TESTIMONIALS
"I was fortunate to have met Karen Patterson in Beijing, China when I hired her to lead a series of English language courses for the senior executive staff at the Kempinski Hotel.
For 10 weeks, twice a week, two hours per course, Karen led the Kempinski staff in an intensive and robust series of prescribed course materials --English speaking, writing and listening comprehension--but also added her own valuable insights complementing the training material with her well-selected contemporary and informative articles.
Karen was also a very patient mentor, guiding each student in the class, almost as though she were dealing with them on an individual basis. In this way, the students were able to quickly improve their language intuition skills, their comprehension and speaking ability.
The course that Karen Patterson delivered met the specific targets the client had set out at the outset of the program, with the Kempinski staff showing measurable improvements to their language acquisition.
Moreover, due to Karen’s sensitivity to cross-cultural and multicultural relationships, she was able to imbue the Kempinski staff with a thorough understanding of the critical issues facing communications and understanding across borders, and assisted the staff to attain the skills, knowledge and expertise to work effortlessly with people of many nations and nationalities.
Thanks to Karen’s tenacity and personality, Kempinski indicated she was one of the finest trainers ever to lead their internal senior staff. I highly recommend Karen Patterson to any organization seeking an impassioned and dedicated language trainer."
David Fieldman - Executive English Language and Cultural Trainer, Beijing, China
"In December 2014, Arts Commons engaged consultant Karen Patterson to present a public talk on Ai Weiwei at our arts and culture- based film series Art!Flicks. Her talk was presented in support of our feature film, Ai WeiWei’s documentary titled, “The Fake Case”.
Based on Karen’s personal experiences of living in China and knowledge of the art scene in Beijing, she contributed to a fun and interesting evening, and we greatly appreciated her experiences and point of view. Karen added an incredible layer of personal insight to the film - the audience was fascinated! It was nice to see so many film-goers with continued questions in the lobby post-talk. It was great to work with Karen and we hope to be able to invite her again in the near future.”
Jody Lucas - Programming Associate - Arts Commons, Calgary, Canada
"Thank you again for the coaching and training you provided to myself and my associate prior to our business trip to China in March 2013. The sessions you provided were well worth it and provided me with some much-needed insight both into the business and cultural aspects that were necessary for a successful trip. Your initial consultation on business practices in China was so thorough and well prepared that the next step (the Skype session) with my colleague from Texas was an absolute necessity.
My colleague had travelled to China once before, and you were able to use his experience from his first trip to give feedback in a very constructive way to better the experience this time around. Your agenda for the training session was very well thought out. Providing us with the agenda beforehand and allowing us to add some sections that we had concerns with was very helpful. The interactive method of coaching that you use is very effective. The additional support you provided in finding a translator for us through your network of associates went beyond my expectations.
I can tell you for certain that even the simple things you taught us, such as how to deliver a business card properly did not go unnoticed by our Chinese business associates. I used the deeper ideologies of Chinese business culture that you had provided insight to me to my full advantage and we are successfully increasing our business due to the meetings that we had. I have travelled to many countries internationally to do business and like other countries China was full of unique aspects.
Your services were invaluable and I plan to use you again for a refresher prior to our return trip in the fall. Please feel free to have any one contact me directly should any prospective clients require a referral or have any questions regarding my experience with your services."
Edward Baher, International Chemical Services, Ltd, Edmonton, Canada
"Karen's deep knowledge and extensive experience provided a robust learning opportunity. I was particularly impressed by her preparation for our sessions. She had 'studied' in order to teach, bringing resources and ideas forward to our interests.
The trainer's willingness to converse with us and engage with our questions was very helpful. Karen had a plan but didn't feel the need to spend time on things we knew and graciously developed content in areas where we expressed an interest. Karen is the consummate border crosser, someone who masters cultural subtleties and nuances from multiple cultures. What makes her a natural in training others. She exhibits respect and enthusiasm.
As a result of this training, I feel ready to land in Beijing and am excited about what will be a successful opportunity."
Ann-Marie Stock, CNOOC, Calgary, Canada
"I had the pleasure of working with Karen prior to my relocation from Canada to Beijing in 2014. I had previously lived in a couple of different countries, but the idea of moving to China was still a bit overwhelming.
Karen did a great job of sharing her experiences from when she lived in China, and provided me with great ideas and suggestions to make my transition much easier. She also helped me better understand the culture shock I was going to experience when I arrived.
And I am happy to say that six months into my relocation to Beijing I am still thoroughly enjoying myself. Karen't insights and perspectives helped me feel "well armed" when I arrived in Beijing, and I believe the help provided by Karen and my other culture training coaches is a big part of why I am enjoying the experience so much. This is the third time I have relocated to a new country, and I personally believe that culture training is critical before moving to any new country. I
know the time leading up to a big move can be extremely busy. But I believe investing in culture training prior to my departure saved me countless hours of frustration once I arrived here in Beijing. In fact, even though I have already been here six months, I found myself reviewing the notes from my training just the other day, and I am still finding the information useful."
Kim Woima, CNOOC, Calgary, Canada
"Karen has brought tremendous value to the BrookfieldGRS Intercultural Group as an intercultural facilitator since March 2015. Her insight into Chinese culture, professional approach, and facilitation know-how have earned her excellent evaluations on our intercultural programs. Aside from being an lead intercultural facilitator, she has also delivered both group programs and subject-matter sessions on Chinese culture, all very well received. Karen is also a joy to interact with - highly recommend Karen!"
Louis Lim, Brookfield Intercultural Group
“Karen has worked for my company, Asia Pacific Access, as a relocation counselor. She demonstrated a high degree of intercultural sensitivity dealing with people from Europe, from east coast, west coast and mid United States as well as new arrivals from Hong Kong and returning Chinese from China. The challenges posed by this diverse range of clients have required her to address a very wide range of personal issues and concerns typically raised by newcomers to China. She has handled these admirably. While working with us she has proven to be efficient, hard working, and with very good communication skills. She has required minimal management and has demonstrated an excellent ability to think laterally and to problem solve”