Terry Williams, Author, Speaker, Trainer

Please select from the following options to narrow down the reviews of Terry into his roles as Author, Speaker/MC, Trainer & Comedian.

The weekend Herald - Having the last laugh in business
Workplace humour can be a powerful and persuasive tool, says David Maida
Using humour in the work-place not only lessens the seriousness of problems that occur but also relieves stress, says business coach and standup comedian, Terry Williams. "People are going to use humour in he workplace anyway. As a manager, setting up a culture and a system which allows them to do that in an appropriate way lets managers generate the humour." Williams has been a senior manager in business and says cultivating humour in the workplace can involve small things like allowing staff members to use the office copier to photocopy cartoons from the paper and put the, on the wall... Click here to read the entire article
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Review Her Magazine - The Guide

The guide provides the young reader with the confidence to take a big stride both onto adulthood and towards achieving their dreams. They will be armed with enough knowledge to avoid the top 100 future-wrecking errors that can be made, big and small. Packed full of information on such wide-ranging topics as getting a drivers license, job seeking, avoiding cons, OE travel, alcohol and drugs, flatting, pets, and relationships, the book is an immediately useful, fun toolbox to aid a young person in finding self and demystifying adulthood. And the best thing about the Guide to Being an Adult is IT'S FUNNY. Not preachy, not boring, it doesn't sound like your mum; it's laugh-out-loud funny.
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The North Shore Times
Funny guys' guide a lip-smacker - by Michelle Lotter
There is now a guide to the perfect kiss. Comedians Terry Williams and Mike Loder have written a book on how to kiss, throw a party, remember a name, get a job and all the other things classrooms don't teach. Ranging from serious issues such as suicide, relationships and setting up a house, to lighthearted dilemmas such as how to select fruit at the supermarket, The guide aims to give 18 to 26-year-olds advice in a "funny, not preachy way"... Click here to read the entire article
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Library & Information Association of New Zealand – Children’s Book Awards 2009 – Elsie Locke Award: Non-Fiction Category:
“The non-fiction category this year produced some very high quality titles. This is pleasing to see in an environment where children tend to turn to the computer for their information. All titles were readable with quality information and illustrations and are the sorts of books children will love to delve into... We would like to make special mention of “The Guide” by Mike Loder and Terry Williams. This self help guide for young adults is comprehensive and honest with loads of useful information. It is pleasing to see a book of this sort which is applicable to New Zealand.”
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Tearaway Review
by David Osten Gifford
Finally! A practical and useful guide to everything you need to know about life after high school, that isn't completely boring! This NZ book might just help you survive life (after you finally survive your battle with 13 years of school teaching).

Stuffed full of my favourite kind of humour, crushing sarcasm and cutting wit, this book tells you exactly what you need to know and expect when getting a flat, cooking, exercising, dating, kissing, getting a job, buying a car - almost everything you would need!

Aimed at teaching you how to avoid the 100 life-ruining decisions you might make, this is for more of you that just that clueless sheltered kid.
You may think you're an expert on kissing, and your brother may give you the know how on getting a decent flat, but the more serious topics of crime and alcohol are also sprinkled throughout in a way that doesn't make you cringe.

Now, are you going to buy the book, or have your parents give you 'the talk'?
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The Nile Review
by Kate Lyon
Can I say WOW? Where was this book when I needed it 30 years ago? I have now passed it on to my son (22) he's not really a reader, however he's being reading it for a week now and even shown it to a friend. I laughed and I cried, and I also learnt some very interesting things. Love it.
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Waikato Times Review
This is a laugh-out-loud yet practical handbook designed to give young readers the confidence to take the big step into adulthood and towards their dreams. It tackles some of the big issues how to get a job, how to find a flat, how to have a party, and some of the smaller but still important ones - how to change a tyre, how to breathe. Help a young person find themselves and in the process demystify adulthood. It points young people in the right direction while avoiding the preachy.
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Tomorrow's Schools Today - Online Magazine for Teaching Professionals
by Stephen Clark, Editor
Simply put this is a guide to all sorts of things that teenagers need to or want to know about, from getting a job to how to kiss. The book is presented as a humorous read, but under the jokes lie some very important issues, helpful advice and good information. For example there is a very helpful section on smoking that makes you think right from the start why someone would start smoking. It covers things that people don't usually think about like the costs of the habit and how being addicted to cigarettes will change you, as well as the usual health effects. More importantly, it has a comprehensive section on quitting and covers all the things you will go through when you try to quit.

