International Speaking and Training 

Most recently I have been contracted by a company in Taipei to teach their employees high level English teaching skills that engage an audience.  Receiving excellent feedback, the company was quick to enter discussions about teaching their subsidiary company employees in different cities throughout Taiwan.   

Teaching Skills

As a teacher in an overseas environment I used a lot of the technology talked about at FastCompany to make classroom practices cutting edge.  Teaching students both English and Computer skills.  I have learnt a lot of the teaching practices in Asia that allow my students to be 1-2 years ahead of their actual year level.

Public Speaking

As a member of toastmasters for 8 years I rose though the various executive positions to become President of what would become the biggest public speaking club in Australia during my tenure.  Throughout my time there I learnt how to speak well, control a room, structure speeches and be impactful upon an audience.

Language Skills

Living and working in a non English speaking country for 5 years now I seized upon the opportunity to learn another language of one of Australia’s biggest trading partners China.  Allowing me to converse and understand a culture that is very different from Australia.

Writing 

I write Clearly and Concicely and have taught the art of finding the right words to students, businesses and executives both in Asia and in Australia.  Students are getting extraordinary results, as their peers continue to commend their work. 

​Training

As part of my role at PrizeBuys and PrizeBuys Online I created a computerized training program and sales skills program that I presented to new franchisees over a 5 day period of induction.  A National roll-out throughout Australia, it required a lot of innovation to ensure I used all available resources and taught in a variety of ways to different students depending on the way that the student learnt best.

Communication Skills

 I really developed a solid foundation as I worked my way through University in the hospitality industry, eventually becoming the manager of a the Wellington Point Hotel, a beautiful hotel in Brisbane.  From there, I have held management positions, sales positions, training and marketing positions.  All of these positions required first rate communication skills, to impart actionable information, solve problems and motivate others.

Critical Thinking

Christopher thinks outside the box, and has developed a way to teach higher order thinking. By combining blended writing, problem solving and peer motivation in a transparent safe setting, critical thinking becomes a skill that can be taught and learnt.

A painter knows that no two paintings are alike and will always add his/her individual point of view to a piece of art. So too, once students understand that they can build up their own thinking, that there is no definitive answer, and everyone’s perspective can be different and unique, the wheels really start to turn and individual start to team the growth of their higher order cognitive skills.

The first students to really benefit from this type of learning are not the best performing and brightest students in the class, but the students who used to get thrown in the too hard basket.

Leadership Skills 

Creative
I am an extremely creative person. What does that really mean? A highly motivated original thinker who crosses an active imagination with an experimental attitude for the betterment of others.

These skills emerged in my management roles and really developed while running the biggest public speaking (toastmasters) club in Australia.

Crisis Management Skills 

This skill came in handy in one large company that I worked for.  On my first day I walked into an environment lacking leadership, systems, and the right people.   Within 12 months there were new staff, systems of accountability, and an environmental shift that saw people happy to come to work.

Sales Skills 

Some would argue this as the most valuable point of the sales cycle I learnt essential selling skills working the trade show circuit introducing new and innovative products to Australian markets. 

These skills were further heightened as an office space leasing manager  where I took my buildings from a 70% occupancy rate to close to 100% within the space of 12 months through relationship building, follow up and good sales technique.

Mergers 

I instigated the spinoff company – Prizebuys Online of which I became a director  by planning the successful transformation of bricks and Mortar company PrizeBuys to a DotCom, through discussions with IP lawyers, and other CEOs such as the owner of Dstore Andrew Cooper. 

Marketing

Relationship building, lead generation, lead nurturing, lead qualification, event marketing, website monitoring, email marketing, landing page optimization, social media marketing, database management, analysis, and integrating this within the sales process.

At the stationary warehouse I implemented a successful marketing campaign to woo customers away from Multi Nationals to a smaller company with only 2 outlets nationally.  This involved the creation of a deal between a Jeweller and my company The Stationary Warehouse.

At Locket Marketing I created a crop forecasting program in Excel, crossing weather and rainfall data with planting numbers and then extrapolating expected market volumes at throughout the year, allowing me to negotiate in advance during times of large crop numbers hold stock when crop numbers diminished.

Research 

At PrizeBuysOnline and at the original company PrizeBuys I was responsible for talking to company CEOs and discussing their marketing, sales and strategies.  From here I was able to successfully increase their bottom lines at a significant margin.

Negotiation 

In my role at Locket Marketing, my role required me to acquire Produce from Queensland Farmers, coordinate transportation nationally and negotiate with the major distribution outlets throughout Australia to obtain premium prices for farmers.  This often required excellent telephone manner and diplomacy.

Systems Development 

At the Wellington Point Hotel and at Christie Corporate I implemented systems for training, stock and cash handling, ordering and other daily procedures.

QA Systems 

At Locket Marketing I was part of a team that implemented a quality assurance program for food handling, safety and inspection to ISO 9001 standards.

Event Management 

As part of my executing role at the Brisbane Junior Chamber of Commerce, as part of a team I put on many successful dinners and functions at numerous venues throughout Brisbane City including the Brisbane Club… This included negotiating with venues to organise dinners, balls and team building activities throughout the various evenings.

Staffing 

At Christie Corporate and The Wellington Point hotel, I was responsible for rosters and staffing.  This involved advertising and interviewing staff, training and daily management.

Management 

As a hotel manager as the Wellington point hotel and a client Services manager at Christie corporate, I required excellent communication skills, a passion for the job and operational knowledge and management knowledge of all facets of the respective companies.

Honesty 

This is not so much a skill but a value which I learnt when I was about 5 years old from my father. 

Humility
While I have done a lot and achieved much in the various companies that I have worked for, I have also developed the skill of being humble as I struggled in the early days of growing my own business, requiring me to take on second streams of income in the evenings to ensure business survival.

Ethics

The lessons taught do not always appear in textbooks, but in to the way one deals with and treats other people. I lead by example.

Easy to Manage 

If given a direction by a manager, I carry out the task immediately and to the best of my ability.  If a manager had to explain why, in relation to every single task, to every single employee, nothing would ever get done.  I therefore, don’t have to be told why, I simply “do”.

Punctuality

Always arriving early to classes, training sessions, meetings and appointments ensures that I am well prepared and dependable.

Time management 

In my role of National Sales and Marketing Manager assisting farmers to market their fruit, I had to negotiate prices with market agents in the various cities throughout Australia at the correct time of day, talk to transporters to move consignments and talk to farmers.  This was done together with market analysis of fruit volumes and weather mapping….time was an important thing for me to manage in this role.

Listens Attentively
Active listening is about listening to others and understanding their opinions and points of view.  By doing this, I am better able to teach my students.  I ask for and receive the necessary feedback to always improve my teaching.

Team Player

Co-operates and works well with others, thriving in a collaborative environment.  His focus is on getting the job done and he is more than willing to play his part to achieve this.

Problem Solving

If he sees an opportunity to improve something, he openly expresses his ideas with his immediate managers.

Volunteer Work

Doing some volunteer work at the large international Charity TzuChi teaching high level English based on TED presentations was very rewarding, especially when they mentioned that my unique teaching style was something that they wanted within their organization on a regular basis.