Telling your story…

• Are you a newcomer to Canada, trying to secure better work, but falling short in interviews?
• Or . . .  are you a small- to medium-sized business that struggles with language?
• Do you want to build your clientele, to make more sales, but struggle to get your message out?

Trust your language and communications needs to a skilled and versatile

storyteller. . . .

1. English as a Second Language (ESL) Teaching Services

Are you a  new immigrant to Saskatchewan who wants to improve your language skills to secure a better job–and with it, a better life?

Look no further.

After becoming certified by TEFL.org in Scotland,  taking an ESL  practicum in Toronto and benchmark training from CCLB (Canada), I have taught and tutored numerous newcomers to Canada in the English language.  I focus through online classes on your listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

Some of you want to apply your improved language skills to secure better jobs; and some, to become self-employed as highly motivated entrepreneurs in our business communities. Either way . . .

I can assist you in improving your grasp of English grammar,  structure, pronunciation and conversation. 

2. Editing Services

Do you lack the time to edit your business or academic articles, essays, books, theses and resumes properly?

I can help with that, as well.

Trust your business and academic storytelling to a skilled and professional editor . . . Good business or academic storytelling needs to communicate specific points coherently, with well-structured paragraphs or sections that demonstrate solid grammar and style. With my assistance, as an editor who has edited and published both business and academic documents, you will convince your readers of the integrity of your thought and expression.

As an editor who has also studied copy editing programs of Editors Canada (EC), I am uniquely qualified to assist you by editing your business and academic stories.

I offer three levels of service, from the least to the most intensive:

1. Copy Editing (correcting grammatical and punctuation errors, typos, etc.),
2. Stylistic Editing (editing to improve flow, clarity and readability),
3. Substantive Editing (responding to content and structure, demonstrating where to rewrite passages when necessary, to improve thought, clarity and meaning).

I edit stories and copy so that they can be read and understood quickly.

3. Writing Services

As a small- or medium-sized enterprise (SME), you face daily challenges. You need to get the word out about your products or services to customers, clients, prospects and stakeholders. But your workload leaves you with little time or energy to do it creatively and well. You want to tell a story that resonates with your audience and compels them to respond.

Yet, as you strive to grow, you find that traditional advertising is no longer the right tool.

You’ve also observed that  everyone loves stories. People can relate to stories and use them to get to know you.  Storytelling can set you apart by engaging your prospects’ curiosity and empathy.

I can help you to do that.

I specialize in writing stories that chronicle the entrepreneurial journey and so promote your products or services.

Entrepreneurs like you experience fundamental challenges as they journey towards discovery, solutions and implementation–and before results emerge. These aspects of your journey are often overlooked by other business writers.

Stories can be crafted to create many different forms of content. So while entrepreneurial articles and e-newsletters are the mainstay of my work, I also craft blog postings, e-books, promotional emails, media releases, website copy, white papers, annual reports, brochures and more. (Please see my “Portfolio” page.) I also take great pleasure in writing entrepreneurs’ applications for local business awards, including ABEX and SABEX.

I offer services by the project. Also available are retainer packages of 10 hours per month, which are flexible: when time is in surplus, you can carry it over to the next month. When you need more time, you can increase the number of hours to meet that need.

While I tap into contemporary SEO strategies, I also write for humans.  I don’t sacrifice one for the other.  There is longevity in story.  And longevity is about fundamentals, not fads.

I write stories that can be read and understood quickly and thoroughly.

In independent market research that I recently conducted, prospects voted that three strong features of my services—“In-depth, fact-based research,” “efficient turnaround” and “experience with a variety of documents”—are of utmost importance to them. At the same time, those requirements have been the least satisfactorily met by other service providers. The gaps (between importance and satisfaction) amounted to nearly 15% and are where I direct my time, attention and skill.

At a time when political nationalism is on the rise and leaders disregard the truth in favour of fear-mongering and divisiveness, having fact- and evidence- based research is more crucial than ever.

I am a writer who understands the importance of rigorous research and fact and uses them to underpin my writing.

4. Writing Entrepreneurial Stories

I specialize in telling success stories. Through thoughtful research, empathetic interviews and precise writing, I create stories that reflect the values that you share with your clients or prospects. These stories can be shared in e-newsletters, presentations or with media.

There is no spin-doctoring to this: authentic stories can give credence and credibility to the work of your company or organization.

Even resistant readers respond to storytelling, when it is rooted in human struggle or challenges that elicit excitement and belief. Storytelling, as American screenwriter Robert McKee says, “fulfills a profound need” in clients “to grasp the patterns of living . . . within a very personal emotional experience.”

I use storytelling techniques to connect with your clients’ emotions. To remember and understand experience, McKee says, we weave together the fragments of experience into a story, starting with that emotional need, then the life challenge, and by showing how those challenges are overcome.

By uniting emotion with your idea (product or service), storytelling persuades your prospects or clients to believe and act.

Storytelling is an ancient practice. We have remembered human experience for millennia by telling and hearing good stories. Since our earliest recorded history, poets and artists have depicted wars and major events by evoking the fundamental conflict between expectation and reality.

But storytelling is also a very modern practice. Today we tell stories through social media, games and crowdfunding sites that persuade followers to “follow,” “like” or buy.

And storytelling is universal. Such stories function as more than sales tools, by first connecting people, explaining your company’s work and giving voice to those within it who may otherwise be left out.

I have crafted stories for companies or organizations as diverse as the Canadian Society of Association Executives, Agri-Biz Communications Corporation, the Saskatoon Health Region, Humboldt watercolourist Bob Pitzel and many in-between.