►Communication   ►Writer and PR   ►Personal & Corporate Training   ►Coaching  ► HR

Corporate and Personal Training
As a professional communications coach/facilitator, Vera is asked to work with leaders, managers and teams from multiple business sectors to assess their communication strengths and growth opportunities. In 1983/84, Vera worked as an EFL instructor to business professionals in Tokyo, Japan.

COACHING/FACILITATION HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Worked with an executive team in the construction industry as a process facilitator at their year-end retreat to bring to light some major departmental concerns.

• Worked with a company president in the finance sector to assess the communications strengths and weaknesses of this executive team. Then, worked individually with the head of IT to better filter work through the pipeline.

• Worked with a sales team to augment their business writing skills.

• Worked with a sales manager, who was alienating people through inappropriate communication strategies, to work more harmoniously with everyone at his organization;

• Worked with an information technology manager that had been identified as a bully by his team to make some shifts in his communication style.

• Worked with a systems manager identified by her team as a poor listener to learn the important value of relationship building via both work and non-work dialogue.

• Worked with an engineering manager to fine tune his communication skills to become more visible to senior management and to bring out the very best in his team.

• Worked with several junior to mid-level managers in the banking sector to augment their communication skills by helping them to better listen to the needs of their team and to more clearly explain their needs.

• Worked with an international sales team to hone their English-language skills.
  
  Some VNH clients include: TD, TD Visa, Glaxo, Reuters, The Equion Group, Hitachi Construction, Mariposa Communications, Campbell’s Soup, Upjohn, Chiyoda Chemical Co., Nippon Electric Co., MMM Group, Hugh Rapp Collins, SHL Systemhouse, Bittner Packers and others.

Multi-Cultural Expert
As a trained ESL and EFL teacher and as world traveler, Vera’s had great exposure to Canada’s mosaic, the needs of Japanese workers whom she taught for a year in 1983/84, as well as to the multi-cultural mosaic that is Canada and corporate Canada.

Media Expert
Vera has been extensively featured, interviewed and has acted as a paid guest expert on television and radio. Examples include: Canada AM, The Camilla Scott Show, Dini Petty, Jane Hawtin Live, Eye on Toronto, CBC Calgary EyeOpener, CFRA Radio Ottawa, etc.  She's also been interviewed and quoted in print for The Montreal Gazette, The Globe and Mail and others. 

Facilitator/Speaker
Vera’s hands on sessions have included: enhancing business writing skills with Glaxo's, quality improvement team,  working with engineers to better communicate at the Ministry of Natural Resources, working with over 300 CIBC technical staff on how to better deal with challenging personalities.   She’s also done a dinner keynote to 100 for the VON Annual General Meeting, a full morning to over 100 at the 18th annual professional office staff conference, McMaster University, and a morning keynote to over 500 at the October 2001 Toronto Secondary School Administrators' Association Conference.

In both 2005 and 2006, Vera was asked to guest lecture and to chronicle her writing career to students in Centennial College's Book and Magazine Publishing Program. In March 2007, she was the luncheon speaker to 200 for Toys R Us, at their bi-annual internal conference in Toronto. Vera spoke to over 600 conference delegates (standing room only) at the Industrial Accident Prevention Association's (IAPA), annual international conference, April 2007. (see photo). This was followed by a bi-lingual booksigning in English and French at their onsite conference bookstore.

Writer/Photographer
Vera writes for national publications and websites and such as Airmiles, the National Post, Canadian Living, Investment Executive and Flare, and she has written several international features for Cathay Pacific's "Discovery" magazine. Her travel features and photos have also appeared in The National Post. Vera's photos of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and other scenery and wildlife can be viewed at www.yaronphotography.com

From 2005 through 2007, Vera wrote cover features, specialty features, columns and a personal account piece for HR Professional Magazine at www.hrpao.org. Highlights include: September 2005 cover feature on Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., June 2006 column on diversity at Teranet Inc., January 2007 cover feature on CEOs (including a specialty interview with Monika Merz, the president of Toys R Us, Canada), and the June 2007 cover feature on thriving in a one-person HR department featuring Warren Eberlin of Alcatel-Lucent Canada.

