Transforming Leaders & Teams
Empowering people to become effective leaders who they would follow
Training & Facilitation
Whether your sales team want to up their game, or staff morale and internal communication need a boost, we teach both the theory and practical skills to achieve the best outcome for your company and its people.
Coaching
Leaders who lack confidence or interpersonal skills cannot get the most from their teams. Our individualised coaching sessions shape leaders who communicate effectively and inspire synergy.
Speaker
Need an engaging speaker for your next conference or company event? We offer customised keynotes on topics such as behavourial change, persuasion and thought leadership delivered by a Distinguished Toastmaster.
Staff Engagement & Productivity Low?
A specialist in neurolinguistic programming, Yoke van Dam utilises emotional intelligence skills to help employees truly connect with their company’s culture, purpose and core values. She coaches leaders and team members to be more effective, which increases their overall productivity and improves their internal and external relationships. She also coaches business and team leaders to become engaging speakers who can deliver memorable presentations to small and large audiences.
The Y-Connect Difference
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Testimonials
What our clients say about Yoke and Y-Connect
You left behind a very inspired group of boot campers at the Power of Persuasion Presentation Bootcamp. They all loved the 2 days and have added to their toolkit various tools and tactics that they can use going forward. As always, Yoke Van Dam, you bring through more than what you promise.. you bring yourself.. heart and soul into every session you do.
After using Yoke van Dam's services for a 2-day team transformation, I enrolled with her for four months of leadership coaching. My goal was to handle difficult conversations with staff members, especially when those personal issues interfere with the work environment and effectiveness. I also wanted to balance my responsibility as a manager and the individual's responsibility.
These monthly sessions were beneficial, especially voicing my concerns and finding what is reasonable and what is not. I realized the effort needed to make a successful team and recommend leadership coaching sessions to other leaders that can help them navigate these hurdles in a personal way. I have seen significant value in having difficult conversations, prepping, and the follow-up. Playing to each person's strength and looking for the positive, even when the negative is overwhelming. Preparation is only useful with follow-through.
Yoke van Dam is a very professional corporate trainer, she has an amazing ability to convey information concisely and accurately and also the ability to fully engage a room full of learners-challenging them, giving them feedback and providing "real-world" roleplaying exercises".
Yoke van Dam have been facilitating training sessions for Tazchem and Water Solutions Technology since 2019. These have been tailormade to develop individual's business requirements and acumen. These sessions included topics like: creating a cohesive work environment, time-management, conflict management, telephone etiquette, problem solving, handling objections, emotional intelligence in the workplace, personal goalsetting, questioning techniques, negotiation skills, teambuilding sessions. Our staff have increased their confidence when selling products to customers and managing difficult price negotiations. She has an interactive approach and readily shares life experiences to emphasize training disciplines. This has added huge value for our staff as we continue to embrace the philosophy of continued learning and development.
I signed up for the Women in Leadership Masterclass to understand what it takes for women to thrive in leadership positions.
The 2-day session facilitated by Yoke van Dam provided us with various frameworks on team dynamics, coaching, negotiation, power and influence complemented with practical exercises, which allowed us to reflect and apply our learnings. I was also able to learn from the experiences of other women leaders in the session from across the globe. My key takeaway is that active listening is one of, if not the most, important skill in leadership - and one that is not gender specific.
I would recommend this course to women who are seeking to break down barriers in the workplace to inspire and empower others. After doing the workshop I signed on for a Leadership coaching journey to learn how to manage a new team. I learned how to address perfectionism and self-doubt and to be my own cheerleader. I found the coaching really helpful as the sessions encouraged me to reflect on where I am where I want to be, and more importantly in identifying the different areas that I need to work on.
Yoke Van Dam is a consummate professional, on stage and off. She is also one of a kind, exuding warmth and care alongside her expertise.
In this impactful keynote, Yoke harnessed a story (technically a case study) to make game-changing marketing and sales principles tangible and memorable. What really struck me in this session is the way she demonstrated how we can negotiate to create an all-round win that rewrites the rules of the game.
