Praise
"Excellent. Lauren has an outstanding story to tell and is generous with her medal, autographs, photographs etc. I strongly recommend her."
ANZ Bank
"A young, energetic and articulate person. Lauren was well spoken, talked to the audience, gave colourful examples which made the audience laugh, as well as making our function a success."
AMP
"Your inspirational message to our guests was first class and really sealed for us a great night of recognition, for the top achievers in our Dealer network. I know that our people will benefit from your experience and can only hope that some of them can "dare to dream", and achieve just as you have done."
Mercedes-Benz
"Our conference 'Reach for the Sky' was a great success and largely due to your presentation which matched perfectly with our team's focus and themes for the rest of the year. It was truly motivating and inspirational! We had another two days of conference and many of the guys were consistently referring to yours and Martin's presentation and particularly the focus, control and follow through themes. Your energy and enthusiasm made a big difference to the rest of the conference"
Toyota
“Just a quick note to thank you for the excellent talk you gave at our conference last week and for helping with the awards presentation. I have had great feedback from the team on your talk which they found interesting, humorous and inspiring. It certainly made us step back and consider the part we can all play in driving forward the Company’s goals. I know the teams were thrilled to have you attend the Awards dinner and it was a pleasure to talk to you during the course of the evening.”
Martin Adkins
Colgate-Palmolive Pty Ltd
“On behalf of the board of directors and the members of the association, I would like to express our gratitude for your participation in our annual conference. Your presentation was without doubt one of the most dynamic and energetic we have seen and the feedback received from all the dinner attendees was very enthusiastic. We believe the overall success of the event was due in no small part to your professionalism and obvious passion. We are especially mindful of the short notice we provided to you and are grateful to you that you were able to take the time out of your busy schedule to help us.”
President
GITA Australia/New Zealand
Lauren, the address you presented on your amazing journey to reach the Sydney Games was truly inspirational and thought provoking and I know that there is a queue to read your autobiography. Your motto “what can be imagined can be achieved. You must dare to dream but there is no substitute for hard work, perseverance and teamwork as no one gets there alone” certainly impacted on the group and your interaction with the group through the demonstration and breaking of the boards energised us for the day ahead. Once again, that you for making our tour one that will be remembered for a long time.”
CEO, Wests Entertainment Group
I would like to thank you for your contribution to the Slade seminar, Managing cardiac patients in your ward. Many participants have spoken directly to Ros and me commenting on the success of the day and in particular your presentation. Those attending commented that your lively presentation was very enjoyable, inspiring and uplifting. Thank you for the considerable effort you put into the presentation and for the extended time allocated to sign autographs and talk to people over lunch. It was much appreciated.”
Graham Slade, Slade Pharmacy
“You were fantastic! Thank you for giving a presentation that was inspirational for all who heard you. There were so many messages in your talk, not just for sport but for all aspects of life. Our students were fortunate to see you as a role model and to hear of the challenges you have overcome along the way.”
Principal, Lowther Hall
“From the feedback sheets collected, and the general ‘vibe’ after your presentation, it was clear that you touched the heart and souls of many in your audience. Especially touching, I felt, were the comments from the young people there, expressing their desire to be all they can be - clearly you connected with them very strongly! Your enthusiastic, sincere and humble style are rare in the speaking world, and were an absolute joy to witness. Personally, I shall always remember your dedication and willingness to ‘do whatever it took’ to keep your commitment to our Chapter that evening.”
Sandi Givens, National Speakers Association of Australia
“Your positive and passionate message was extremely well received by all delegates and sponsors and I have listed some of the comments made b the delegates on their feedback sheets for your information:
Fantastic, what an inspiration! What a fantastic lady!
Lauren is a very inspirational persona and gave the most inspiring speech I have ever heard. I’m glad I was there to hear it!
Mind blowing - inspirational.
Highlight of the day
Lauren was the BEST, she was inspiring and friendly
Unreal, full of motivation and fun
Captivating and very enjoyable
Lost for words, she was wonderful
Absolutely brilliant!!!”
Melissa Ruff, Synergy Operating Systems
“Excellent. An empowering presenter that left the audience touched, moved and inspired.”
