Philip Yaffe has more than 40 years of experience in journalism and marketing communication.

A reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal in Los Angeles, he was subsequently hired by Burson-Marsteller (financial/industrial public relations agency). In 1974 he was transferred to Brussels, Belgium, where he has lived ever since. During his four-decade career, he has also been Marketing Communication Director - Europe for two major international industrial companies, creative director of a specialised medical marketing communication agency, and founding partner of his own specialised marketing communication agency.

Now semi-retired, Philip serves as a marketing communication consultant to industrial/scientific companies both in Belgium and abroad. He also teaches courses and runs one-day seminars to help middle- and upper-level executives improve their written and oral presentation skills. Because most of his clients speak English as a second or third language, his approach to writing and public speaking is somewhat different from other communication coaches. He himself speaks fluent French and has working knowledge of Dutch, German and Spanish.

In 2006, he wrote a book titled In the "I" of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional. This slim volume distils his communication insights into a short theoretical section and numerous appendices of pertinent examples and exercises.

"The premise of the book," Philip says, "is that many otherwise intelligent, competent people writing and speak poorly because school seldom teach the true essence of these vital disciplines." In the "I" of the Storm redefines vague concepts such as "clarity" and "conciseness" with almost mathematical rigour. This in turn leads to formulas that allow you to be certain that your written and oral materials actually are clear and concise.

Philip's book is available from Amazon (www.amazon.com).