. Her teaching helped me to feel much more comfortable and confident when communicating with people both interpersonally and when speaking before a crowd. Additionally, her teaching inspired me to want to become a communication teacher like her so that I can hopefully help others to improve their communication skills the same way that Professor Payne has helped me. If you are looking for a great communication teacher to help you improve your communication skills, Professor Payne is the genuine article, and I give her my highest recommendation!

Matthew Scott, Student of Communication Studies, West Valley College

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Professor Payne’s teaching style combines expertise with a desire to truly teach her students the necessary information needed in day-to-day life interactions. As a former student, I learned so much about this category of communication from Professor Payne that a book just couldn’t fulfill.  I strongly urge anybody considering taking a communication course to take it with Janell Payne because you will get a professionally taught course with a feeling of accomplishment and understanding once you succeed in her course.

Matthew De La O, West Valley College, Communication Major

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Janell is extremely organized, has a fantastic attitude, and is very professional. Janell makes herself available to give any help possible to all students. Along with providing a great class, she has a very positive vibe about her and makes class very enjoyable. Janell is an exceptional instructor. She truly pushed me to put in high level, quality work. Through these inspirational experiences, I have grown this past semester and I will keep this knowledge throughout my life and use it in several different settings. Along with being a great person, Janell is an extraordinary teacher who truly enjoys her profession. I would recommend her class to anyone.

Jose Soares, Communication Studies, West Valley College

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Janell Payne’s talent and passion for communications has inspired me. If you are looking for someone great and professional, Janell Payne is the one.

Chloe Xu, Student of Communication Studies, University of California, San Diego

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Janell Payne is a great professor. Before her Argument and Debate class, I had never taken a public speaking course, much less stood in front of a group of people I had not met before. Janell helped me and the rest of the class ease our nerves and prepared us for Team Policy- and Lincoln Douglas-style debates. Her class also helped me a lot in philosophy when studying types of arguments and fallacies. I highly recommend Janell Payne as a teacher, a communications business leader, and a friend.

Anthony H. Webb, Student of Architecture, West Valley College

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I learned a lot and have recommended Janell’s class to friends.

Nicole Koch, Student of Broadcast Journalism and Communication Studies, West Valley College

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Miss Payne is the best communications teacher I have had at West Valley. She is extremely positive and makes you feel very comfortable in her classroom. I learned so many new things from her and am a way better student thanks to her help. I would recommend any student to take a class with Miss Payne!

Kevin Corey, Communications Major and Student Athlete, West Valley College, Vikings Baseball

Thanks for teaching this class! I have never taken any sort of public speaking class before, and I was extremely afraid. I feel like I learned a lot in this class, and the structure of the class made it possible to make friends with a lot of my peers. Thanks for a great summer course.

Paige Richmond, History Major, West Valley College

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“I feel I have learned a new way of living life. I have found talking to new people not as difficult as it used to be and I have also made more friends in your class than I have all my years at West Valley.”

Ryan McLaughlin, Mechanical Engineer Major

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“I have learned how to listen to other people more effectively and provide peers with effective feedback by sharing specific suggestions for improvement rather than general ideas. I always highly recommend that my friends and peers take a class from Miss Payne”

Trinh Hoang, WVC, Business Administration student