Steve Mc Knight - PropertyInvesting.com
"Lauren was absolutely sensational."
BHP
“The room was electric, they stood clapping their broken boards together. Lauren signed every board, which was printed with the conference theme “Breakthrough”. The memento boards now adorn many offices. Fantastic!”
Wrigley’s
“Excellent, Lauren’s energy was intoxicating. Our guests were mesmerised.”
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
"Excellent. Lauren is young, fresh, unassuming and communicated brilliantly to a mixed audience."
Seeley International
"Excellent. Lauren was an excellent speaker for this occasion. The year 12 students clearly understood her message of perseverance and chasing a dream."
Eltham High School
"Bright, committed and a very passionate speaker who impressed our group with her dedication to her goals. Lauren is an accomplished presenter. Her story was inspirational and gave us the direction for the planning and hard work that needs to go into being successful in any endeavour."
First National Real Estate
"Excellent. Entertaining and inspiring for all age groups. Pitched at exactly the right level for high school students."
Craigieburn Secondary College
"Excellent. Lauren was a perfect choice for this event. Her delivery and ‘story telling’ ability made for an enthralling forty minutes. Most importantly she was ‘real’.
Simon Creely Productions
"Personally, I thought Lauren was the most vibrant, intelligent, articulate and passionate person that I have heard speak. She really connected with the audience who were aged from about 8 up. The feedback that I have been given already has also been extremely positive: - "best speaker ever", "what a wonderful role model", "she's amazing” are just samples. Students, parents and school staff were unanimous in their praise and admiration for Lauren. Lauren sharing her gold medal was also a big highlight for the audience."
Mill Park Secondary College
I would like to thank you for the fantastic presentation you gave last week at our conference and for the extra time you gave to talking to our group one on one and answering their questions. It certainly was the highlight of the conference and everyone was talking about it (still are!) and it really made a positive impact on the group.
The impact you made on Sue has been amazing and it was a life-changing event for her. She is so proud of her achievement (breaking the board) and the fact that you believed in her has given her so much more confidence. It is clear that you have an exciting future ahead that will go way beyond your Olympic success (not a bad start though!) by applying that determination and attitude of success. That is why we all got so much out of your presentation and your 'success leaves clues' has made me look at things in a totally new light.
Malcolm Owens, General manager, IXL Appliances
"Lauren’s message was excellent to set the scene for students to focus on the year ahead. She was articulate and captivated her audience – very professional and well organised".
Beacon Hills College
"An extremely mature and confident speaker – a great choice!"
Heath Lambert
"Excellent. Thank you for your excellent presentation. The registrants scored your presentation 3.95 with 4.00 being "excellent" – our highest rating ever. With such a professionally organised program, you contributed significantly to the excellent rating the attendees gave the entire conference. Thank you for being such a key part of that program."
Gas Appliance Manufactures Association of Australia
"I would sincerely like to thank you for speaking with the participants on our Leadership program. Everyone I spoke to was very impressed and found your presentation highly entertaining, motivating and informative. Your presentation was still being talked about this morning and was the highlight of this important day for the group"
Commonwealth Bank
"An outstanding conclusion to a great day at our conference held on Hamilton Island. While many conferences are rewards for past deeds, they are more often than not focused on the future, and I feel your presentation focused not only on the future of our business but also on the future of many of the young lives in the audience (and some older ones too). I have had some wonderful feedback and would be delighted to refer you to future conferences"
Chief Executive, Now Financial Services Pty Ltd
"Excellent. Not only was Lauren well prepared, inspiring and provoking, she made people feel special with her generous time mingling with everyone. I would recommend her in a heart beat."
Incircles
"Excellent. Lauren made everyone feel at ease. She spoke very well and it made a big difference to the night being a huge success."
Whitefriars College Old Boys
"Excellent. A great ambassador of her sport, the Olympics and young Australians overall. A wonderful person."
Employment National
“Our clients were captivated by your joint presentation and your ability to demonstrate the relationship between the winning habits of Taekwondo and those of lifestyle and financial planning.”