It has been said that a great speech transforms your audience. In this session, Yoke has certainly transformed my approach to marketing and sales. I recommend her without reservation.
The Women in Leadership Masterclass helped me to become mindful of my personal brand and understand the importance of self-awareness. During this interactive course, I was able to hone my influencing and negotiating skills which will greatly help me with my personal and career development. I would recommend this course to all women leaders who wish to effect change in the workplace with their leadership identity.
I got introduced to Yoke 2 years ago when she came to Tazchem for training. I have found the training to be relatable and easy to implement in a workplace environment. It made my colleagues and me aware of some of the differences we have as individuals and how we can tap into each other's greatness. I saw some of my colleagues who would have never thought they could do public speaking gain confidence after implementing Yoke's pointers. She is indeed a great trainer and leadership mentor. I recently recommended her for a leadership and procurement gig, and she received great praise from the client who couldn't stop thanking me for the recommendation. Thus, I encourage you to make use of her services and you will never go wrong!
Yoke is a hands-on and inspiring career coach. Her professionalism - like her knowledge of various techniques like NLP and various visualization and mindfulness exercises - is complimented by her genuine care for clients as people. Thanks to sessions with Yoke I was able to tap into the motivation, vision and confidence I needed to level up in my career. Shortly after our last session, I got the job and career I'd been wanting for years and have been happy at work ever since.
Recently we hired Yoke to deliver for us "Women in Leadership" 2 days training for Middle East & APAC region at Corsol.
I must say it was a great satisfaction to have her as a trainer, throughout she engaged the delegates, they enjoyed learning from.her, the energy she shifted to the delegates don't let them stop writing me appreciation emails about trainer (Yoke} even during the training.
I highly recommend her for all topic under her expertise because she justify whatever she promises
"It was exuberating to be part of a 30-member international women leaders group who attended the leadership development program called “Woman in Leadership” conducted by Yoke van Dam, a passionate leadership and team expert from Johannesburg. The insights that she shared were truly inspiring and motivating."
I had the privilege of listening to a presentation by Ms Van Dam at the Captaincy.me event at The Maslow Sandton. I thoroughly enjoyed Yoke’s passion and skill as a presenter, but more so her ability to distill a significant amount of learning into a very limited time frame. It does not happen often that one gets exposed to such an efficient public speaker. Truly someone I could learn from.
I have had the privilege of having Yoke as a Guest speaker at two events that I've hosted. Her poise, the content of her talks, and her engagement with the audience has been excellent. I rate her very highly as a motivational and inspirational speaker and I am sure that you will too!
Yoke, your energy is contagious! You facilitated very sensitive sections with ease and made us feel safe and accepted. Your ability to debrief the first video and allow delegate participation is worth commending you for. I loved your facilitation style of getting the group to discuss the video, not telling them what you think but asking specific questions to get us to talk.
Your use of stories of other people resonated well with me. It showed your ability to apply what they had learnt to what we were covering in the section. Your level of detail gave me enough to be interested and see the connections to the key points of learning.
I've enjoyed the "Women in Leadership" course. Yoke was a great coach and inspiring to all of the us, always on point and direct with her comments and advices. The content was helpful and insightful. There was a positive engagement between the audience that made us all learn from each other, specially when discussing and practicing the case study!
I've gathered a lot of useful information and techniques that I can use to develop my leadership skills.
Yoke van Dam aka Kintusi Queen is one of the best coaches I have ever come across. The extra mile she goes is top-notch. One can see that she truly wants to support your growth in as many areas as possible. I have been blessed immensely this year by her coaching."
Yoke Van Dam is a Great speaker/Trainer she has good command on her topic I have already invited her for 1 day public session in Pakistan Karachi we received outstanding feedback from our client Thank you very much Yoke to conducted wonderful session on behalf of Quickbiz.
Thank you Yoke for your 6 week Power of Persuasion Bootcamp – it was a great opportunity to learn more about communicating online and through video. I feel a lot more confident on video subsequent to your bootcamp and have a real sense of the power in short, punchy and to the point, as well as the value of storytelling. I am working on several videos for my business now and hope to make it a primary medium of communication for marketing over the next few months. Thank you for being an incredibly generous trainer and providing constructive and honest feedback!
