“Through enthusiasm, technical excellence, and bold challenge Daphne has inspired a whole staff team.

Commissioned simply to deliver some discrete training, she became a core part of an emerging culture change, well beyond our expectations. Throughout meetings and discussions we now hear ‘would Daphne approve?’ and ‘what would Daphne do?’. We’ve been both sternly and kindly shown a path to a better future – where communication is clear, concise and easy to understand. Where simple rules assist this, without complex discussions of grammar which can scare some of us!

Daphne’s background as a barrister doubtless helped her cross examination of our current approaches and her credibility in an environment where the issues we are communicating are complex. After the initial commission for training, we worked very flexibly as she or our team spotted other opportunities to improve the clarity of our communication.

Our recommendation would be unequivocal – if you want to improve how you or your whole organisation communicate, you have to have Daphne on the list of people you at least have an initial conversation with. You may miss a huge opportunity if you don’t.”

“Daphne acted with admirable flexibility and alacrity in turning a planned workshop in person for junior litigators on contract principles into three shorter Zoom webinars focused on issues of particular relevance to the Covid-19 pandemic. Impressive can-do attitude and response to our needs.”

“The Effective Writing training Daphne delivered to our trainees was always received well. The trainees found her clear and engaging. They specifically appreciated the analysis of their own writing as well as the more general tips she gave for improvement.”

“Our organization conducted the “Effective editing” training for the first time. Attendees were very pleased with this course. Daphne is a great presenter, with years of experience. She explains the concepts in a practical manner, and used examples from our work to show attendees how the techniques can make the writing clearer, and more effective. The focus on how to provide constructive feedback rather than spend time marking up detailed changes was a great learning for our Editors. This training will help us continue to spread good practice through-out the team. Thank you Daphne!”

“Daphne started and drove the plain language programme at SNR Denton. She understands training and good intentions are not enough to entrench good drafting habits. Her efforts bridged the gulf between good intentions and tangible, lasting progress at our firm. Her enthusiasm is an inspiration.”

“Working with Daphne was every bit as simple as the text of our engagement letter once she’d edited it.”

“I have attended a number of writing courses but this was by far the best. This was because it felt practical, included manageable tips and because Daphne was so well prepared and engaging. I highly recommend Daphne as an instructor. Everyone can benefit from a course like this!”

“Daphne is a highly skilled and knowledgeable trainer with a clear and engaging style. At the request of a client, I recently attended a short course Daphne ran on plain English writing for professionals. The course was dynamic, informative, and entertaining – an excellent combination. Daphne’s passion for plain English and good communication shines through. For example, she answers questions clearly, even when they’re not posed clearly! Daphne has a legal background, and specialises in clarifying legal language. However, I’m sure she could turn her hand to improving people’s writing in almost any field. I heartily recommend Daphne to anyone who needs training in plain English or clear writing skills.”

“It is now two years or so since you came to train us to use plain English. My documents have halved in length and doubled in clarity. I thus get work done more quickly and my readers understand my texts better. This is important as we publish our decisions on the organisation’s website and they have to be clear for general readers. As we all use StyleWriter, I can also understand colleagues’ decisions in subject areas I do not normally cover. This training is the most useful I have had in the last ten years of my professional life.”

“Daphne is a highly professional lawyer and a brilliant tutor who generously shares her knowledge in an easy to understand manner.”

“I recently attended a plain English training session which Daphne ran at OC. Her training was thorough, her style interesting and the session was hugely informative. I came away with some very useful ideas and tips as to how to make my writing clearer and more accessible. Daphne showed just how important it is to use plain English in legal (and non-legal) writing and she is clearly passionate about the subject matter.”

“Very happy for you to give me as a reference. I think you are under-selling the value of the work you did with us in setting out what a good decision statement should cover.”

“I’ve heard nothing but good things about the sessions you did in York. You have really won people’s hearts and minds and made a terrific impression. Thank you. It’s onward and upward from here!”

“No need for me to say I am sure but as you will have gathered everyone found the day fantastically beneficial, enjoyable and challenging on all sorts of levels and most of it was down to your very adept skills of training which I suppose facilitate the maximum efficient uptake and transfer of relevant knowledge and experience from and between all participants rather than the traditional lecturing approach.”

“I worked with Daphne at a previous firm and found her to be the most committed of plain English proponents. She was an absolute pleasure to work with: committed, passionate about her specialism and with a clear talent for delivering training in a clear and easy-to-understand way.”