Some speakers use only recent testimonials. Others use only ancient ones. I use both... the old ones confirm that I’ve been doing this for a while now... while the more recent ones demonstrate that I’ve not lost my touch (yet!). So, here is a collection of some of the comments made by some of my clients over the past 15 years or so... some go way back to the early 90s... others are from last week.

In some instance, the companies listed here have changed their names... been taken over... or have merged... while some have even shut their doors. Some of the people quoted have obviously moved on too... so you may find that the company listing, or perhaps the job descriptions of some of the individuals mentioned here have changed since they put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard). All company names, info and stats about the companies, and job titles, are recorded as at the time of the comment being made.

Also, it’s possible that you may find more than one comment from the same person, showing different job descriptions... even different companies. That’s because I build relationships that last... so a really high percentage of the work I do is repeat-business, commissioned by the same individuals... often as they make their way up the corporate ladder... and in some instances also as they migrate to new environments. I often speak to the same audiences at two consecutive meetings... and sometimes even an unprecedented three (or more!) years in a row. And on a few occasions I have been employed for a decade or longer by the same companies – numbering from 100 to 100,00 people, to facilitate my in-house, company-wide interventions.

Having said all of that, I’m obviously only listing the nice things they have to say of me. It would be pretty daft for me to publish all the hate mail I get, now wouldn’t it! The fact of the matter is that not everyone falls in love with what I do. And not all delegates become disciples of my work. In every group I work with... in every audience I address... every company I work in, there will invariably be a small percentage of people who don’t relate to what I do (it’s hard to gauge, because post-event “smile-sheets” are just that... and really are no indication of the real dynamics at play... but after 3,000 or so paid engagements around the world, I have a pretty good feel of how it’s going – and my guess is that I will leave between 1% and 5% of the delegates cold... perhaps even stone-cold). Especially because of the nature of my content. For some, what I have to say is just too close to home for comfort... and it’s convenient to blame the messenger. Isn’t it? For others, it’s just the wrong message at the wrong time. For some it’s the wrong message, period. And for some it’s just me. So it’s inevitable that a small percentage of your people too will not relate to my message.

But I have been there sober, and on time, every time... well, almost. I’ve missed one session – but not without placing another speaker of equal (I know that doesn’t say much!) talent. No-one has ever heckled! Not out loud, anyway. They have never faked a power failure just to shut down the microphone and keep me quiet. I’ve never been accused of using inappropriate humour, foul language or offensive material. And most times, most delegates actually stay awake for the duration. Often, you can hear a penny drop for a full hour. Or more. As I’ve already said, I get invited back many times. Like to the MDRT – arguably the world’s most coveted speaking platform for professional speakers... where I’ve spoken twice. And no client has ever invoked my money-back guarantee. Ever. Although I have given the money back twice. Because I felt I had failed the client.

I’ve been doing this a long time... and by now I have pretty much narrowed down my niche offerings... I am competent in the areas of personal effectiveness (some call it motivation, although the term doesn’t sit comfortably with me), leadership development and helping organisations to inspire their people towards excellence... both in their everyday living, as well as at work, and helping teams to become more effective. I’m good with sales teams. I’m also good at helping organisations to transform. And, thanks to my business partner, Steve Simpson, I have a solid grasp of corporate culture. And a host of really senior executives insist that I am a solid strategic facilitator. Participants often remark that I have a good balance between solid content, personal experience, and street smarts.

Delegate feedback (yeah, I know it’s flimsy confirmation at best!), consistently rate me as one of the better speakers at conferences. More often than not, I even get the top grades. They say I’m an especially good opening or closing speaker.

But I also know what I’m not good at. And one of the reasons I don’t “bomb” is probably because I don’t just take every “job offer” I get. I’m a pathetic MC (perhaps you refer to it as an Emcee). I’m no good as an after dinner speaker. And I don’t relate well to big-hitting young-guns... so I’m definitely not the speaker you’re looking for if you’re planning the next Under-Twenty-Five-Year-Old-Retired-Internet-Billionaires-Club gathering.

I go to great pains to make sure I can meet the brief before I say “yes”... and, where I can’t, I recommend a better suited speaker. Like some of these... click here for a list.

OK... it’s time... here are some of the nice things people have to say...