General Manager, Australian National Financial Planning
"A strong speaker with an ability to convince in respect of the sincerity of her message"
Australia Post
"Lauren was excellent!"
Department of Infrastructure
"Lauren gave a great presentation. Her manner was very natural and friendly. She had the audience captivated. We got very positive feedback from both the Australia and Japanese members of the audience."
Women's Federation for World Peace
"Excellent. Lauren was a breath of fresh air. Her story and presentation were inspirational, enthusiastic and ‘real’. Lauren has a warm, delightful personality which totally captures the audience."
Alliance SI
"Excellent. Lauren was a good choice. The audience were captivated by her presentation. Lauren related well to the audience."
North Melbourne Institute of Technology
"Excellent. Lauren was very well received by our delegates. They found her inspiring and enjoyed her natural and practical approach."
Retire Invest
"Excellent. More than a draw card. Lauren is interesting, natural and relaxed as a presenter and has some great stories regarding pushing oneself and overcoming obstacles."
Tattersall’s
"Excellent. Lauren was fantastic. She is very engaging, entertaining and was very generous with her time. Would highly recommend her."
Frank Russell Co
"Excellent. Really easy to work with and doesn’t have the ‘take the money and run attitude’."
Big Gig Event Company
"Excellent. Clients found her video and demonstration highly interesting. They also enjoyed her comments on motivation and focus in relation to her sports achievements. Females in the audience identified with her achievements as an Australian Female Athlete."
CSFB
"Lauren is a warm and articulate person whose message of commitment to a goal is very appropriate to our business. Lauren vividly described how she envisioned her success and the self-discipline required to achieve her dream of a Gold Medal. She is very accessible and made herself available to the press and guests alike, all of whom loved her."
Mary Kay Cosmetics
“Again Lauren and Martin were exceptional – we are going to run this as a program across the Group.”
Colorado Group Ltd
“240 of our top performers stood and applauded with their successfully broken boards – unbelievable. They had all written their greatest fear on the board and then breakthrough that fear and way of thinking. It was an amazing atmosphere and all of them were cheering and clapping their boards at the end, an awesome sound and energy in the room. Our people have seen the best, Lauren, Martin and the team were fantastic. We will have them back next year."
EcoSeagate
"Excellent. More than a draw card, Lauren is interesting, natural & relaxed as a presenter and has some great stories regarding pushing oneself and overcoming obstacles."
Cadbury Schweppes
"Excellent. Entertaining and inspiring for all age groups. Pitched at exactly the right level for high school students."
Craigieburn Secondary College
"Lauren, your segment was certainly one of the highlights of the conference and you may be interested to know that my wife now has me out the back breaking up the firewood, thanks to you. You were refreshing and entertaining, it certainly was a buzz for the delegates to touch and feel your gold medal. Once again thank you."
Rotary District 9810
"Lauren spoke in a way that captivated and involved everyone, forcing us to admire and respect her commitment to all aspects of her life. I would love to involve Lauren in other Ernst and Young events and believe she would do just as an exceptional job in hosting or speaking at any event for us."
Ernst and Young
“Excellent. Lauren was very natural and her enthusiasm was catching. She involved her audience and worked extremely well in our small and intimate setting. We received great feedback from all who attended."
City of Glen Eira
"Excellent. Professional, engaging and motivating – a fantastic conference presentation package."
ACTA
“Thank you for your fantastic contribution at National Young Leader’s Day. We love having you involved, because not only do you have a wonderful inspirational story to tell, but you have used your success to help others. You really are a wonderful leader, and I admire your life choices and incredible discipline.”
Young Leaders Foundation
“Excellent. Lauren inspired and entertained the audience wit her simple but powerful messages on how to succeed through sacrifice and determination.”
City of Whittlesea
“Excellent. It was refreshing to listen to someone so natural and with a joy of life. An ordinary person doing extraordinary things.”
AIOP Tasmanian Division
“Excellent. We couldn’t have been happier with Lauren’s presentation. She is so natural, professional, inspirational; and is so generous with her time and her gold medal. It was also great to have photographs and autographs as a memento. An Australian to be proud of. Feedback has been excellent, and I would recommend Lauren to anyone."