I have been attending meetings and conferences for 15 years and have seen many speakers and presenters during this time but Yoke will always stand out as someone who grabs my attention and holds it well. Yoke went from sales into training during her tenure at Entrepreneur Media and not only is she a subject matter expert on all things concerning sales, customer service and branding, but she's also talented, funny, insightful and inspiring. Any company would do well by engaging Yoke's services and I would gladly recommend her for any position she sets her heart on - as with her determination, she's sure to make a success of anything. If given the opportunity I would gladly work with Yoke again.
I had the privilege of attending Performance Management training and coaching sessions, over the past 3 months, presented by Yoke.
She has a wealth of knowledge on different sales industries and thanks to this this knowledge, able to share relatable and understandable scenarios. She always manages to lift the energy levels in any and all sessions. I am also impressed with her ability to accommodate, and adjust to, any and all ranges of personalities in her training sessions. She is always well prepared and goes the extra mile to follow up and make sure that staff and management are accountable and utilise what they learn from her sessions.
I would recommend Yoke for any company, or individual, looking to upskill their staff or themselves, on bettering their performance, managing their time, setting goals, taking and managing accountability.
Companies and individuals can’t go wrong with training sessions with Yoke. Valuable knowledge will be gained from her training that will branch into your daily life.
It was an honour and a great opportunity to attend the leadership program with Yoke. It was a very meaningful, insightful, and interactive workshop. Leaned new leadership skills, effective coaching skills, leading high team performance, and much more. It was very unique of its kind.
On behalf of my team of Principals and Educators at the Beauty Therapy Institute, I would like to thank you so much for the time you spent with us during our recent Franchise Development Forum. You spent time with our team, assisting in expanding themselves and showing them the way forward… You have contributed in a meaningful way in assisting us in this quest.
Y-Connect’s facilitator Yoke took us through a wonderful journey of ‘lack confidence’, to ‘absolute confidence’ in her Power of Persuasion course. I feel much more comfortable presenting to an audience from a Zoom platform and understanding the nuances that comes with it. Her endless Energy and sincere desire for one to succeed makes you want to come back for more! I strongly recommend any facilitators, presenters, sales people – to join Yoke’s Power of Persuasion course or even her coaching to take your mindset / business to the next level.
I have worked closely with Yoke over the past two years and in that time I have seen her take flight and soar because she makes others soar. I worked with Yoke in the marketing role of the Johannesburg Chapter of PSASA, the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa. I could not have done justice to the role without her by my side. We were an incredible team together and she became my greatest cheerleader - because that is what she does. Every Day. She inspires all those around her to become the best version of themselves. She mends fractured teams and she builds people up wherever she goes. She touches organisations and she upskills individuals. Yoke is a light in this world and we are the richer for having her in it. She touched my world and she touched my life. She saw something in me I couldn't even see in myself. I continue to watch her unfolding journey with awe admiration and joy as she impacts both my world, this country and the global community of thought leaders and change- makers.
I really enjoyed seeing different perspectives and getting to know people. It was very interactive and a lot of fun. Something new, not like most team buildings. All the training was relevant.
-High Performance Team Development Program
I had the pleasure of participating in Yoke van Dam's Leadership Development Program, and it was a game-changer. Yoke's expertise in leadership, emotional intelligence, and team transformation is unmatched. Her program covers crucial topics and provides practical insights that have significantly improved my leadership skills. I highly recommend Yoketo anyone looking to elevate their leadership abilities and drive positive change within their organization.
Super super fantastic content at today’s camp 1 of the Power of Persuasion Presentation Bootcamp.
It was phenomenal and I’m so glad I was part of it. Sculpting my passion and craft.
Thank you so much for your passion and knowledge imparted to us today. You were amazing.
I joined the Power of Persuasion Bootcamp to learn how to run a web-based training course. I really enjoyed the Emotions Map; learning by experience in giving my presentation and the peer-to-peer learning.
