Sue Thompson

Resident expert Exceptionality LLC

  • Wilmington DE

Engaging, intelligent coach speaker helping people project a knockout professional presence!

Contact

Social

Biography

Sue helps people get their acts together! Focusing first on the inner foundation of values, personality, and talent, she adds the importance of looking like you mean business, creating a total professional presence. Does your personal style shout you couldn't be bothered to be promoted? Is your company sending the visible message that customers and clients don't matter? Sue consults and trains, giving insights on managing perceptions. She's also a sought-after meeting and convention speaker. Take a look at her unique newsletter, available on her website, and visit her blog, www.EtiquetteDog.com!

She speaks on dealing with difficult people and putting the personalities at work in perspective; on the difficulties manager have with that "awkward conversation" about hygiene, appearance, and behavior, and how to do it effectively; on the ways a workplace of civility and respect saves a company money; how supervisors can create a culture of good character; how to survive a tormenting work environment; how to spot talent and hire well; and of building that very important professional presence--among other topics. She's a business etiquette trainer (and this includes dining manners), a personality expert, and an image advisor.

Industry Expertise

Corporate Leadership
Writing and Editing
Religious Institutions
Business Services
Management Consulting
Corporate Training

Areas of Expertise

Talent
Character
Professional Presence
Workplace Civility
Surviving Tormenting Work Environments
Personalities in the Workplace
Dealing With Difficult People
Awkward Conversations

Education

Antioch University Los Angeles

M.A.

Clinical Psychology

1996

Affiliations

  • International Facility Management Association
  • International Positive Psychology Association

Event Appearances

Building Your Professional Presence

Int'l Facility Mgmt Association 2012 Facility Fusion  Chicago, IL

2012-04-11

The Self We Want Others to See: Understanding Client Personalities

Assoc of Image Consultants Int'l Southern California Chapter  Los Angeles

2012-03-31

Sample Talks

The Awkward Conversation: Counseling Employees about Hygiene, Appearance, and Behavior

So you've got an employee who doesn't bathe, or who routinely clips his nails at his desk, or who eats nauseatingly pungent foods at her desk. People are complaining about the clothing the receptionist wears (or isn't wearing) or the bizarre habits of a coworker. You have to talk to the person--but what do you say?

It's the talk no manager wants to have. Because it's so sensitive, many managers attempt to drop hints to the person. Notes are written and left on desk chairs. Friends are asked to talk to the employee. Ultimately, most supervisors avoid the topic altogether, and this is a shame, because the inability to deal with this indicates a breakdown in good management. Find out *what* you can say and *how* to say it. Get some backbone on the matter, and then just do it. The truth is that 99% of employees respond well, so your fears are most likely groundless!

Building Your Professional Presence

So you've gotten a stellar education or received training that makes you ready to run. You're looking to stand out among job applicants, or you're ready for promotion. You bring experience and expertise of value to a company—but do you know how to communicate it? You’ve got the *inner* requirements for success, so now it’s time to put on the outward qualities that tell your interviewers, your colleagues, or your superiors there’s something important on the inside! The crucial factors that behavior, image, and personality announce regarding what you’ve got to offer are often ignored. Who’s going to blow your horn? You’ve got to do it, and the way you present yourself in is what makes you noticeable. Begin building an exceptional professional presence!

Topic features:
• Dressing like you belong in the executive suite
• Conversing as though you’re comfortable with people who are smart and interesting
• Showing a command of written and spoken language that befits the board room
• Developing and maintaining relationships with near-psychic insight
• Exhibiting manners worthy of dining with diplomats
• Indicating character that does what is right simply because it is right

Sheer Living Hell: Surviving a Tormenting Work Environment

“I can’t leave this job right now. What if I don’t find another one? I have to stay here, even though it’s killing me.” Every day we hear of a bleak economy. Books and articles on job searching and entrepreneurship abound to help job seekers, but what of those who, fearful of the state of the job market, stay in toxic jobs? So many men and women feel they must remain in positions where they suffer daily.

You see, it’s one thing to maintain an attitude of confidence and capability when everyone thinks we’re wonderful. It’s quite another thing to maintain a perspective of strength in a climate that is antagonizing, frustrating, lonely, even abusive. In such an environment the true test of character is made, and it’s the hardest work we will ever do. You cannot get through such a trial on a wing and prayer--you must have strategies for survival. Discover seven powerful principles for getting to the finish line with your sanity intact. You *can* survive sheer living hell!

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Style

Availability

  • Keynote
  • Moderator
  • Panelist
  • Workshop Leader
  • Host/MC
  • Author Appearance

Fees

$3500 to $7500*Will consider certain engagements for no fee