👋 Hello
My name's Giles. I help organisations communicate more like humans do: briefly, clearly, creatively.
email: giles (at) usethehumanvoice.com
phone: 07939 127917
Simplifying the language of policy
Helped the Policy Accelerator team at the United Nations Capital Development Fund to apply agile ways of working to their content and communication. Find out more.
Content, comms and clarity
Consulting, coaching and editorial support for the team at the EdTech Hub, a global non-profit research partnership. Read more in this blog post.
Clearer internal comms
Worked with the Service Transformation team at Essex County Council to help them clarify and explain their offer to colleagues and peers.
Clear corporate positions
I helped Public Digital write set of corporate position statements that actually mean something. Read a blog post about this project.
How to work in the open
Created a 1-day seminar on working in the open, in collaboration with Content Design London.
Shorter, clearer content
Worked with the I'm a Scientist team to focus content on user needs, and revamp the website when coronavirus-related demand was surging.
Testimonials
“If you need words and/or someone to steer the creation of words, hire Giles soonest. He’s the best.” – Russell Davies
“I think Use the human voice was probably the best money Cydea spent last year.” – Robin Oldham
“The great thing about Giles is that he has lasting impact. I still see echoes of Giles in good @gdsteam behaviours years after he left, and the people he worked with have taken those lessons with them even after they moved on as well. A genuinely transformative person.” – Simon Everest
“Giles does words, ideas, teams, culture ++” – Rod McClaren
“Hiring Giles is a good investment, as both I and the I’m A Scientist team would attest.” – Shane McCracken
“Giles is a genius with words, making complicated stuff easy to understand.” – Tom Loosemore
“If you need someone who writes like a dream and who is both brilliant and a complete joy to work with: hire Giles immediately.” – Janet Hughes
“Hire Giles, you won’t regret it. Storyteller, creative leader, gentleman and scholar. He was an essential person in making GDS so famous.” – Tom Dolan
“If I ever get a dog, I’m calling him Giles Turnbull.” – Maggie Mason
Creative video direction
Helped plan, produce, direct and edit a series of short videos to help Public Digital sum up an event for people who couldn't attend.
A guide to agile communication
Wrote a beginners guide for agile comms in Defra, as part of a longer engagement helping to influence digital culture and thinking.
Content Design
Edited this profession-defining book by Sarah Richards, founder of Content Design London.
It's ok to say what's ok
A poster written with the Creative Team at the Government Digital Service, not long before I left. It was subsequently exhibited at the 2017 Vienna Biennale, and has had lasting impact elsewhere. Poster design by Sonia Turcotte.
A GDS story
A history of the Government Digital Service, written for the internet, and made out of blog posts and archives and screenshots.
Selected clients
Public sector: Defra, London Borough of Hackney, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, HM Land Registry, Department of Work and Pensions, Department for Education, Essex County Council
Private sector: Content Design London, Juno, Bulb, Public Digital, Cydea, Caution Your Blast, Difference Digital
Non-profit: Doteveryone, Comic Relief, I’m A Scientist, EdTech Hub, UNCDF Policy Accelerator