You are an amazing facilitator and you literally ooze energy with every word and expression! Thanks also so much for the wonderful coaching session that has allowed me to focus my business strategy hugely!
I highly recommend Yoke Van Dam’s online 6 week Power of Persuasion course . I chose to go on it when I realized that I could benefit from clear guidance & helpful tips on to how to run my workshops online . I was also particularly drawn to the section on how to make engaging videos for use in getting my message across . Yoke has the most incredible gift in helping one turn your message into a story line that itself .Her bubbly compassionate personality enables one to grow with ease & confidence in her sessions and she is a highly motivating business leader . For anyone who may feel overwhelmed in knowing where to start making the changes in order to pivot your business online , Yoke provides a wealth of information & practical guidance.
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Why You Should Work With Us
At Y-Connect we hold ourselves to the following values:
Excellence
Kindness & care
Accountability
Creativity
Fun
Frequently Asked Questions
For any other questions feel free to contact us by emailing yokevandam@y-connect.biz
We make use of a vast amount of engagement tools, that will ensure that your team has the chance to:
engage, collaborate, brainstorm and partake in fun quizzes. In our Presentation bootcamp the delegates all get the chance to present online as well.
- All Y-Connects courses is fully customizable according to your specific needs and outcomes of your business. Set up a Zoom call or appointment to discuss your brief and objectives with Y-Connect.
- We can include the company’s core values in the training as well.
We prefer using the Zoom platform, but are very open to using whatever platform you prefer. We prefer doing sessions for a maximum of 1.5 – 2 hours at a time, and break up a 1 or 2 day course, over a few days, or over a few weeks.
Neuroscience has proven that you can only concentrate so long, and we believe in implementation and interaction.
You can email our offices at yokevandam@y-connect.biz with the following details:
- Date of your event
- The number of delegates attending
- What is the purpose of the event?
- What other speakers and topics will be on the agenda
- What do you want to achieve through this Keynote, Workshop or Training session?
- Please send your company organogram and any details that can assist Y-Connect in preparation before meeting to discuss your brief.
- What were topics discussed in the year already?
- Any training that you’ve given to this staff in the last 6 months please list them here.
All keynotes are customizable. Her topics range from Sales, to Leadership, to People Engagement, and changing behaviors. See here for more details (link to Speaking service)
- Yoke has trained CEOs’, Directors of companies, Sales and Marketing directors and business executives. The types of coaching vary depending on the clients needs. Some CEO’s have asked to deal with anxiety in Public speaking. Others have dealt with Phobias, work-life balance, Leadership, resolving conflict and giving performance appraisals or hard feedback to their staff.
- She has Coached Sales directors on Managing their teams, how to motivate them, and how to keep the teams accountable.
- Her coaching can help you change patterns, create better habits, become a great leader that people will trust and want to follow.
Coaching can happen at your offices if you are based in Johannesburg, or over Zoom.
- A data projector
- Flipchart with markers
- Notebooks for delegates
- Tea’s and lunches for all delegates and trainer
- I am not always logged into skype or Zoom, please arrange an appointment with me via email at yokevandam@y-connect.biz so that we can arrange either a Skype or zoom call.
- Please send me three dates and timeslots that can work for you.
- Here are my Skype details: https://join.skype.com/invite/hB2d3lBkPXri
- We do offer our services outside of South Africa as well.
- All travel and accomodation has to be provided by the agent who is making the booking, or can be billed seperately.
- Please arrange a Skype or Zoom meeting to discuss your specific needs and to find out international training and speaking rates.
- Please confirm your timezones, so that we can find a time that can work for both parties.
- Please arrange an appointment to meet via email at yokevandam@y-connect.biz so that we can arrange either a Skype or Zoom call.
- Please send me three dates and timeslots that can work for you.
- Here are my Skype details: https://join.skype.com/invite/hB2d3lBkPXri
You can download a copy here 25 June 2021 Privacy policy Y-Grow Pty Ltd trading as Y-Connect
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