Clients

Since its founding in 1953, Spence & Company has instructed over 50,000 men and women, equipping them with effective tools for clear expression in all types of business and technical correspondence.

Our clients include such companies as:

What participants say about the Spence & Company workshop on business and technical writing:

A great class and value. Matthew Spence did a remarkable job in polishing our writing skills. He is a great motivator and scholar.

– The Aetna, Hartford, CT

The workshop exercises forced me to think more before I write, which is very difficult. But then the actual writing became easier. This was an excellent workshop.

– Brown and Caldwell, Portland, OR

The information on how to organize and present what we are trying to communicate will be extremely useful for getting decisions made on our projects. This applies to both the written form of communication and for decision making during meetings and workshops.

– Brown and Caldwell, Portland, OR

Great course. Made me completely re-evaluate the way I present ideas.

– Brown and Caldwell, Portland, OR

The class was excellent. I learned to look at writing from the reader’s perspective.

– PricewaterhouseCoopers, Washington, DC

Matthew did a great job presenting the materials. He also adapted well to the type of business writing we typically prepare at our firm. I appreciate his willingness to provide us individual feedback. Matthew has a mastery of the material he presented, and his presentation skills are excellent. Thank you for the tips and tools. I know I will use these in my future writing exercises.

– PricewaterhouseCoopers, Washington, DC

Matthew was very articulate – kept audience attention very well. Great presenter!

– PricewaterhouseCoopers, Washington, DC

The examples of our writing samples being revised into the taught format really demonstrated the concepts and how they could be applied in practice. Thank you. Awesome class.

– PricewaterhouseCoopers, Washington, DC

Highly recommended for project managers who do a lot of scope and report writing.

– KPFF Consulting Engineers, Seattle, WA

I think that this workshop is one of the most useful and practical seminars I have attended. I think a great number of our employees could benefit from this.

– KPFF Consulting Engineers, Seattle WA

Very practical. These skills will be used every day.

– Siemens Medical

I’ve learned to organize my thoughts clearer. Everyone should take this workshop.

– Siemens Medical

Mr. Spence presented a template that should be very useful to engineers that are used to a rigid structure for analyzing information and designing. The template provides structure without being too rigid itself. Consequently, it should be easy to apply to a variety of writing needs.

– Brown and Caldwell, Portland, OR

Very well presented. Thank you for your personal interest in our individual writings. This workshop was very helpful.

– Brown and Caldwell, Portland, OR

The teacher was eloquent and explained things in simple and easy to understand ways.

– Mustang Engineering, Houston, TX

I appreciate Matthew’s efforts and guidance on technical writing basics and individual feedback on case studies. The workshop was presented well in structure, focus on basics and recommendations for improvement. I thank Matthew for his time in helping us with vital tips on technical/business writing improvements.

– Mustang Engineering, Houston, TX

The workshop was most useful. I have started to use the principles already. This workshop should help streamline SOP writing and save money for Coldstream.

– Coldstream Labs, Lexington, KY

This was an excellent opportunity to refine my writing skills. Thank you so much.

– Coldstream Labs, Lexington, KY

Great way to bring science writing and business writing together.

– Coldstream Labs, Lexington, KY

I wish I had this in college!

– ENSR, Seattle, WA

I found the course very helpful. It gave me tools I believe will greatly improve my efficiency. The tool I gained in the course will help me to categorize and communicate the large amount of data and interpretations I need to organize and present. The hands-on exercises were very useful and helped to identify challenges you would encounter with the system and how to handle them and move on. Excellent course. Thank you!

– ENSR, Seattle, WA

Great workshop! Sound advice for all reporting.

– ENSR, Seattle, WA

I found the class to be very beneficial. It was refreshing to come away from class feeling like I actually learned something and will be able to put it to use later.

– ENSR, Seattle, WA

This course provided a great outline for organizing my writing, with an emphasis on placing recommendations up front. This helps me advocate a position in my writing.

– ENSR, Seattle, WA

I just came across a feedback sheet I failed to send in so I’m passing along some delayed feedback on your Business Writing Workshop.  I found your workshop very useful and informative. I’ve been outlining ever since. Most importantly the writing techniques you presented can be used in all facets of communication – meetings, phone calls, etc. I will definitely recommend your course to others and hopefully we can host future workshops at ENSR.

– ENSR, Seattle, WA

This workshop gave me concrete methods for business writing that will be very helpful in the future.

– KPFF Consulting Engineers, Seattle, WA

Matthew did a great job analyzing our examples. Feedback was invaluable. The organizational approach spoke to me and will be a valuable tool in the future.

– KPFF Consulting Engineers, Seattle, WA

Excellent course! I recommend anyone who has the opportunity to take the class to do so.

– The Timberland Company, Stratham, NH

Excellent topic with tremendous relevance to all attendees. Excellent exchange of information and participation. Great facilitation, Matthew. Good take-aways. Very worthwhile and valuable.

– The Timberland Company, Stratham, NH

The course was great. Perfect level of detail. Would recommend for business project managers and others.

