Verbalizers: James Veenhoff (Fronteer Strategey), Paul Hughes (Lava Graphic Design), Frank Meeuwsen (Incredible Adventure), Kerrie Finch (FinchFactor), Anneloes van Galen (Paperdoll Writing), MC Melodee (La Melodia) and Len Hulsbos (Cradle of Design).

My name is Melodee and I’m a lyricist, an MC. I am the vocal part of a crew called La Melodia. Together with my producer I.N.T. we make soulful hip-hopmusic, and we perform all over the globe. Next to performing and MC-ing in the clubscene, I am also a radio host & editor. My radio show is called Future Vintage; we spin any kind of bordercrossing music. From hiphop to funk, from house to afrobeat, from new soul to dubstep and beyond. In 2004 I got my degree in Politics & Organizational Science. I am officially a Master of Arts.

What is a verbalizer according to you?

A verbalizer is someone who manages language and who is very creative in doing so. It is someone who can put thoughts into suitable words and sentences. Someone who knows how to describe vibes and ideas and puts it on paper in the correct formulation. A verbalizer is someone who understands and handles language, and who knows how to use it in order to help people out and to formulate their thoughts and ideas the best possible way, in a professional though understandable manner.

Where can verbalizers add value?

Verbalizers can add value when it comes to into giving concrete shape to ideas. They can help create understanding and clarification and get the right message across. It is the verbalizer’s task to find the right words and sentences, and even to help the inventor or the client to mold the idea to perfection to make sure the client’s goal is achieved.

In what way is language part of your work / creative process?

Since I am a lyricist or poet, language is essential for me. My rhymes and vocal expressions of what I feel and who I am are my main means of income. I therefor spend a lot of time being creative with language, discovering it, re-inventing it, expanding my vocabulary and thinking of new words and phrases myself. I can remember that even as a kid, language intrigued me. Different languages, different pronunciations, and being able to express myself in different kinds of groups and countries has always been a natural thing for me to do. Communication and language is of course important for any human being, but since it interested me so much it gradually turned into my work. It is how I express myself as an artist.

Put The New Verbalizers in the context of our time. Why do you think this ‘movement’ starts now?

Well, when I look at my generation for instance, I can honestly say that most of us are spoiled. Everything is taken care of, we have nothing to fight for. Gay marriage, abortion, differences between social classes and skin colour etc, all these issues have been taken care of legally. We all have the possibility to study and to make it in life. Our parents worked hard to make sure we wouldn’t miss out on anything.

That’s why we have always been satisfied and never felt the absolute need to to speak up or to form groups and criticize things. The government and legal system always enabled us to do the things we wanted in life. But these days it is becoming more and more obvious that the more the government gives, the more it also demands. These days the goverment is becoming more and more patronizing and controlling. To the extend that they even get involved in our personal life, health and even invade our privacy.

Luckily people are finally starting to realize that this is out of proportion. So it’s about time that we speak up and do this in a well thought, 21st century way. This, by using language as a a innovative and incontrovertible tool to get the message across.

My name is James Veenhoff, I am partner at Fronteer Strategy; I work on brand development and strategy consulting. (I am also the father of Jools Veenhoff)

What’s a verbalizer according to you?

A verbalizer is someone who creates meaning through words, much like how a visualiser does so through a drawing or illustration.

Where can verbalizers add value?

A picture can say more than a thousand words. But sometimes you don’t want a 1000. You want roughly 40, and they should be well-chosen. Especially in situations where concepts are handed over from one team or profession to another, a lot of semantic value and therefore focus and energy can be lost. Think of a strategy team handing over to a creative team, or a designer to a researcher. Many of these people know nothing about words and should not be let near them without the guidance of a verbalizer.

In what way is language part of your work / creative process?

Our mission at Fronteer Strategy is to create clarity and inspiration. Much of this process involves spreading ideas, caught in words.

Put the new verbalizers in the context of our time. why do you think this ‘movement’ starts now?

It’s not hard to see that we’re losing faith in numbers and getting bored with poorly worded crap on powerpoint slides. Much of our time is wasted on semantic discussions and effort spent backtracking or discussion what the objective was in the first place. We unconsciously yearn for well-worded concepts to create meaning for ourselves and partners/stakeholders.