Previously, on Saturdays, Vera’s workplace features appeared in the Toronto Star’s business/careers section as well as at www.workopolis.com. Vera's cyber advice biz column can be found at at www.mochasofa.com. She also wrote the "Office Politics" column for The Toronto Star, and the "WorkSage" column for Workplace News and did a regular TV spot on the workplace on Citypulse 24, every Monday at 9:30 am for two years.

Download Vera's Writer and Public Relations Professional Bio

P.R. Consultant/Media Relations Specialist
In 1980, Vera joined Vickers & Benson Advertising; she wrote, developed and executed promotional campaigns. At 23, she ran the national news conference for her client The Canadian Cancer Society when Terry Fox died. The most critical aspect of this project was calling CCS executives from across the country to inform them that Terry had died. For some, it was midnight and they were fast asleep. Others, were shocked. Others wanted to talk; others still broke down and cried. Vera also worked on accounts such as Labatts, Waddington Auction House, Hiram Walker, Amway, Johnston & Daniel, etc. Later, Vera did extensive public relations for the children's singing team of April and Susan.

In 2006, Vera handled local, provincial, national and international media relations for the 26th annual Human Resource Professionals Association of Ontario (HRPAO) conference (2nd largest HR conference in the world) including the running of the onsite "Media Room" at conference (MTCC) with 9 volunteers/20 shifts. Highlights included: a first, international, Radio Canada interview (RCI has been broadcasting to the world since 1945) on “Business Sense”, broadcast on Internet, radio, shortwave and satellite radio to Asia, Europe, India, Africa, Canada, States, Caribbean, a first, French radio broadcast across Ontario, a first, print piece in one of Canada's premier, Chinese daily newspapers that, too, broadcasts internationally on the Internet to China, and a first, print piece in a training magazine published in India.

Pro Bono, Vera handled media for the First Annual Toronto Songwriters' Festival (2006) to include JoJo Chintoh for ribbon cutting and full coverage by CityTv at event/post event. In 2007, for the second annual festival, she continues to serve on the media committee as well as the sponsorship committee.

Advocate
Vera’s advocacy skills are top-notch. First, she was a self-advocate. Post major surgery, she was told to prematurely leave hospital on a walker; she demanded to stay until she was competent on crutches. She single-handedly called a media conference at the apartment building where she resides and where she represented over 500 tenants; her goal was to quickly, in the dead of winter, restore heat and hot water to the building plus have other pressing, tenant issues addressed. She helped many a tenant get appropriate compensation packages from management, which included the correct legal wording on their sign-off document. As well, when none were allowed, she challenged apartment building owners to allow her to affix a 3 x 3 inch pet rescue sticker to the outside of her apartment door. Vera also took on one of Canada's largest real estate firms, and all her outlay was returned to her, when in good faith she’d purchased a townhouse and subsequently dug deeper and found out that $3M worth of noisy and costly construction was to take place over the next 3 years.

Vera's an educator and a traveller, and her non-profit work then extends; she helps children in developing countries rise above poverty through education. She works with Toronto-based charity Jai Dee www.jaideechildrensfund.org which means good heart in Laotian. Funds raised via the Toronto Songwriters' Festival www.torontosongwritersfestival.com and other projects currently assist school children in Laos and India. Simultaneously, home grown musical talent is supported via this annual festival. A long time thespian and arts advocate, Vera also volunteers with Theatre Museum Canada www.theatremuseumcanada.ca, a national organization dedicated to preserving Canada's theatrical heritage

Communications
A dedicated coach, Vera Held helps your staff communicate effectively all the time even in the most difficult situations with the most difficult people. Her international business bestseller "How Not to Take It Personally" has helped employees as far away as Australia, Germany, and Singapore and Algeria perform more productively at work every day. Vera has over 25 years experience in the workplace and in communication and education. 