PS Oh yes... please note that I use South African spelling conventions throughout... even when quoting people from the USA. Or anywhere else, for that matter! We spell a lot like the British and the Australians... but, compared to the Americans, we South Africans add U’s after O’s... and we switch most Z’s for S’s. And, just so you know, we call it a Zed, and not a Zee. Just like, to us, sneakers or trainers are takkies. Traffic lights are robots. A band-aid is a plaster... and a mall is a shopping centre. It aint ketchup, its tomato sauce. We don’t wear jumpers, we wear jerseys. And no sweat pants... rather, track suits. Fries are chips. Jelly is jam. And your jello is our jelly. Your purse is our handbag... while our purse is your wallet. Banana is banana... but we just say it differently. Enough already. Here are the testimonials...

THE REALLY, REALLY BOASTFUL ONES One of South Africa's most influential motivators.
--- Council on Education in Management

One of the world's leading practitioners when it comes to teams and team leadership.
--- Institute for International Research

Stef’s programmes have nation-building potential.
--- President Thabo Mbeki, South African Head of State

Stef du Plessis is an extraordinarily talented speaker. His presentation is inspiring, incisive, intelligent, and enthralling... and I have never had a more enthusiastic response to a speaker from my membership, with absolutely no naysayers or second-guessers. Stef’s presentation is truly unique, to the extent that I cannot do it justice by attempting to describe it here. The most frequent comment I heard was “I didn’t want it (the presentation) to end.” In the company of two other extremely good speakers, both of whom I highly recommend as well, the stand-out performer among the three, the one who drew the most notice, was Mr. du Plessis. Suffice to say that I would invite him back in an instant.
--- Gary Witt, Executive Vice-President, Colorado Telecommunications Association, USA

THESE ARE PRETTY SOLID, TOO On my Keynotes and Workshops Stef du Plessis is one of the best speakers I have ever heard.
--- RICHARD SULLENGER, 2003 President, Million Dollar Round Table, after my second appearance at the MDRT: The world’s premier association for financial professionals with 28,000 members from 70 nations. The MDRT annual convention is arguably the world’s most coveted platform for professional speakers.

Stef kept the audience riveted for 5 hours - quite a feat! Sufficient coverage of the topic without clutter and unnecessary detail... extremely well balanced.
--- DEON VAN AS, General Manager, SABMiller - One of the world's leading brewers, with operations in 60 countries on 6 continents, and with a market value of circa £20 billion.

You were ranked our top speaker. Well done!
--- PETER PRITCHETT, Group Chairman, Academy for Chief Executives, UK

In my view, Stef is one of the top five speakers in the world today.
--- IAN BERRY, 2004 President, National Speakers Association of Australia

As a Strategic Facilitator Exactly a year has passed since the strategic session you facilitated for our directors. You were the catalyst who enabled our top echelon to identify the real issues facing our business. Your intervention was highly successful for both the company and us personally, and will continue to influence our strategies in the future. Thank you.
--- PETER SQUIRES, MD, Ellerine Holdings Limited: Top 100 South African company, and the leading furniture brand in Southern Africa with some 600 outlets in six countries.

There is no doubt in my mind that the pre-determined objectives of teambuilding, re-affirmation of our vision, and strategic preparation for the road ahead were substantially achieved. None of this would have been possible without your pragmatic handling of the process.
--- IAN COCKERILL, PRESIDENT, GOLD FIELDS LIMITED: A global precious metals mining company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and one of the world’s biggest gold producers, with operations throughout Africa, Australia, and South America.

After years of working with you, I didn’t think you could raise your game any higher... but somehow you did... again. This was by far the very best strategic session I have ever attended. You stuck to my brief in every way. The session was focused and to the point – I couldn’t have wished for a better outcome.
--- GARETH TAYLOR, Executive General Manager, BARRICK Africa: The world’s pre-eminent gold producer, with 27 operating mines across five continents, and actively exploring for gold in more than 15 countries around the world. Barrick has the gold mining industry’s strongest balance sheet, and is listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. The Africa region consists of three operating mines and three projects.

