The problem

Most organisations know what they can't say. Fewer know what they should say.

The legal bit is easy(ish). But what comes next? A more agile structure. Difficult decisions. A time of transition. Your people are smart. They read between the lines. Trust and engagement can freefall here.

That costs more in a mission-driven organisation than anywhere else. People who choose work they truly believe in tend to value integrity above all. That's why you hired them. Any space between the values an organisation claims and how it speaks in moments of change creates room for good people to become disengaged, disillusioned, or decide to leave.

Change is inevitable. Bad communications aren't.

Honest communication does not mean over-sharing. Integrity resonates, even when the message is we don't know yet. I help organisations to navigate change while treating their people with respect, speaking with conviction, and building trust rather than losing it.

What I do

Choose a service on its own – just tone of voice, just narrative strategy – or combine them. Projects don't have to be part of a change programme.

01
Change and internal communications
Restructuring, mergers, transitions, funding changes. Message development, communication plans, leadership and works council communications – and the difficult announcements themselves.
02
Verbal identity and tone of voice
How your organisation sounds, written down clearly enough that other people can use it without you in the room. Particularly useful for organisations working in English as a second language.
03
Messaging and narrative strategy
Deciding what you mean before anyone writes a word. Positioning, key messages, and the story that holds the rest of it together.

I design the system and write the pieces that carry weight.

Why me for this

I've done communications, especially change comms, from both sides.

For clients

Internal and external communications for mergers, restructures and transformation programmes, including narrative strategy across a seven-month M&A divestment.

Content strategy, messaging, and narrative design for multinational clients working in English across multiple industries.

Information design, making technical content accessible for both expert and generalist audiences.

For colleagues

I co-chaired a works council of 300 people through restructuring and a pandemic. That meant negotiating with leadership, and then telling my colleagues the outcome – even when the outcome was bad, and even when I'd argued against it. It's where I learned how to communicate about high-stakes topics with empathy & integrity – within the boundaries of what could be shared responsibly.

Who I work with

Agencies
Mission-driven organisations: Not-for-profits, knowledge institutes, research & policy bodies, B Corps, healthcare & education

Dense or difficult subject matter isn't an obstacle. That's the most interesting part.

Background

Communications specialist, eight years in. Writing and editing for over ten years. Previously at Narrative Labs, a comms agency in The Hague; earlier owned the editorial house style guide at Nielsen, for content published on major platforms including Netflix, iTunes, the BBC, and Sky.

MA in Classics, Universiteit Leiden. British, based in beautiful Utrecht.