Anything else you would like to add?

Wordsmiths, verbalisers and concept writers deserve more attention.

Any other reference(s) within the framework of The New Verbalizers?

There’s something to think about. when operating in international environments, the meaning of words can be quite complicated territory – let’s say you’re an architect working for a Dubai developer in Malta… The creation of reality requires establishing a shared semantic framework. That’s a challenge for verbalizers. So, an extra skill required is sensitivity to such underlying differences. Great book called ‘The Social Construction of Reality’ – part of my anthropology background could be useful input for thinking about this – if you have the energy:)

De pest van veel ideeën is dat ze eerst binnenkomen in je hoofd (of hart) en dat het een tijd duurt voordat je de juiste taal hebt gevonden om aan anderen duidelijk te kunnen maken wat je bedoeld.

Ellen Bokkinga liep hier ook al langer tegenaan, maar haar vak is dan ook taal.

Naast erg leuk mens schopt ze ook nog nieuwe initiatieven de wereld in, waaronder deze, die het probleem dat ik net schetste versneld oplost ; )

NewVerbalizers

For some reason, when you can’t describe an idea, it doesn’t exist. It’s comprised of some ‘thoughts’, visual metaphors and ‘what if…’, but it’s not an idea.
This is where a ‘verbalizer’ comes in. To find the right words to 1) describe it strategically 2) to get the idea across creatively.

Because in a way, ideas exist in two forms:
The ideas in our head, and the ideas we have to get across.
Between the two stands ‘verbalizing’

My new initiative: The New Verbalizers.

Frank Meeuwsen wrote a great piece about The New Verbalizers on his blog. Hereby the text (in Dutch).

The New Verbalizers beginnen!

Ondanks dat ik al zo’n 10 jaar actief schrijf voor het web vind ik mezelf geen schrijver. Ik ben niet altijd even goed met woorden, kan niet zo snel en puntig uit de hoek komen als menig twitteraar en heb vaak moeite om de juiste termen te vinden. Dat is soms wel eens lastig als je met briefings bezig bent, of met strategische inzichten op papier te brengen. Ellen Bokkinga is al sinds jaar en dag met taal bezig. Zij is typisch iemand die via taal heel goed duidelijk kan maken waar de kern zit van je verhaal en wat je nu eigenlijk bedoelt. Met haar nieuwe project The New Verbalizers wil ze taal weer de juiste plaats geven in het creatief strategische proces.

Een anekdote: Toen ik vorig jaar mijn stap naar zelfstandigheid aankondigde via LinkedIn kreeg ik een prachtige mail van Ellen terug waarin ze heel goed aan me terug gaf wat ik eigenlijk probeerde te zeggen in die LinkedIn mail. Ik las het en dacht: “Ja, zo bedoelde ik het eigenlijk”. Is dat copywriting? Nee, het gaat verder. Ellen heeft dat (uiteraard) zelf ook gezien en is nu een beweging gestart. Een movement, een ideelab, een club waar je je als sympathisant bij kunt aansluiten. The New Verbalizers.

“Language defines“

Op de website kun je een aantal (vertaalde) quotes van me vinden die ik in het laatste gesprek met Ellen heb gezegd. Soms komen er best wel zinnige dingen uit mijn brein, als je het maar in de juiste context zet! Maar Ellen is met haar New Verbalizers voor mij een missende schakel waarvan ik pas doorhad dat ik hem miste toen ze me haar plan vertelde. Ik denk dat Verbalizers een essentiële rol kunnen spelen in het begintraject van een campagne of een concept rondom een merk of product. In het maken van de briefing, bij het opstellen van de debriefing, in het onder woorden brengen van een key-benefit, bij het puntig maken van de strategie en uiteindelijk het opstellen van een creative briefing. Verbalizers kunnen hier, en daarin onderscheiden ze zich van copywriters denk ik, heel duidelijk onder woorden brengen wat je eigenlijk bedoelt. Door de juiste vraag te stellen. Mag ik mezelf even quoten hier?

“Language is essential for the brief. With the right questions you search for the right brief. It has nothing to do with word magic or clever synonyms. It’s plain language to say what we all mean. The one idea we all agree on.”