Western Mining Corporation
“Your presentation gave us all the opportunity to relive the Olympics through your eyes, and gain insight into the amount of preparation and determination required by a Gold Medal athlete. Your practical advice on reaching your goals was truly inspiring.”
Department of Finance and Administration – Women’s Network
“Thank you. The congress was a huge success, due to the high calibre of speakers and presenters. Delegates were asked to comment on what were the biggest highlights of the conference for them. Their comments included: “Lauren Burns and Taekwondo!” “Lauren Burns – fantastic and entertaining speaker” “Lauren Burns – inspiring”
MJL People Dynamics
“Excellent. Great presentation. Interesting, active and informative.”
Victorian Taxi Association
“Excellent. Lauren kept the delegates captivated A great example of hard work and perseverance bringing success.”
IGA
“Excellent. Lauren was delightful. She was extremely approachable, easy to work with, and accommodating. The afternoon session which included breaking physical activity was well structured and energising, and perfect for the time of day.
The dinner speech in the evening was a lovely mix of stories, humour, advice and motivation. The venue was quite basic, given the quality of venues I sure Lauren in often asked to present in. Lauren was totally lay back, accepting and far from panic with the facilities and initial uncertainty of the technology delivering the required results.
Lauren was also great with the signing and giving of herself, her inspirational messages and her give always. Lauren was very generous in so many ways, and the young people from Rural Youth were extremely appreciative of her and her presentation. I have had third party comments come back to me since, indicating how well the sessions went down, and I believe third party endorsements are the true testament of the success of the sessions.
Thank you Lauren. In a word - you were fantastic. I hope we get to work with you again.”
Michael Gordon Director, PDF Management Services Pty Ltd
Excellent. As our athlete who thanked Lauren said after her speech; “ I can not speak for anyone else but ‘I am inspired’ Thank you."
From my personal viewpoint after organising 7 annual awards night I can say she was the best speaker we have had. A true champion who really related to the audience and was very giving of here time.
Peter Annis-Brown- Northern Inland Academy of Sport
Excellent. Lauren was fantastic. She spoke confidently, clearly and passionately. The audience were engaged when practising the moves. Watching and listening to 150 people yelling and moving at 8am was great.
The students were enthralled with her achievements and empathised with the challenges she has faced. Her inclusion of the DVD setting the scene of Sydney and the lead up to the Olympics were worthwhile.
After speaking with Lauren prior to the day, she tailed her talk to include aspects that we were including in our program following her talk. She was very accommodating and I am extremely pleased to have been able to have Lauren speak for us.
Geelong Grammar School
Excellent. This is the second time we hired Lauren and it was as exciting as the year before. Could not ask for a more motivating person than Lauren. The feedback from our customers was absolutely great.
Thanks Lauren you are the best...
Euroag
Lauren and the crew were simply excellent. She provided a great way to close our event with the sounds of around 800 people breaking and then clapping boards it was a great thrill for all.
Overall the event went extremely well and the ebbs and flows were great.
John Danks & Son Pty Ltd
Lauren was very down to earth, approachable and presented in a relaxed manner. Our attendees loved the fact she took the time to individually sign each one of her autobiography’s and was happy to pose for photos.
IGA
Brilliant! Lauren was enthralling - she captivated the audience as she spoke with us. This is quite rare as most presenters seem to speak to you and it's so much more fulfilling and inspiring to have someone - a perfect stranger - just neatly and happily step into your mind. I have already experienced a number of highly excited people congratulating us for letting them hear Lauren.
Lauren won the hearts of everyone in the room as we all experienced the highs and lows of her sporting career - please let her know how much we enjoyed her adventure and how she captured our hearts.
BGKLLEN
Lauren, I was very impressed by your presentation at the BGKLLEN the other night. It was interesting, funny, engaging, insightful and full of lessons for life. You must be an inspiration to all the young people you come into contact with.
Yours is a wonderful story, and you deserve all the recognition and success you are now enjoying as a result.
Rob Hudson, MP. State Member for Bentleigh
Excellent. A unique story, very well presented buy a really nice & special person.
