"As one of the [State Department's] Ambassador Seminar participants last week, I had initially felt there wouldn't be much use in my attending the media section. After all, for eight years I'd earned my living as a television journalist. You made that a misconception, indeed." Carl Stokes, the late U.S. ambassador, Cleveland mayor and WNBC-TV (New York) news anchor
"Your workshop, 'Write Precise as Law, Concise as Journalism' . . . was the highest rated of all 145 workshops held at the National Meeting since we started evaluating . . . Because of our size and reputation we were able to hire some of the best presenters available. Clearly, with the sold out registration for your workshop, and the [then] highest rating ever, you outranked them all." Danielle J. Battaglia, M.B.A., director of education, American Association for Clinical Chemistry
"Your presentation, Write Like the News: Pump Up Your College Entrance Essay, was lively, effective, engaging, and certainly relevant to the Dunbar seniors writing college entrance essays. Combining traditional writing skills with journalism skills is an idea whose time has come. I commend you on the active style of instruction which transformed formerly sleepy, inactive Saturday morning children into an animated, engaged audience." Cynthia M. Jones, advisor, National Honor Society, Dunbar Senior High School, Washington
"A big hit among USA TODAY's newsroom audience, veteran reporters and editors who can be hard to please when it comes to being told how to improve their game. Your presentation not only provided valuable writing tips but it actually made the exercise fun." Sam Meddis, deputy managing editor, USA Today
"Your presentation entitled 'Brief Briefs' before the membership of the Vermont Bar Association during its annual meeting was excellent. Your use of current news articles with outstanding examples added to the professionalism you personified before the group." Charles J. Ochmanski, executive director, Vermont Bar Association, Montpelier
"Hank's presentation was fantastic -- intelligent, engaging, provocative, and relevant. Despite his audience's well-developed predisposition for bureaucratic precedent and status quo, Hank had this group of government lawyers questioning, calculating, and considering alternatives in lively discussions that carried on right through the break and spilled into the hallways afterward . . . We all left Hank's enthusiastic presentation with suggestions we could easily employ that very same day." Jeff Brown, Branch Chief, Training & Communications, IRS Office of Chief Counsel
"Hank's unique blend of intellect and humor made what would have been a dull subject very informative and entertaining." Lou Nordstrom, management information systems education administrator, USAir
"Your use of live television broadcasts and newspaper articles brings a refreshing approach to learning effective writing skills. The unique way you emphasize the importance of leading with the future and focusing on key elements of writing is very relevant to our work." Viola M. Forrester, manager, staff development, National Academy of Sciences
"'Lead with the future', your philosophy of placing the most important point up front in a written document and leaving history and background until later, was new to us and excited lively discussion both during and long after the seminar. . . Everybody was happy and enthusiastic about the seminar. As the elected spokesperson for the more than 20 people who attended the seminar I had the advantage of hearing everyone's opinion regarding the seminar. No negative comments were expressed. Each day we wondered how eight hours could pass so quickly without making us tired. You gave us in three days what would normally be four or five days' worth of information and still we wanted more! . . . I was impressed by how quickly you conveyed to us so many subtle points about English and about how journalism style and legal reasoning apply to writing in the Accounting Department of the World Bank." Jorgen Halberg, senior management systems officer, World Bank
"The impact of your presentation was clearly evidenced in the 'before' and 'after' speeches that participants made. The improvement was remarkable, and made all the more dramatic by having the speeches captured on video-tape." Laurette Bennhold-Samaan, training administrator, Peace Corps
"Everyone attended -- from secretaries to top management . . . In the aftermath of the seminar, . . . 'write and speak like the news' became a mantra whenever we encountered turgid prose or 'AIDspeak.'" Bob Randolph, assistant administrator for Asia and the Near East, U.S. Agency for International Development [and Rhodes Scholar and honors graduate of Harvard Law School]
"Your seminar, 'Speak Like the News,' for the spouses of our senior diplomats, received rave reviews . . . straight '5's', the top mark . . . As the spouse of a former American ambassador, I just wish I had attended one of your courses earlier." Bonnie Anderson, deputy director, Overseas Briefing Center, U.S. State Department
"The Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs held a Budget and Management Workshop in Paris . . . which was highlighted by a full-day seminar, for 75 budget officials from 30 American Embassies, conducted by Hank Wallace . . . Through his innovative use of a live Voice of America newscast, timed perfectly for us to tune in to the newscaster's leadoff story, Hank illustrated how effective it can be to 'lead with the future' . . . A master speaker who instantly puts his audience at ease while commanding their full attention, Mr. Wallace sprinkles his presentation with wit, humor and variation. Who could have guessed that our day with Hank would include illustrative sentences from that very day's International Herald Tribune, and that we too would learn how to prepare ourselves for public speaking." Albert W. Jarek, supervisory budget & management officer, European and Canadian Affairs, U.S. State Department
"We found your workshop fast-paced, informative, concise and very enjoyable. In addition to informing and convincing our readers from the start, our letters and memos are definitely shorter and to the point. Congratulations on successfully capturing and holding the attention of a group of demanding marketing managers." Eric A. Button, marketing manager, oncology diagnostics, Hybritech, San Diego
"An audience of 125 professional trainers can create formidable problems for even the most experienced speaker. We are known as a 'tough' audience. Their response was uniformly enthusiastic . . . Your fresh journalistic approach to writing and speaking was both informative and entertaining, and was aimed precisely at the experience and intellectual level of the audience. Your pacing of the presentation, your humor, the spontaneous dialog and the opportunity for many audience questions made for an effective, efficient and useful program. You provided the audience with exactly what it wanted and moreover, you provided exactly what you said you would provide." Art Casabianca, program chair, Training Officers Consortium, Washington
Each group leader's title at time of review