Jamie Lingwood

𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝙙𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙠𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙠𝙩 ...

Do you know what native English speakers really – and I mean really, really – think about the 'English‑language' copy your company’s using here in the Netherlands or for English-speaking markets abroad?

Most are way too polite to tell you to your face, which is why the Netherlands is creaking under the strain of crap English pretty much anywhere you look (or at least where native English speakers look) and why it's proliferating.

Dutch government websites, signage at Schiphol, public transport announcements, publications of all kinds put out by companies of all sizes ... they pretty much all suck! On occasion, it's torture, but more often it's merely a source of hilarity or head-scratching.

The good news is it's easily avoidable and you can have a positive impact simply by getting your English-language content right, before your readers:

⦿ leave your website
⦿ delete your email
⦿ ignore your ad campaign
⦿ abandon their shopping cart
⦿ ditch your proposal
– or –
⦿ have a good old giggle at your expense

Let's do coffee and I'll show you how ... and no, the solution doesn't involve getting Kees, the intern who spent the summer working in the US, to create your English-language copy for you! And no, not Marijke either ... yes, I know she got a '9' for HAVO English.

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➤ 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

style guides | tone of voice | websites | brochures | presentations | pitch decks | proposals | social media posts | press releases | business plans | marketing plans | case studies | white papers | business correspondence

➤ 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹

(engineering, manufacturing, construction, environment, water management, architecture, ICT, mobility, urban planning, CSR, sustainability, oil & gas, energy transition, circularity)

user manuals | training materials | tenders | RfTs & RfQs | technical specifications | presentations | white papers | case studies | reports