Millennium3 Financial Services Group
Excellent. Lauren is an Australian to be admired and her natural speaking style together with her energy and sense of humour was greatly appreciated by our staff and international suppliers. Lauren shared stories of her focus, effectiveness and discipline which were very relevant to the theme of our national sales conference.
FCX Australia
Thank you for your participation at the Sports Awards on Saturday night. Your contribution was outstanding with an excellent presentation delivered so well by you. We have had a lot of excellent feedback from the night with much of it about your speech and involvement with the Awards. Overall I think that the night was the best we have ever done to date and that was also reflected in the record number of people who attended on the night.
On a personal note it was a great pleasure to meet you and to be able to help with the transport on Saturday and again on Sunday. You have a wonderful and vivacious personality and are refreshingly so down to earth.
Civic Events and PR
She was great! Lauren has a fantastic personal style - very informal and personable. Her presentation was very engaging, and she really made an effort to speak with different members of the team 1:1 following the presentation.
Fosters
Excellent. Lauren Burns, What an inspiration! She has a lovely relaxed personality and made us feel comfortable. During her talk she said a few things that you can relate to both your professional and personal life. We all liked her talk about her journey of getting to the Olympics which was fantastic because you never really know what athletes put themselves through. We would highly recommend her for any team building exercise and would definitely tell our clients about her.
Grosvenor Management Group
Excellent. Lauren was fantastic. Having listened to her in other forums, I knew she would be well received by our College Community. All staff I have spoken to have commented to me how dynamic she was and she delivered several important messages to our students. I have also spoken to several students who have all thought highly of her message and how it was delivered.
Cleland Secondary College
Excellent. Lauren was excellent, and we received some very positive feedback from parents who attended on the night. We were particularly impressed with her ability to relate to and engage both adults and students alike.
Loyola College
Excellent. Lauren was a vibrant and engaging presenter and the audience responded enthusiastically to her professional and entertaining approach
Netball Victoria
Thank you again for attending our sports awards night last Friday evening. It was fabulous to hear you speak of your experiences and the girls and their parents are still talking it! I took the opportunity of reading your book over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. You have achieved amazing things and greatly deserve your success.
Lowther Hall
Excellent. Lauren was absolutely superb. She had the audience totally captivated from the minute she walked onto the stage until she finished 40 minutes later. Her honesty and humour were inspiring and she was certainly a highlight of the conference.
National Foods
Lauren is excellent. She is able to communicate at exactly the level senior school students enjoy. She is both inspiring and entertaining. I personally respect her passion and warmth that colours every attitude she has. I recommend her highly.
Ivanhoe Grammar School
Excellent. Our function was a Civic reception to recognize the School Captains recently appointed from some 50,000 students at over 70 Primary and Secondary schools in the City of Casey. Lauren’s audience was 150 Year 6 and Year 11-12 students plus another 50 teachers all of whom were engrossed by her every word. All the students performed exercises with Lauren that added to their excitement and made the experience all the more memorable. There will be many parents besieged to find taekwondo schools while fending off practice sessions.
Our aim was to make the school captains feel special, to have them think about leadership and the challenges to follow. Lauren’s address was exactly what was required on determination and overcoming obstacles to achieve your goals. It was a fun session expertly delivered and enjoyed by all ages.
City of Casey
“Lauren was brilliant on Friday at our lunch, as she was for the other two gigs….fantastic, very happy. What a lovely girl!”
Sue Mason. Event Manager, A Positive Move
“Lauren was professional and very easy to communicate in the lead up to the event. She had guests fully engaged with her story, and they loved the mini Taekwondo workshop. Lauren’s warm and generous personality was evident when the guests had the chance to hold her Olympic Gold medal. I would highly recommend Lauren.”
Cricket NSW
“Lauren was vibrant and motivating in her address at our Mother’s day breakfast which was enjoyed by both parents and students alike. The morning had a happy and fun filled atmosphere due to her buoyant personality.”
St Francis Xavier College
“I just wanted to send you a note to ‘thank you’ again for Tuesday night. You were certainly a hit with the crowd and I have had great feedback from all Leader staff and many of the guests who attended.”
