We are a friendly team of self-confessed word nerds
We also work with a network of brilliant copywriters and trainers.
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Neil's been on a blah-banishing mission since 2011, when he co-founded the company. Since then, he's been helping organisations like Barclaycard, BT and EE to change for good with the power of words.
Neil’s also a judge at the D&AD and the UK Complaint Handling Awards, and a speaker at the Collaboration Network.
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Stacey’s been bringing her cool, calm and collected approach to managing projects with many moving parts to The First Word since 2016. From campaign copy to coaching, tone of voice development to digital learning, she’s made sure our clients like the British Library, Laithwaites and the Scottish Government continue to love our work.
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Lucy is our lead writer and a specialist at making complex writing clear, compassionate and customer friendly. She has lots of experience writing for vulnerable customers and creating accessible communications and guidance for brands like Barnardo’s, Mencap and the Department of Health and Social Care.
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Lauran is our “awesome trainer” (as coined by our training delegates) and our socials superstar. She has years of experience designing and delivering effective, impactful (and fun!) training for clients like HMRC, Allianz and Vitality, who regularly rate her sessions 5/5.
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Sam is our friendly face on the frontline and manages our projects from brief to delivery. She works closely with our clients to keep everything running like clockwork – giving your team a friendly nudge if she needs to.
Our values are what make us First Worders. If you work with us, this is exactly what you can expect.
We’re all human
We always put ourselves in other people’s shoes. We listen so we understand what the real issues are and we don’t make assumptions. We’re open, understanding and interested in people. This helps us face challenges in a positive way, make connections with people and build respectful partnerships.
We do the right thing
We’re upfront and open with each other and our clients. We’re not afraid to say no or disagree if we think something won’t work. We do this because it helps us do the best job. We never hide problems or mistakes. By being upfront with each other, we put things right together.
We’re bold
We help people change the way they think and feel at work – not just the way they write. And you don't make these kinds of changes by being timid. So we take a bold approach to cut through the blah, bull and bunkum. And we do the same for our own work. We don’t accept that things are right just because they’ve always been done that way. We like to keep things fresh and interesting. Our best work often comes from questioning the norm and having fun.