Thank you for the exceptional experience we had with you during the two days we spent together. This was a truly memorable event that has given us a solid base from which to build our new brand!
--- MURRAY BURGER, Senior Manager, Group People Management, ABSA: Voted the most admired financial brand in South Africa in 2003, ABSA is one of the nation’s largest financial services organisations, serving markets throughout Africa, and in the UK, Germany, The United States, China, Singapore and Hong Kong. ABSA has almost 700 outlets, and more than 31,000 staff.

On my Organisational Change, Corporate Culture Alignment and People Mobilisation Programmes UGRs initiated a corporate “Road to Damascus” experience, creating the foundation for our future sustainable success.
--- IAN COCKERILL, President, Gold Fields Limited: A global precious metals mining company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and one of the world’s biggest gold producers, with operations throughout Africa, Australia, and South America.

My sincere thanks for - and congratulations on - your continuous involvement with our Senior Management team over the last year. At the outset we agreed that this was going to be a very difficult task... but looking back, I have no doubt whatsoever that it's been very successful. Your involvement has laid the foundation for the total culture change which I'm experiencing in the company today.
--- BANUS VAN DER WALT, Managing Director, SANLAM Properties: One of the largest property owners in Southern Africa.

Stef's focus on practical ways to enhance efficiency, along with his unique approach to teambuilding renewed our passion for excellence, and produced results!
--- WAYNE DUVENHAGE, Operations Director, AVIS: South Africa’s leading Car Rental Company.

Stef made a major contribution in turning Planet around from a multi-million Rand per annum loss, to a profit, in less than three years. His programme kept staff morale high, and has built a motivated, enthusiastic and effective nation-wide team that understands and trusts each other.
--- CHRISTO WIID, CEO, PLANET / MLS: South Africa’s leading property listing company, and a joint venture by ABSA Bank, First National Bank, Nedcor Bank, and Standard Bank

Stef has had a strategic alliance with us for the last 3 years. During this time he has helped us to develop the potential of top and middle management. He has also been a key player in the development of our human potential development intervention for all employees. He is well accepted by people across the board. He has the ability to simplify the most difficult concepts so that they are understood and taken to heart by semi-literate people, whilst he is at the same time able to connect intellectually with top management. This programme has laid the foundation for our way forward.
--- GIDEON MALAN, Managing Director, Kumnandi Food Company: Africa’s largest Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchise Operation

Stef and his team helped us redirect our leadership focus, thus enabling us to maintain production levels during some of the most trying times in the history of Joel Mine.
--- GARETH TAYLOR, General Manager, Joel Mine: Owned and operated by AngloGold, one of the world’s largest gold producers. Joel Mine employs some 5,000 people.

Stef played an integral role in the development of our people at all levels. Without his help, it is unlikely that we would have managed to sustain our high levels of excellence on all fronts, during a particularly trying time in our industry.
--- DANA ROETS, Senior Vice President, Beatrix Division, Gold Fields Limited: One of three operations that make up the South African Operations of GFL, a global precious metals mining company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and one of the world’s biggest gold producers, with operations throughout Africa, Australia, and South America. The Beatrix Division employs about 12 000 people.

Stef stretched both management and unions to go beyond the boundaries... our attitude towards each other, and the workforce, will never be the same again. I have never seen a facilitator like Stef du Plessis.
--- RICKSON MBOWENI, Labour Relations Manager, ISCOR: Since 1928, the dominant steel producer on the African continent, producing more than 7 million tones of liquid steel per annum and now part of Mittal Steel, the world’s biggest steel producer.

BY NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE REACHED YOUR FILL... BUT HERE ARE A BUNCH MORE JUST IN CASE YOU ARE HAVING A REALLY, REALLY GOOD TIME READING ALL THE REALLY, REALLY NICE THINGS ALL THESE REALLY, REALLY NICE PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ME Still reading? You should get out more! More Rave Reviews on my Keynote Presentations Your unique and effective presentation certainly helped to make our recent National Convention our most successful to date. It was obvious from the comments of our Associates that your message made a tremendous impact.
--- KEITH HARDING, President, Sportron International Inc, Richardson, Texas, USA

Your excellent presentation at our Sales Conference both stimulated and challenged delegates. In particular, I liked the fact that delegates received practical tools which they can immediately implement on a day-to-day basis. I also appreciate your sincere and down-to-earth approach.
--- BA FINDLAY, General Manager : Corporate Operations, NBS BANK

