Vox Populi

VOX POPULI

(/ˌvɒks ˈpɒpjuːli) Latin: "the voice of the people"

Speechwriting and presentation

Our trainees write speeches for the UN Secretary General, politicians in Westminster, campaign groups & tech innovators - and for weddings & funerals.
We also work with schools to empower those entering further education via our not-for-profit sister company.

Effective communications

Voice coaching, confidence building and performance skills for business and academic presentations and TED Talks...and everyday life situations, in the workplace, in relationships and in education - what politicians refer to as 'oracy'.

Selling yourself

From selling yourself in a CV or job interview to product launches and movie pitches. Our trainees have won business awards and launched successful startups of market-leading companies, and won places at leading universities.

Personal politics - empowerment

Facing tough questions and opponents - how to handle hostile situations with aplomb. We are also specialists in empowerment, especially for women working in a male-dominated environment and those from less advantaged backgrounds via Vox Populi Educational CIC.

NON-PROFIT

Authenticity and focus in messaging is paramount in the non-profit sector, whether campaigning or fundraising.
Your relationship with the public, via TV, radio, print or new media is largely mediated by others: it's essential to control exposure when in the public eye.
We've worked with youth charities, knife-crime campaigners, human rights lawyers and professional bodies on strategy and image building, confidence and creativity.
Having covered crises and scandals internationally our journalists know how to maximise impact and solve communication problems. We bring 15 years of experience teaching diplomacy and negotiation to professionals studying at SOAS and informed by the positive and reflexive skills employed at the UN. These same skills are highly transferrable to everyday operations for all organisations working to make the world a better place. .

CORPORATE

We believe clarity, coherence and creativity are keys to success - successful messaging improves efficiency.
Using the metaphor of a TV Newsroom (with real BBC presenters, journalists and editors) we examine key messaging strategies in marketing, sales, leadership and communications. The focus is on personal and product branding, strategy, projecting confidence, presentation and creativity - our trainers work with top UK business schools, creative industries and entrepreneurs.
Members of our team also worked with the BBC's creative facilitation team across the organisation enabling executives and their teams to revitalise their creative skills: as leaders and crafters of leading brands.
From product pitches to TED talks to shareholder meetings our proven track record enables those in the spotlight to achieve tangible results.

PERSONAL

Personal success depends on emotional and intellectual skills that can be learnt from scratch. Integrating life coaching and practical skill training, our modules boost confidence, efficiency and creativity for real life situations.
Identifying your natural style boosts confidence and helps trainees stand out in an increasingly bland world governed by algorithms.
Advocacy and negotiation skills integrate with our highly successful CV clinic and tough interview training. This course has been a successful launchpad for career change or consolidation and improved personal relationships. For those anxious about public speaking or face-to-face communication, finding a personalised solution can transform your life.
Our most successful trainee went from an extremely shy research scientist to the House of Lords, via fronting popular TV shows.
Less dramatic transformations also available.

ACADEMIC

Our sister company, Vox Populi Educational, is a not-for-profit, community interest company working with schools and universities to empower students by gaining the practical skills they need to succeed in the real world; communication skills and confidence are essential to gaining jobs, apprenticeships and university places.
Our modular workshops build on personal branding, persuasion and politics - trainees gain transferable skills they can immediately use in their academic work: derived from real life practice in politics, media and diplomacy.
From writing successful CVs to delivering presentations and arguments, our sessions are a road-tested crash course in oracy - delivered by actors, media professionals and academics.
Our unique speechwriting course enables students to achieve high level writing and performance skills within hours.

HOW WE WORK

We specialise in short courses - most of our group sessions last 3 hours (which can be split into shorter sessions), though some can be bolted together to fill a day or weekend. We also do one-to-one coaching and online sessions. We work in total confidence and operate a secure shredding system for all identifiable material.

Every course is tailored to the individual - we don't have an archetype of a good speaker or presenter. An important part of our ethos is analysing your individual style and enabling you to use it better: faking someone else's diminishes your impact.