Being a New Zealand publication, the help numbers in the book and other information is correct for New Zealanders. It is not a case of fine a service that might be helpful when you read the book, only to find it is only available to residents of the US.

The most important thing about the guide is that it helps readers to make informed choices in their lives. It is after all a guide and like all guides, readers can make the ultimate choice of whether or not to follow it. The information in it, however helps readers to make choices on things by giving some information that is not readily available or might not be mentioned if they talk to friends, peers or parents. In all this really is a helpful must read book for young and not so young adults to help guide them to make good decisions in life.
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Colleen Shipley, Librarian Marlborough Girls' College
We have the book here in our library and it is hugely popular (in fact it hasn’t sat on the shelves yet). I first came across it as a judge for LIANZA children’s book awards. It’s a great book and you might be interested in a little game we played with it. We are an all girls school but the librarians from the boys college came over for a visit, we passed the book around the room and opened it and said what section it opened up at with the inference being that was the issues we were dealing with subconsciously. Great fun and good for knowing what stuff is in the book.
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Training ↑ Top

Stephen Nelson, Chief Executive Officer Mitre10 Mega Petone & Upper Hutt
"Cardinal Solutions have surpassed themselves and delivered an outstanding programme to our management team. Their Business Improvement Programme has enabled our Managers to develop, produce and present a variety of projects that will have very tangible benefits for our business. So not only have we been able to further develop the leadership skills of our managers, but we will also see tens of thousands of dollars added to the bottom line - what more could you want from a training programme and provider. Thanks Cardinal Solutions!"

Harry O'Rourke - Chief Executive Waitakere City Council
"Terry prepared well for his presentation to staff on communication and customer relationships. He presented in a dynamic and humorous manner which left staff both well informed and motivated. The clear summary he gave as a handout enabled staff to follow through on his well researched suggestions."
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Neville Aitchison, President, Human Resources Institute of New Zealand
"A superb effort. Thank you so much for the thought, the ideas, the work and the performance on the night"
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Kevin Thompson, Customer Services Manager, Dunedin City Council
"Terry's presentation at the Call Centre 2000 conference was very informative and delivered in a down to earth manner with good lashings of humour. Great analogies, references to life experiences and suitable humour. (Humour, fact and a little bit of fiction.) The audience was fully entertained for the full forty minutes."
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Nick Wood, Senior Consultant, Consultel
"I found Terry's speech both entertaining and informative. I really enjoyed the way he was able to tell stories which were easy to relate to and helped make his point."
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Kaye Kennedy, Customer Access Manager, Axa
"Terry Williams' presentation style is attention-grabbing and energetic. I was very impressed with the way he captivated and involved his entire audience for the entire length of his presentation. His topic on Customer Service Coaching skills was fully covered with accompanying notes that were very professional as well as being a very eyecatching presentation."
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Manager, Mitre 10 Mega, Petone
"Great facilitator and refreshing content relevant to current issues in my workplace."
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Supervisor, New World Wanganui
"Loved the muffins and Terry was very good too."
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Manager, Birkenhead New World
"Valuable lessons to take back to work, which will definitely help me become more of a leader and not so much a manager. A lot to work on. Loved the day."
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Solicitor, Kensington Swan
"A challenging, fun and practical day with a knowledgeable trainer."
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Comedian ↑ Top

Graeme Lord, Macpac Wilderness Equipment
"Terry rocked our world! We got him to do a stand-up routine at a celebration event for the whole Macpac team. Breaking all all the rules of stand-up comedy - 10 am start, the audience having no clue why they were there, and no lubricants - Terry had us rolling around the aisles. His gags were funny, original and often deliciously unpredictable. Thanks Terry for a great event."
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Pauline Prince, GS1
"Why waste time looking for anyone else?"
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Salient
"...clean, quick, well structured", "delightful, first class comedy", "polished and professional"
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The Dominion
"... sharp, original comedy..."
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Beryl Oldham, NZ Navy
"I thought you were really good - you are both funny and likeable, and from what I have seen of other comedians, the two don't always go together. I really enjoyed your bit of the evening."
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MCing and Speaking ↑ Top

