Independent researchers find an average performance improvement of more than 40% among men and women completing Communispond's Executive Presentation Skills.

Tampa, FL, May 01, 2007 -- Communispond’s communication skills training program may be the first ever assessed through academic research. Although training firms routinely evaluate their efforts with audience reaction surveys — which have earned the nickname “smile sheets” — few if any have been evaluated through a scientific assessment.

Independent researchers evaluated the performances of persons who completed the company’s Executive Presentation Skills program over a period of several months in 2006. The study found that participants showed an average performance improvement of more than 40 percent.

The two-day Executive Presentation Skills program uses video to help trainees evaluate their own performances. Trainees begin each session by giving a presentation to establish a baseline, and they conclude by delivering a final presentation to demonstrate command of their new presentation skills. Communispond was able to supply the researchers with “before” and “after” video from the actual training sessions.

Carolyn M. Anderson, Ph.D., professor and Interim Director of the School of Communication, University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, developed a research design based on rating the trainees’ overall presentations and their performance of 10 separate skills, each on a scale of 1–10. She and another researcher, after securing appropriate trainee consents, found the average trainee score for “quality of presentation” went from 5.34 to 7.56 as a result of the class, an increase of 42 percent.

The individual skills the researchers examined showed similar improvements  The skills examined were

       Choice of language

       Eye contact

       Stance

o    Balanced

o    Feet

o    Gestures

       Speech

o    Volume

o    Pitch

o    Rate

o    Inflection

This results of this phase of the study,, wrote Anderson in her report, “support the stance that Communispond’s training benefits trainees and the organizations they represent.  The trainees in the sample population enhanced their presentation skills, whether verbal or nonverbal or both.”

Communispond feels the project has validated its skills-based approach to communication training. “As far as I know,” said Katleen Richardson, Vice President, Marketing, “this is the first time a communication skills training firm has submitted its process to the rigors of academic evaluation. We are gratified we can show our customers objective proof of the value of this training and its approach.”

About Communispond
Communispond, part of the Informa international family of companies, has been training business professionals to communicate effectively since its founding in 1969. Its clients include more than 350 of the Fortune 500. More than a half million people from all over the world have passed through its training programs over the past 36 years. Today, from its eight offices in North America, Europe, and Asia, Communispond delivers training and coaching anywhere in the world in the three major areas of business communication: executive communication, sales communication, and interpersonal communication — all rigorously behavior-based.