Vera has been extensively featured, interviewed and has acted as a paid guest expert on television and radio. Examples include: Canada AM, The Camilla Scott Show, Dini Petty, Jane Hawtin Live, Eye on Toronto, CBC Calgary EyeOpener, CFRA Radio Ottawa, etc.

In 1998, the Canadian Booksellers Association voted Vera's  business bestseller "How Not to Take It Personally" one of the top 15 business books in Canada.  The book has sold over 20,000 copies in English, French, German and Turkish.

Seventy percent of workplace errors are truly "communication" errors. Errors, that have nothing to do with anyone's technical skills. But why does workplace productivity become impaired so frequently through miscommunication?

      BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH VERA:

·    Increase focus, productivity and on-the-job safety through strategic communication practices like learning how not to take things personally  

·    Move your golden eagles to the next level

·    Use the principal of synergy to bring out the best qualities in each team member

·    Save time/money by avoiding miscommunications and help your managers to listen well and clearly communicate verbally and in writing

·    Build on diversity to enhance the health of your workplace environment 

·    Garner expert people insights on your executives, managers and staff for succession planning 

·    Create website copy that highlights your unique brand and selling proposition

·    Obtain timely blogs, news releases, fact sheets, branding statements, etc., for all your target markets

·    Make your organization shine through effective media relations

Click to download Vera Held's Communications Bio

Career Coach: Vera N. Held, M.Ed.
Vera regularly deals with individuals in career transition and as such, she can be a great asset to your HR department.

Through a clear understanding of what motivates people, Vera best utilizes their core competencies and strengths, and links these skills to their career goals, personalities and values.

Vera’s workplace column “Make It Work” runs monthly in the Toronto Sun’s Special Section “Jobboom”, in the Ottawa Sun’s Special Section “Jobboom” as well as monthly in the Toronto Sun’s Daily “24 Hours Toronto”. Her column has also been picked up by the London Free Press, the Edmonton Sun and others. Her other monthly column “Act with Courage” runs in Good News Toronto (GNT) www.GoodNewsToronto.ca . Vera is also the lifestyles columnist for Del Condominium Life magazine where she deals with issues of relationship-building and community.

Formerly, Vera wrote the “Office Politics” column for the Business Section of the Toronto Star, wrote many features for the Star’s Business Careers Section, and wrote the “Work Sage” column for Workplace News. She was a regular business personality on CP24 for two years, was a guest expert on the Camilla Scott Show several times, and has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs including Canada AM. She has also written for the National Post, Discovery Magazine, Canadian Living, Money Sense, Investment Executive, Flare and others.

TESTIMONIAL 1
“Vera is a thoroughly engaging professional coach who can quickly get to the core message that needs to be communicated and outline it clearly. She assisted me in identifying my core competencies and skills so that I could tailor my job search for positions I'm best suited. She was also able to provide insights into the best ways to find and locate information about those positions.” November 17, 2011
Timothy S. Kokur, Student, Durham College

TESTIMONIAL 2
“Vera is a first-rate professional coach who cuts-to-the-core, and clearly sees people for who they really are. She provided excellent service and she:

• Identified my professional brand;
• Determined my best employment sector fit based on skills, interests and my future goals;
• Structured my C.V. to best showcase my professional strengths, transformative capability, and desire to help/be of service regarding both process and people;
• Discussed the value of setting up "information meets" to gain sector data information and make new professional contacts; and,
• Warmed up an introductory employer interview letter to better engage the reader.

Vera also provided several contacts to initiate "information meets." I would definitely use her services again.” November 20, 2011
Gerti Dervishi, MBA, B.Sc.Eng, PMP
Top qualities: Great Results, Good Value, Creative
 

Submit a request for contact to Vera Held