Glenn Middleton, Manager Operations - Orix
"The feedback I have received from our sponsors and media contacts re your performance last night has been 100% positive. I am confident your skills and most importantly "culture fit" will only but complement our desire to provide the most professional hospitality product within the series this season."
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Debi Chalmers, Asia-Pacific Venue Management Association
"Thank you, Terry. You are an ingenious performer who invigorated our audience with your rapid-fire repartee and observational wit. A skilled master of ceremonies, assured compere, and polished stand-up comedian.....you left our delegates screaming for more! Sincere thanks, for your commitment to our 2008 Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress."
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Jason Roberts, Marketing Manager, Zeacom
"Terry is an engaging presenter and works well in small/large group situations. In my case we were wanting to use a comedy ‘bent’ to not only better engage with our customers, but also find innovative ways to consider issues, find solutions and of course ‘connect’ people. Terry did a brilliant job for us in this capacity and is highly recommended."
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Megan Alexander, General Manager, Robert Half International
"Terry presented in a humorous manner very imperative information for business managers/leaders to use in their workplaces, to influence those people around them. He highlighted the importance of how your influence as a manager/leader is measured more on how your teams act while you as their manager/leader are absent from the workplace as opposed to how they act while you are there. He offered tips on how to achieve this buy-in from your team. 83% of attendees (senior finance managers) rated Terry as excellent."
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Leigh Robinson, Product Manager, Zeacom
"You were a pleasure to work with, particularly because you easily picked up on the brief and ran with it – making our lives so much easier. The way you mixed serious business with humor and audience interaction provided great results and an extremely humorous and enjoyable evening. We’d be happy to recommend you for any corporate event. Thank you again."
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Roseta Jacobs, Auckland University Centre For Professional Development
"A marvelous job... very professional, respectful yet still hilariously funny... It was the perfect end to a successful conference."
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Brian Berry, Rothbury Financial Services
“Terry’s session as Keynote Speaker finished our conference on the ‘high’ that we were looking for. His very humorous session gave us skills to apply not only in our businesses but also in our personal lives.”
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Paul Dunphy, Manager - Event Attraction & Development, Auckland City Council
"Terry added so much value to my event. He was able to read the mood of the crowd well and ensured that the evening flowed to plan. I knew that by bringing Terry into the mix that the event was guaranteed to be a success and I went into the evening knowing that the event was in a safe pair of hands."
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Glenda Harding, Harding Consultants (IPENZ07 Conference)
“Terry you were a pleasure to work with – your ease at understanding the brief, and willingness to fit into the brief for the conference was fantastic. You had a complete appreciation of how a conference needs to run and you earned the respect of conference delegates quickly. I particularly enjoyed your ‘ice breaker’ that you used at the start of the conference. We look forward to working with you again.”
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John Rogers, Trimble Navigation New Zealand Limited
"Terry added spice and life to our conference. He educated and entertained us with examples of how to communicate with humour, and showed how breaking out of the day-to-day patterns of the workplace can make everyone’s work more enjoyable, and thus more effective."
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Professor Alan Stenger, Business School, University of Auckland
“The best corporate entertainment I’ve ever been to.”
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Beverley Rogers, Rotary International District 9910 Conference 08
"The presentation was great - lots of good feedback!"
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Rowena Richards-Orange (JazzFest07)
"Thank you for making 'Jazz In The Park' such a success!"
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Bryan Ward, NZ Biotechnology
"...a very good performance... pushed the envelope but knew where the boundaries were."
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Andrew Reese-Jones, Macpac
"... thoroughly enjoyed the show - plenty of favourable comments afterwards..."
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Martyn Dawson GM Mercedes Car Group
"...professional celebration..."
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Lani Christensen, Tauranga House of the Year Co-ordinator / Master Builders Association Manager More...
"...singing your praises... adamant that you must join us again next year and do it all again. ...exceptional professional presence, delivery and approach..."
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Janice Beban, Franchise Association
"Terry was very entertaining and delivered his message in a very professional manner."
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Fraser Galloway INGENIUM 2005 Conference Convenor
"...the right mix of fun and not over the top."
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Donna Kerrison - Marketing Manager, Drake International
"...nothing short of manic... wondrous..."
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Linda Stansfield, Northland Regional Council
"I'm not sure that we have ever had such positive and enthusiastic comments from our staff on evaluation forms... This was the best staff meeting we have ever had."
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Ian Foy, Head Of Broker Business, NZI
