Testimonials

Mairi is a specialist trainer in SCVO’s annual training programme for the third sector and has also provided training for SCVO’s own staff. Mairi’s bright and bubbly approach to coaxing and encouraging people to improve their writing has been incredibly successful. Following ‘How to write right’ training with Mairi, there’s been a distinct improvement in staff writing of blogs, newsletters, articles, reports and papers. With her encouragement, our writing style has a focus on being concise, clear, accessible and engaging.

Thanks for an engaging and thought-provoking day getting writing right. Even though we were in a group the experience I had was more akin to one to one coaching. I was able to challenge my own preferred style of writing and explore new approaches and techniques. I really enjoyed the day and got stacks out of it, many thanks.

I recently worked with Mairi for a full day on presentation skills, including media skills for radio and television. The session on media skills was excellent: Mairi’s experience in this field was clear and as a result I now feel much better equipped to engage with the media. I look forward to working with Mairi again in the future.

Mairi worked with Penington CoHousing during our start-up stage, helping us develop a better understanding of the media. She supported us to raise our profile by writing and circulating press releases, and securing media coverage on BBC Radio Scotland. Mairi was very supportive, offering reassurance and information about what to expect from the interview process. We have appreciated Mairi’s direct advice and honesty, and her guidance has kept us focussed on promoting the right parts of our project at the right times. I recommend Mairi’s services wholeheartedly.

Inspiring and informative in equal measure, the Word Up workshop on writing right was definitely time well spent. Mairi helped us look at what we want to write in terms of content and audience, giving us opportunities to practice at every stage. She discussed a variety of ideas that will certainly assist our writing in the future, as well as inspiring us with other thoughts to take beyond the hours we spent together. Everyone, no matter their previous writing history or attitude to their abilities, made strides forward and it was a profitable day.

I can (I hope) write right better now following the Word Up workshop. Much was learned about the art of crafting well structured and engaging copy under the watchful eye of Mairi. With great patience and a boot up the arse at times, she took us through a series of exercises which really brought home how to add life and colour dull copy. I am guilty of sticking to mere facts and great brevity; if I can get away with a  bulleted list I would happily have done so! This may have conveyed the information, but would hardly have someone coming back for more… But no more! I do genuinely feel inspired to make more of an effort now, and feel I have more of the tools at my fingertips in order to be able to do so. Thanks Mairi, I learned loads.

It would take me a good paragraph to write what Mairi can write in a single sentence! Her writing skills are fantastic. I asked Mairi to work on my press and publicity material for the Glasgow Trade Fair early in 2013. Though turnaround time was ridiculously tight, the end result had the ‘sales pitch’ I was looking for. Mairi summed up the very essence of what my work was about, but not in a cheesy or a pretentious way – her writing fitted the brief perfectly. I’d definitely recommend her skills to anyone.

I wanted to thank you very much for the great Get up, Stand Up training course. I found the day incredibly useful, especially as I am very nervous of public speaking! It was good to have so many chances to practise public speaking throughout the day. Your feedback was constructive and practical with tips that we can use every day. There were a real range of people there on the day but you made the training relevant to everyone. Thank you so much for all the experience, expertise and energy that you put into the day.