Introduction: I enjoy helping my clients reach their goals by coaching them to speak with impact, by ghostwriting gripping prose, and by flawlessly editing their drafts.
1. COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAYS: Finding out what admissions officers are really looking for in student essays and personal statements happened to me through pure luck.
My first career was in higher education, where I was promoted from writing instructor to Dean, then to Director. Admissions ended up reporting directly to me.
During those years, I read thousands of application essays, and I watched closely how the Admissions staff selected the winners from the losers. At some point, I was able to predict which essay/application would end up in which pile. The same held true when I later worked at Stanford University.
You see, there really are "ideal student" profiles at many colleges, and I learned how to uncover them. I can use my experience to uncover them at schools you are considering. Then, together, we can see which ones have a profile that looks like you.
If the ones that are a good fit also have the course programs you want, we have a match. All that is left to do is write an entertaining essay that highlights the qualities you have that they want for their student body.
You may not even know you possess them, but that is where you will have to trust my coaching skills to help you see them and describe them.
More than 85% of my clients have been accepted by their dream schools, including at Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Brown, and Duke, as well as MBA, law, medical, and even dental grad schools.
The latest hot trend is community college students applying to four-year universities. Unlike community college applications, though, universities require essays. That's where I can help.
Be aware, though, that even the most creative, most impressive essay won't get you in by itself if you don't have the required GPA, test scores, activities, etc.
But it sure helps!
2. PUBLIC SPEAKING COACH: I have coached hundreds of college students and dozens of business and technology executives in Silicon Valley, as well as the occasional panicked buddy of the groom who needs a funny "Best Man" wedding toast, preferably accompanied by an embarrassing but hilarious story from the old days. With experience like this, who could be more equipped to turn you into a speaking pro!
Over 30 years of speaker coaching, I'm sure I've worked with almost every topic under the sun, and I've faced some severe cases of stage fright. Finding that the solutions all the books suggest don't work, I came up with my own methodology, which does.
And not just for stage fright, but for all the skills good speakers need. In fact, my clients achieve noticeable improvements in far less time than other programs require, and with less effort.
This is not a cookie-cutter program; it is carefully tailored to bring out your strengths and cure or camouflage any weaknesses.
It doesn’t take a lot of work from most clients. But there is always the exception.
I’ll never forget him—a brilliant CEO genius who regularly put audiences to sleep. He was determined to be great, though, and after a couple of years (yes, years!) of intensive coaching and practicing my methods, he was like an entirely new person.
He became a frequently invited keynote speaker at conferences worldwide, including the World Economic Forum in Davos, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. It was a remarkable transformation.
You should be forewarned that I intend to have fun. Most people would rather die than have to speak in public, but you will find the training painless, and often quite funny.
If you should come from a foreign country and Americans have difficulty understanding what you are saying, I can also teach you methods to reduce the effect of your accent without having to eliminate it.
3. EDITING: I love the challenge of making complicated content easy to understand and pleasing to the ear. As a former writing instructor and speech-/ghostwriter for Silicon Valley CEOs and senior executives, I will deliver nothing less than top-quality work.
Clients often accuse me of mind-reading, as my edits usually get closer to what they originally wanted to express than their own words did. I don't know if it's mind-reading or just careful listening, but it happens all the time.
4. GHOSTWRITING: As mentioned above under Editing, I can pick up your unique "voice" quite accurately and quickly. Will help you refine your initial idea, create the outline, interview you for stories, and write the manuscript. Can write query letters to agents and publishers, arrange press tours, and perform other promotional activities.
5. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PLATFORMS / PROCESS MODELS: Developed thought leadership platforms for Silicon Valley executives. Will create or improve your process model and engage an illustrator whom I will guide to develop a useful version for your website, keynote presentation, white paper, and marketing literature.
Please see my recommendations here and on my LinkedIn profile at linkedin.com/in/sharonturnoy. There are more writing samples there.
EXPERIENCE
• Executive communications manager and speaker coach for Silicon Valley CEOs, senior VPs, sales, and marketing groups.
• Taught college English: grammar, punctuation, composition, job search, resumes, and public speaking.
• Business management: Built an executive communications function and team from scratch in a startup; managed all aspects. As college director, responsible for marketing, compliance, revenue generation, and P&L.
WROTE, GHOSTWROTE, EDITED:
1. Blogs, articles, web content, social media, published book, publisher queries, white papers
2. Employee newsletters / intranet content
3. Resumes / cover letters
4. College application essays / theses / dissertations / personal statements
5. Change-management communications
6. Strategic communications plans and annual marketing campaigns
7. Speeches and PowerPoint presentations / speaker proposals
8. Thought leadership platforms
9. Investor / analyst reports
10. Earnings release and M&A call scripts
11. Press, customer, analyst briefings
12. Sales tools
13. Press releases
14. Articles translating complex technology or medicine into understandable concepts
15. Wedding vows and ceremony scripts, toasts, eulogies
NON-WRITING SERVICES:
1. Speaker coach; media coach; accent reduction; speaker placement
2. Video - write script, direct, edit
3. Career coach / business strategy / create or refine process models
4. Build executives' brands / PR / spokesperson / press contact
5. Refine company mission / goals
6. Analyze communication failures and repair
7. Tutor English and public speaking
POSITIONS HELD:
1. Freelancer / Entrepreneur / Solopreneur
2. Writer / Blogger / Ghostwriter / Sales Writer / Editor / Proofreader
3. Public Speaker / Speechwriter / Speaker Coach / Speaker Placement
4. Senior Executive Communications Manager / Coach / Executive PR
5. Executive Thought Leadership Platform Developer
6. Employee Communications Manager
7. Video Script Writer / Director / Editor
8. Career Coach
9. People Manager / Team Builder / Team Leader
10. Strategic Marketing Communications Campaign Design / Execution
11. CEO Assistant / Legal Assistant
12. Project Manager / Program Manager
13. College Instructor / Corporate Trainer / Training Manager
14. Instructional Designer / Curriculum Developer
15. College Director / Dean of Instruction / Dean of Students / Counselor
16. Writer Topics: Medicine, Science, Technology, Psychology, Law, Education, B2B, B2C
Call me today for a free consultation and quote.