Delegate feedback rated you as the top local speaker. In the company of 16 speakers - 2 of whom are internationally-renowned - this is a remarkable achievement!
--- SANDRA WINKLER, Conference producer, Whitehead Morris Seminars

The evaluations completed by the 3000 estate agents who attended our country-wide National Property Road show rated you as the best speaker that we have had thus far. Thank you!
--- DREYER LOTTER, National Manager, Estate Agencies, Nedcor Bank

Stimulating ... cannot but capture people's imagination and assist them to achieve their full potential. Unforgettable - definitely established a firm foundation for the new Sanlam Properties.
--- BANUS VAN DER WALT, Managing Director, SANLAM Properties

You expressed in the most professional and expressionable way what one can achieve ... the way in which you apply your thoughts and views in a demanding society and business environment was excellent. Your address was certainly one of the main highlights of our conference.
--- SHIRLEY SELZER, Conference Chairman, IISA

On behalf of LUASA, thanks for a great presentation - it was the perfect kick-off for 1993! Keep it up ... this is MDRT main platform stuff!
--- EARL DON, Broker Manager, Old Mutual

Thanks for your extremely innovative presentation at our 1995 annual convention. Feed-back was insurmountable - indicating unanimously that delegates derived long term practical benefits. Your ability to capture the attention and hearts of your audience is astounding - it is an immense honour to be able to listen to you!
--- FREDDIE ANDALAFT, Chairman, LUASA

Refreshing ... novel ... informative and captivating.
--- NEVILLE NIGHTINGALE, Managing Director, WESBANK

More Rave Reviews on my Teambuilding Sessions You have helped us to close much of the gap between management and labor, making us a more effective operation. Thank you.
--- ADRIAAN JANSEN VAN VUUREN, Human resources Manager, ISCOR Flat Steel

Excellent! Simply the best I've ever encountered. I will most definitely continue to use Stef.
--- HC GROBLER, General Manager Administration, ABSA Bank

Today's experience was fun and informative. You achieved our purpose by re-emphasising in a fresh way known principles for managing and interacting in work teams. The insight I gained will be most helpful.
--- SIMONNE DYER, CEO, Mercy Ship Anastasis, New Zealand

The feedback from our management team is unanimous: your teambuilding programme was an untold success. Excellent take home value was gained by all; it was informative and enjoyable; and everyone had a fun filled weekend. You met your brief in every way - strengthening and re-energising our team; and creating an understanding that success is the joint responsibility of the team. Many thanks!
--- RUTH SILLITOE, Human resources manager, National Bolts

It was a privilege for us to have you run our teambuilding week-end. Your commitment and approach to your work was refreshing, and you exceeded our expectations in every way. I believe that because of your input, we are now able to achieve all of our objectives. From all of us - thank you so much!
--- SHARON JENSEN, Regional Director, Avis

I believe I witnessed a Team being born with the coming together of a number of individuals, understanding the strength of teamwork through practical experiences. You left us with practical tools which will assist us in the workplace. Your obvious enthusiasm, commitment and honesty, and your belief in your concepts, are inspiring.
--- ROB BARGE, Divisional Manager, PPS

Thank you for the excellent three day teambuilding venture presented by you and your team. The fact that our team took the lessons learned back to the workplace with them makes the course worthwhile! The way in which you facilitated the process contributed tremendously to the achievement of our pre-determined goals.
--- CHRISTO WIID, General Manager, PLANET / MLS

More Rave Reviews on my skills as a Strategic Facilitator An excellent session. Our vision for further development has been rekindled - I'd like to see your programme continue.
--- DR BING HENDERSON, Physician, Mercy Ships, USA

Stef's presentation skills are awesome, and his enthusiasm is contagious. The content is of a very high standard, with relevant examples. I'll definitely involve Stef with our future Strategic Planning sessions.
--- KOBUS HUMAN, Stuartmill International Medical Services

Your StratPlan work session left us with hands-on, practical applications with which to implement our new business plan. Goal driven and focusing on bottom line issues, you have shown us the way ahead.
--- JACQUES VISSER, General Manager, Gemini Video Productions

Excellent! I simply can't commend Stef's StratPlan process highly enough. A must for everyone in business today.
--- BILL PELSER, CEO, Saracen International Ltd.