"It was a pleasure working with you. The NZI Team found you to be professional, reliable and well organised. We appreciate the extra mile you went in providing relevant activities, particularly the 'Sale Of The Century' quiz, as well as more than few gags!"
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Kay Phillips, Ministry of Education
"Terry's presentation was excellent."
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Shayne Duncan - SOLGM Business School
"Terry was responsible for keeping the conference flowing, introducing speakers, summarising sessions and adding humour and energy to the proceedings. He did this with confidence and sincerity. He judged the audience well and adapted where necessary to keep the energy levels up. His addition of short, quirky activities where appropriate was excellent and very well received by attendees. Terry's humour is subtle. He has an easy, natural style which people warm to readily. His experience in the 'real world' of business, I believe, makes it easy for him to relate to any audience and for them to relate to him. I am happy to recommend Terry as a facilitator, speaker and entertainer."
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John McClintock - Executive Director Magazine Publishers Association
"Many thanks for the work done - worked well for us and kept the slick professional aspect we wanted. Very professional MC - just what we wanted to ensure Awards recognition was the main focus. Pre-event involvement ensured the industry was well understood and our 'on night requirements were met' - strong recommendation to other organizations." ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Christina Cambie - APL+ Software
"What a difference it makes having a professional MC! Being quite a diverse group I was unsure how the evening's entertainment would be received but once you had broken the ice and warmed up the crowd, it was obvious to everyone that we were in for a good night. People have been coming up to me and saying that this has been the best APL+ event ever attended. Terry, thank you so much for a wonderful evening... I will certainly be recommending you to all others for future events."
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Kirsten Richards - Radioworks
"You did a great job MC'ing, the night went really well"
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Allan Bluett - Blue Pacific Event Management Ltd
"The New Zealand Concrete Society held their annual conference and biennial Concrete Awards presentation at the Wairakei Resort. Terry Williams was contracted to MC the Awards presentation evening and to provide after dinner entertainment. As an event manager I found Terry to be very professional to work with. He had under taken some research to familiarise himself with the industry, he was punctual and helpful in the pre-event meetings and performed on the evening in a thoroughly professional manner. Terry was suitably formal for the Awards presentation component of the evening and tastefully funny for the entertainment component. For more information you are most welcome to contact the writer."
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Stuart Burgess, GM Finance & HR Sony New Zealand
"Terry's preparation prior to the event enabled him to use his unique skills as both an MC and Comedian for maximum impact to deliver relevant, timely, accurate and naturally humourous content. This was an excellent evening thanks to Terry."
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Andrew Odlin, Investors In People
"The style and confidence of Terry Williams (as M/C of our recent conference) ensured that our presenters and participants alike had an enjoyable, interactive and humourous experience. His approach and personality ensured that he delivered exactly what we were looking for - professionalism, information and fun!"
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Stanley Bay School
"The result was a highly successful fun night for all."
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TelstraClear
"Our sincere thanks for a job well done. I thought the Oscars were great."
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nzoom.com
"...a rich source of amusement... very inspired..." review in full click here
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Mark Scherer, Cherry
"Terry was an excellent after-dinner speaker. He identified with the audience, used humour to get them laughing and kept them laughing all night (and some of them through to the next day!) In a very corporate environment, Terry proved to be just the light-hearted relief we were looking for. We will definitely be using him again."
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Barbara Burt - The Conference Organiser (NZIEH Conference)
"Highly recommended - a polished performance with tasteful humour. Exceptional, topical, and a great mimic"
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Kathryn Way, Northern Regional Manager, Yellow Pages
"Just a note to pass on my thanks for entertaining my sales staff in October 2001. Having worked with this group over the years I find it important the "flavour" and content of any guest appearances is balanced to suit the wide range of ages and culture. Your presentation / act / speech - however you phrase it was superb. You thoroughly researched our company (and my region) so you could deliver exactly what we needed. The aim of the day was to get the reps to relax, laugh, stress relief and re focus. The part you played assisted greatly toward this being achieved and in subsequent meetings the feedback from the reps has been nothing but good. They enjoyed your delivery, the humour, however also heard your messages as well. Thank you for helping me "make their day"."
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Shawn Bishop - North Harbour Rotary Charity Auction Organiser
"THANK YOU for playing such a crucial role in making our night a success."
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Michael Bell, Sales Manager, Compaq
"Thank you for your incredible support of the Curekids Auction event... We wish to pass on a special thanks to you for giving your time in supporting us... See you next year."
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