Leader Newspapers
Lauren's presentation was very interesting. It was like it was two separate presentations. The first part was about her winning the gold medal & the process it took to get to that stage & the second part was about looking after yourself & eating & drinking right. I know of a few staff who came up to me afterwards and said they enjoyed listening to her and took a lot away from her presentation. We ordered her recipe book from her for each of our delegates & they loved it.
Heritage Bank
“Excellent. Lauren was an enthusiastic, highly motivational speaker who related extremely well to our Year 10 group. Her rapport with the students was outstanding and her reflections / anecdotes on her career were inspirational for those listening. Absolutely sensational!”
East Doncaster Secondary College
“I just wanted to drop you a line to say that the feedback from your session was extremely positive. I had parents tell me how much their children enjoyed it and the staff said you were just fantastic. So again - a huge thank you for coming along. Also thank you so much for the lovely cookbook. I am going to try one of the recipes on the weekend and when we get our new school kitchen, you will have to be our guest and we can cook for you.”
Leanne Sheean. Principal, Montmorency South PS
“Thank you so much for coming you were perfect and a great ending for our first day we defiantly intend on using you again, we were blown away.”
Pat Mesiti
Excellent. Lauren did an exceptional job inspiring and captivating 360 of our young assistant managers at this year’s conference. She had each and every one of us enthralled in her experiences and was great that it was also interactive where she got every one up screaming! (not to mention actually touching an Olympic Gold medal!) We loved her and would use her again in a heartbeat should the need arise as she really suited the theme of our conference being “Build the core and go for more”.
Yum Restaurants International
“Excellent. The presentation was exactly what we wanted and everyone (students, parents and staff) spoke very favourably of Lauren's presentation.”
St Helena College
“Just a quick note to say how much we appreciated your presentation last Friday. Judging by the comments made I am sure our people were genuinely excited to hear your story first-hand and I think the points you made about goal-setting, self-belief and perseverance were particularly poignant in the context of your presentation. I also want to thank you personally for your kind words to my son and the note you wrote for him. He (and I) were both touched by your gesture.”
VISY
“Congratulations on the inspiring address and presentation you made at our national sales conference last month. I have over many years attended guest speaker events and I can honestly say, very few have held the audience attention for 40 minutes as yours did.
What I found pleasing, was the way in which you aligned your success in sport to the goals our Company is striving to achieve.
The message you delivered during your talk supported and reinforced what our management team had spoken about during the conference.
Thank you again and congratulations on the way in which you told your story. Thanks to you, we now have a motivated and focused sales team.”
What I found pleasing, was the way in which you aligned your success in sport to the goals our Company is striving to achieve.
The message you delivered during your talk supported and reinforced what our management team had spoken about during the conference.
Thank you again and congratulations on the way in which you told your story. Thanks to you, we now have a motivated and focused sales team.”
Linde
“Excellent. Still refreshing and exciting"
Municipal Works Officers Association
“Lauren was professional and very easy to communicate in the lead up to the event. She had guests fully engaged with her story, and they loved the mini Taekwondo workshop. Lauren’s warm and generous personality was evident when the guests had the chance to hold her Olympic Gold medal. I would highly recommend Lauren”.
Cricket NSW
“You were certainly a hit with the crowd and I have had great feedback from all Leader staff and many of the guests who attended.”
Leader Newspaper
“Excellent. Lauren was simply terrific one of the very best speakers we have had. She has an inspiring story told with warmth, passion and humour and whilst she stresses the fact that all of us have within us the ability to achieve there is no doubt she is someone “special”. We have had excellent feedback from all who attended.”
Knox City Council
“Excellent. The presentation was exactly what we wanted and everyone (students, parents and staff) spoke very favourably of Lauren's presentation.”
St Helena College
"Lauren was fantastic. She arrived early, was happy to chat to people, and her presentation was very relevant. We all really enjoyed her demonstrations and was impressed she still did the chopping of the board. We were really happy with Lauren."
Conference Resources
"Lauren was amazing. The response and impact she had was fantastic. I have had such positive feedback from the girls and the staff. She was motivating, inspiring and engaging. I wish you could have seen the girls afterward swarming around to speak to her and have a photo!"
Santa Maria College
