
I’m Marlies, a woman on a mission to inspire people and organisations to build a genuine connection through the power of clear and inclusive communication.
I use training, advice, and practical hands-on work to give you more insight into your communication efforts so you can successfully increase its effectiveness.
My approach is interactive, with a focus on sustainable solutions and results.
Through my work, I want to contribute to a world where everyone understands, respects and builds on each other’s different perspectives. I believe that by digging deeper and going beyond cultural conditioning, it’s possible to create real connections and a better world.
My themes? Diversity & inclusion, climate justice and human rights.
Are you curious about what we can build together? Let’s grab a (virtual) coffee!

Work with me
Storytelling & writing
Do you want to make your communication more effective and inclusive? In a way that your audience fully identifies with your message? Your solution could be storytelling! Curious how?
Communications advice
Are you using a one-size-fits-all approach in your communication? Then your target audience may find it difficult to identify with your message. But no worries, I can help you out.
Communications training
Are you looking for insights into different communication needs and the skills to address these positively? Cool, I can train and coach you to communicate inclusively in diverse situations.

I already work(ed) with

Blog

Inclusive communication: a bridge to connection in a super-diverse world
It’s the late 1990s, and I’m studying at the School of Journalism. My dream? To travel the world as a travel journalist. So I add the course ‘Intercultural Communication’ to my curriculum. There, I learn about cultural differences…

Want to work on inclusion? Changing your language could be a starting point
‘Where you from?’ sounds like an innocent question, right? However, not for Andrea. She was born and raised in the city of Leiden in the Netherlands. But her interrogators, mostly strangers, rarely seem to be satisfied with…

The tattoo on my ankle blurry, the changes in my life razor-sharp
It lasted two and a half years. Two and a half long, uncomfortable years. At first, I showed no symptoms. But after a few weeks, I started to feel under the weather. Out of place. Lost. Disoriented. As if I had come home in the…