– The Timberland Company, Stratham, NH

I enjoyed this class very much and appreciated the opportunity. Please schedule for remainder of the IT staff!!

– The Timberland Company, Stratham, NH

Very useful – learned a lot about how to refine writing. Revised examples were very useful as illustrations.

– The Timberland Company, Stratham, NH

I couldn’t be more pleased. I would recommend to anyone!

– Northwest Engineering, Inc., Tigard, OR

Very useful and well presented information. I have already gone on and on about my perceived success of your workshop, in discussion with you. Thank you.

– Northwest Engineering, Inc., Tigard, OR

Extremely well done.

– Brown and Caldwell, Portland, OR

Thank you very much for your time and working through examples with us. I look forward to applying this to my work and life.

– Brown and Caldwell, Portland, OR

Some great eye-openers that will make my writing more clear.

– Brown and Caldwell, Portland, OR

Very comprehensive – Good instructor.

– Brown and Caldwell, Portland, OR

Excellent workshop. I would support KPFF continuing to send people to this workshop.

– KPFF Consulting Engineers, Seattle, WA

The time passed quickly. The material was well-presented. Matthew has a great personality – he makes you feel comfortable.

– KPFF Consulting Engineers, Seattle, WA

I enjoyed the way the material was presented. Thanks so much!

– KPFF Consulting Engineers, Seattle, WA

More people should attend. Good class!

– KPFF Consulting Engineers, Seattle, WA

I’d like to thank our management for the opportunity to attend this workshop. I will use what I learn to improve my writing skills.

– KPFF Consulting Engineers, Irvine, CA

Loved the worksheets – thanks…

– KPFF Consulting Engineers, Irvine, CA

Great class, excellent instructor... really worked well with his audience. I learned a-lot!!

– Marathon Petroleum Company, Ashland, KY

Great class. Well worth the time. Enjoyed it and learned a lot.

– Marathon Petroleum Company, Ashland, KY

Well done, I appreciated the one-on-one time Thursday afternoon.

– Marathon Petroleum Company, Ashland, KY

Very effective!

– Marathon Petroleum Company, Ashland, KY

I thought the class was very interesting, and I will definitely apply the techniques to my writing. Great class!

– Marathon Petroleum Company, Ashland, KY

My VP boss took the class several years ago and thought it was one of the best training courses he attended, so he put me on to your company.  He still has the workbook and uses it often.

– Crane Materials International, Atlanta, GA

Many years ago, Integrated Systems Consulting Group and First Consulting Group offered classes instructed by [Spence & Company] on business writing. They were excellent classes and I’ve subsequently lost the books (many thanks to the airlines). Can you advise if, and where, I can purchase the texts used in these classes. The course I took changed my behavior and I’ve seen positive results because of it. I’ve shared some of the “lessons” with various coworkers who have had the same experience as me.

– First Consulting Group, San Diego, CA

Your workshop was very successful in the eyes of the participants.

– W. R. Grace & Company, Cambridge, MA

I am a geologist working for ConocoPhillips. Probably about 20 years ago, I took an effective writing course with Spence & Company. It was an excellent course… It's great to see you are still in the business and providing this valuable service.

– ConocoPhillips

I am a Project Manager working for ExxonMobil on a major oil and gas project in a contractor’s office in Tokyo. I first took a course taught by your father for Exxon employees in Houston in 1980. I have always felt that it was one of the most effective Exxon training courses that I have ever taken.

– ExxonMobil, Tokyo, Japan

I am one of your students from February 2003 and I recently came across two reasons for writing you. I would like to acquire a copy of the materials from the Writer’s class and I also wish to know if you are still teaching the Writer’s Yardstick course.

I am half way through an 18 month assignment for FCG in India. When packing our basic necessities for air shipment to Bangalore India, I put my [Spence & Company] materials in storage instead of shipping them here. The theory was that I use your technique so often that I would not need to reference the materials.

Well, I was wrong. While lamenting my error of taking the wrong books to India, I told an Indian colleague that [your workshop] was the most useful class I have taken in several years. This led me to realize I should get you over here to India to teach our Indian managers the Spence approach.

Please tell me if I can have another set of the [Spence & Company] class materials shipped to my office in Bangalore, India? Second, would you let me know the possibility of you teaching a course in Bangalore and what the approximate costs would be?

– First Consulting Group, San Diego, CA

I took the Effective Letter & Report Writing Course prepared by Lewis Spence & Co. in 1975 when I was employed by Conoco (now ConocoPhillips Oil Company). I have retired some five years ago and now consulting in petroleum engineering in the United Arab Emirates. Ten of the 12 engineers and geologists I work with have a mother language other than English and need to improve their writing skills. Looking for help, I found the “Lewis Spence & Co.” manual among the handful of books I travel with and keep at hand. I was very happy to dust it off and bring to my office this morning when it hit me to check the website and see if Lewis Spence and Company still exists. To my pleasure and surprise yes it does and I am delighted to be writing this e-mail to you. How can I get an updated version of the Manual? Do you put on any workshops overseas?

– Dubai Petroleum, Dubai, United Arab Emirates