Judge: Best Plain Language Document — Private sector

Communications Consultant, Verve Communications, Toronto, Canada

Charlotte is the president and founder of Verve Communications, a Toronto-based communications consultancy. She specializes in helping other professionals stand out from the crowd by showing them how to write without all the usual BS. (Having started her career as a lawyer, she knows a thing or two about BS!)

Over two decades of communications experience

Charlotte has over two decades of experience in communications and marketing, both in the not-for-profit arts sector — she held senior roles at both Australia’s National Ballet School and Canada’s National Ballet School — and in the private sector, including at Canada’s largest law firm. Today, her consulting work is focused on professional services firms, primarily in the engineering, architecture, legal and sustainability consulting sectors.

Clarity is convincing

Charlotte’s mantra is ‘clarity is convincing’. With her communications experience, she’s able to identify patterns, organise information logically, and present information so it’s clear, concise and compelling. And, as a practicing lawyer for over seven years, she learned to see both the big picture and the details.

Spreading the word

Charlotte is passionate about writing well and loves to share that passion with others, especially through plain language workshops and coaching. She’s a member of Clarity International and the International Plain Language Federation, and she contributed to the development of the first ever ISO standard for plain language (publication pending).

Charlotte’s work has appeared in a variety of local, national and international publications, including The Hill Times, the Canadian Bar Association’s JUST magazine and Australian Runners World. She has been a guest on the legal podcasts, What’s Law Got to Do With It? and Legal Mastermind, and her marketing copy has been honoured by the MarCom Awards and the Content Marketing Awards. She also publishes a monthly newsletter called The Clarity Chronicles, dedicated to helping professionals communicate more effectively.

Meet the judges for the Plain Language Awards

How the judging process works