Daar denk ik dus dat een Verbalizer van enorme waarde kan zijn. Ik hoop binnenkort een keer met Ellen samen te kunnen werken en de kracht van The New Verbalizer in praktijk te kunnen brengen!

This is where a ‘verbalizer’ comes in. To find the right words to 1) describe it strategically 2) to get the idea across creatively.

Because in a way, ideas exist in two forms:
The ideas in our head, and the ideas we have to get across.
Between the two stands ‘verbalizing’

My new initiative: The New Verbalizers.

www.newverbalizers.com

Take a look.

But besides that, I feel that given the context here, we’re talking about those who are capable of identifying the core in a certain issue or matter and have the ability to convey the message that he or she thinks is the core of the issue at hand.

Where can verbalizers add value?

I think -or feel more so, that the meaning of value in our current time is changing. Value is a reasonably subjective term in general, just as quality would be, I mean, try and identify quality.

The value a verbalizer might wish to add to a process is to (within the limited possibility of linguistics), find and identify the core of something in order to make this the center-point of the message that is to be conveyed. This of course can be perceived from a variety of viewpoints. In terms of problem solving, but also in the development of new concepts. In whatever field that might be.

I think the biggest value a verbalizer could add is to guide the conversation back to being and remaining constructive. We find a lot of limiting use of language in our meetings, in our social settings. A more conscious use of language, and the constructive part thereof, could be used to avoid a lot of limitations we, as a societal whole, have put upon ourselves. By using language to enable and support creative processes we can open up a whole new plain of possibilities.

In what way is language part of your work / creative process?

In my life, language is the single most important thing. Although my company focuses on graphic design, language in briefings and concept development is the single most important factor when it comes to being ‘valuable’ for your clients.

Next to that; I love writing, prose, and opinion pieces and (besides Cradle of Design) I do freelance concept development and business strategy. In both cases, language is the tool I have to work with.

Put The New Verbalizers in the context of our time.

When we look at today’s world, the amount of importance that is given to information has never been as big and ever increasing as now.  At the same time, the quantity of this cloud of information is growing rapidly. Using language as a tool (as a part of the whole, as ‘visual communication’ is often ‘faster’) it needs to be able to convey the message fast, sufficient and has to trigger one’s desire to want to know more.

When language does this it’s great, and also, the use of language can make or break the attention span of your audience. Therefore, using language correctly is one of the more important factors of brand-strategy. Especially when looking at the grand scheme of things.

As a creative writer and independent strategic consultant I have worked on digital marketing, advertising projects and design assignments. Please take a look at my Portfolio.

I’m a passionate real-life observer, always on the lookout for inspiration and an understanding of the way people do things. I feel completely at ease in the 21st century and I’d like to share, connect, meet and greet nice people online & offline. I get excited about art, language, new skool thoughts, lifestyle, tourist traps, technology, design and cities.

Just a few wishes for the next couple of years:

1_ Developing more great concepts, stories and ideas.
2_ Starting a new form of education where ‘verbalizers’ are learning to apply language as ‘problem solver’. Because you have to learn to describe a problem first before you can fix it. It’s a solution driven eduction with a bigger picture view on entrepreneurship.
3_ Taking the initiative and providing inspiration to entrepreneurs to define their identity.
4_ Being part of product development projects where strategic and creative language is needed to completely understand the outcome/goal.

Photo: Tessa Posthuma de Boer

With a verbalizer in your team, the start is slower,  but it will help you along the process, since all the steps are more ‘formulated’. You can give more grounded feedback to your client: “Are we agreed on this? If not, we go one step back, not all the way back.

Every step – from the initial briefing till the execution – is the responsiblitity of the client. You only start the creative process of the making if every argument was agreed on.

Language is essential for the brief. With the right questions you search for the right brief. It has nothing to do with word magic or clever synonyms. It’s plain language to say what we all mean. The one idea we all agree on.

The word ‘copywriter’ has a operational connotation. It’s about writing, ‘I write copy’. For me, the whole thinking process is not involved in the term copywriter.”

Photo Frank Meeuwsen by Guido van Nispen