Allen Baird is one of the Partners in Sensei Learning and Performance.  He specialises in management training and personal development.  He also consults on Business Ethics, Emotional Intelligence/Positive Psychology, Communication Skills, Gender Awareness issues, and Stress Management techniques.  So he’s quite the know-it-all.

Allen received his PhD from Queen’s University in 2000 and  is a qualified tutor at Queen’s within the School of Education.  He works with business people and managers within the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Short Course Programme to increase their workplace effectiveness.  Allen designs and delivers workshops within the highly successful Open Learning Programme, an attempt by Queen’s to reach out to the community with accessible, non-academic courses.  Allen also works as a Study Skills Coach and Mental Health Mentor for both Queen’s University and the University of Ulster.

Allen is a former award winning public speaker with Toastmasters International, and a Business Advisor with Young Enterprise.  He is also a Sessional Trainer with Aware Defeat Depression, Northern Ireland’s only charity to focus solely on this aspect of mental health for young people, men and employees.

Allen is a wannabe author.  He enjoys writing business blog posts, training materials, research articles and short stories.  His aim is to combine these in the not-too-distant future in ebook format.

“I love designing courses that mix conventional training topics with imaginative starting-points and methods of delivery.  So I might teach Persuasion with reference to Star Wars, or Assertiveness with a martial arts theme.  Creative Thinking and Teamwork easily translate into The Apprentice.  Or I can do it the boring way if you wish.  Not.”

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