There are many types of speaker, including very nervous ones, visual or auditory led, soft and hard styles (to use a kung-fu analogy). each with life experiences that add veracity to your communications. Identifying what you do well, and what you want to improve, is the start of every journey.

Public speaking and copywriting belong to a shared tradition, one being fast eroded by technology. You don't need just to beat your rivals, but the computers they are using: we have built in ways to excel in a future where everyone can be good.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

"Your workshop was truly a blast! You would be pleased to hear that I am now applying what you taught me writing open letters, pledges, speeches, and questions for MPs and Peers in Parliament representing campaigns with good causes. I probably wouldn’t have passed my interviews without your coaching!" [ML]

"I just want to say thank you for your lessons. I think I didn’t realise how important all the transferable skills you were teaching, until I was put in a position where they all came into play. Your classes were the classes I wasn’t sure I needed - it turns out they were the most valuable lessons at SOAS." [HZ]

"Your (CV) analysis was awesome and very thorough. was initially afraid to open it as I feared getting roasted but that was not the case really thank you for the positive supportive suggestions/critiques." [VH]

"I used some of the tough-interview techniques in an interview for a Civil Service internship and got an offer! Your teaching over the course was hugely valuable! " [AW]

"I often think back to the wonderful sessions you ran .. they definitely helped prepare me for what was to come, and I thought of you both every time I went to the BBC to film / record for radio " [SB - Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year winner]

"I really enjoyed the Tough Job Interview session - in fact this whole course has been fantastic.....more than I could have ever hoped for!" [V A-S]

" A great set of workshops that have really helped me, but also go a long way in distinguishing the course against other universities." [AR]

CORE TEAM

Dr Simon Crutchley

CEO & Founder

Simon studied stage direction at Theatr Clwyd, politics at Cambridge, medicine at Oxford then worked as a medical researcher before joining the BBC as a trainee. He worked in departments as diverse as the Natural History Unit, Religion and Light Entertainment ending up as News Output Editor for BBC World TV, training a generation of presenters, reporters and journalists. He's lectured in journalism at Goldsmiths and taught diplomacy at SOAS, founding Vox Populi in 2007. The company has worked with over 2000 clients: charities, schools, universities, campaign and political groups as well as tech startups.

Julia Taylor

Neuro-linguistics, narrative, performance

Julia studied Law at King’s College London, before qualifying and working as a teacher. She went on to train and work as an actress, appearing in many lead roles for the next 15 years, including the BBC's 'Round the Horne', while simultaneously running creative communication workshops on senior executive and masters' programmes at London Business School, Oxford and SOAS universities, amongst others. She has over 25 years’ experience of working with clients from the banking, legal, communications and leisure industries..

Martine Croxall

Broadcast consultant, presentation skills trainer

Martine is an international journalist and has been presenting on the BBC News Channel since 2000, interviewing world leaders and covering top stories such as the Paris bombings and the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. She studied Geography at the University of Leeds and worked at local news outlets, such as BBC Radio Leicester and Newsroom Southeast, before becoming the face of BBC World TV's Asia/US strand. In 2022 she won the BBC's celebrity Mastermind contest. Martine is a campaigner for women's issues within the BBC, working with the National Union of Journalists to achieve pay parity for male and female news staff .

Karen Glossop

Speech, narrative, performance

Karen read classics at Cambridge and trained as an actor at Mountview Academy. She leads workshops in influencing and public speaking for Executive Education at Saïd Business School, Oxford University. She is a Consultant at the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Bayes Business School. Her diverse range of clients include the International Rescue Committee, Fluor, TuneIn Radio, Flag Communications, Paul Hastings LLP and the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Lawrence Pollard

Broadcast: radio lead, interviewing, journalism

Lawrence is a well-known international broadcaster. For millions of listeners he was the voice of the BBC World Service's morning news show and has interviewed presidents, politicians, poets as well as normal people caught up in the maelstrom of the news agenda from Ougadougou to Las Vegas. He read English at Oxford and was for many years the BBC's culture correspondent, working in China, Africa and around Europe. He has taught at London's School of Oriental and African Studies as well as with Vox Populi's schools programme