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Unlocking the Power of English

Premium English Consulting
Dr. Patrick Baker

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Eloquent and Effective Communication
Premium Language Services
Academic Services
My Clients
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You never get a second chance to make a first impression

English is the international language - no matter where you work

With me as your Premium English Consultant, you’ll communicate properly, eloquently, and convincingly. Like a personal trainer helps get your body in shape, I’ll get your written and spoken English ready to shine on the international stage.

A native speaker of English, I’ve been living between various languages and cultures for 20 years. Berlin, New York and Rome, Boston, Florence and the northern German countryside – these are the places I’ve built my career and raised my children. Thriving in foreign countries, bridging cultural differences, and finding the right words is what my life is all about. This experience sensitizes me to the needs of my clients, who must express themselves in foreign languages, deal with foreign audiences, and find success in foreign countries. With passion, professionalism, and precision, I’ll help you unlock the power of English.

Services

Eloquent and Effective Communication
Your personal English trainer,
on site or on Skype

The Spoken Word

Do you need to give a speech, launch a product, or give a presentation? Perhaps you feel uneasy talking on the phone, participating in online meetings, or making small talk. In my individual training sessions and workshops, you’ll learn to perform comfortably, confidently, and convincingly.

Here’s what we’ll focus on • proper pronunciation
• making your words interesting
• tailoring your message to the culture of the audience
• performance (interaction with the audience, eye contact, clarity, speed and tempo, etc.)
• personalized training available for special situations like interviews, moderating events and discussions, press conferences, etc.

The Written Word

Whether it’s a short email or a lengthy strategy paper, your professionalism and expertise will shine through in the international language of English. Write or improve specific texts in private consultation with me, or sharpen your skills in my writing workshops (available for both individuals and groups).

Services include • assistance writing and improving texts, with a focus on precision, word choice, audience expectations, and rhetoric
• mastering short communication (email, memos, synopses, exposés, etc.)
• improvement of general writing skills

Premium Language Services
More than just translation

Content Development

Are you developing content that is intended for an English-speaking audience? Don’t wait until you’re done with your part to then hire a translator or editor. As your Premium English Consultant, I’ll accompany the creative process from beginning to end, making sure the final English version expresses the exact content and feeling you want to communicate.

Content development consulting is indispensable when • you’re developing content in a language other than English; the English version develops organically and fluently in parallel with the original and does not need to be translated
• you’re developing content exclusively or primarily in English
• you want your English content written by someone who is invested in your project
• precision and consistency across a wide range of texts is required; ideal for complex, elaborate projects like (advertising) campaigns and exhibitions
• you’re developing a lexicon of terms or a style sheet to be applied in the future by non-native speakers and translators

Ghostwriting

Don’t want to go through the trouble of writing a text or a speech yourself? No problem. Give me the essential information you’d like to communicate, and I’ll take care of it for you - in your name, of course.

Live support

I’ll stand by your side as a personal English advisor while you engage in an international context.

Live support includes • accompanying you to meetings, negotiations, trade fairs, conferences, etc.
• providing immediate summaries and explanations
• preparation and strategizing for specific communication situations
• simultaneous interpreting

Premium Translation and Editing

Are you working on a special project? Does your text deserve to look as good in English as it does in the original? Should the audience not even suspect that it is reading a translation? Then opt for premium service (also available for film and television subtitles).

Premium service includes • reliable, eloquent translations at the highest level of quality
• focus on linguistic register, emotional messaging, context, and audience expectations
• background research
• style and copy editing

Optimization and Quality Control

Have you already had a text written or translated but are unsure of the quality? Do you need "Translationese" or "Denglisch" turned into real, fluent English? I’ll check what you’ve got and enhance the quality, making sure the content and the form are what you want.

Details • optimization and rewriting of texts
• review and improvement of translations
• express service available upon request

Expert Assessment

Do you need help evaluating a candidate’s knowledge of English before making a hire? Are you uncertain if a text in English meets your quality standards? I’ll provide you with an expert assessment clarifying whether a sample translation is up to snuff, a prospective employee can deal with clients in English, or a text should be pubished in its current form.

Academic Services
Excellence in English

Internationalization

If you want your research to be read beyond the confines of your native language, you have to make it available in English. I’ll help you get your work the recognition it deserves outside of your own country, so that you can make a difference around the world.

Rely on my vast experience and expertise to • prepare lectures, conference papers, articles, book chapters, monographs, and edited volumes
• optimize content and language
• translate and adapt existing research
• develop new projects designed for an international audience
• write grant applications (for individuals and large-scale research projects)
• plan international conferences, research projects, and other academic partnerships across borders

Publications

Serious research that gains global recognition is usually published by leading Anglo-Saxon university presses and journals. As your Premium English Consultant, I’ll pilot you through these unfamiliar waters so that your research can reach the widest possible audience.

I will help you • find the right medium for your research, publication, and professional goals
• communicate smoothly with acquiring editors and academic editors
• optimize your manuscript before submitting it to a press or journal
• successfully navigate the peer review process
• effectively deal with requests for revision

Workshop: Communicating Expert Knowledge in English

This single- or multi-day seminar provides training in the art of communicating expert knowledge in English. Participants deepen their understanding of what makes academic texts engaging and convincing, and what keeps an academic audience interested in a lecture. They also have the opportunity to workshop a current conference paper, article, or similar work-in-progress in group and individual sessions. The seminar is designed for both early-career scholars and established academics.

The workshop focuses on • structure, keywords, and audience expectations
• performance
• preparation for international conferences and lectures
• adaptation to the norms of the target audience

My Clients

I work with
foundations, media organizations, museums, publishers, universities, and other public institutions and private companies.

Clients • Aarhus University, School of Culture and Society
• Babelfisch Translations
• Berliner Zentrum Industriekultur
• Blum|Fischer|Rumohr
• Brepols
• Brill
• Cambridge University Press
• De Gruyter
• Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin
• FiBS – Forschungsinstitut für Bildungs- und Sozialökonomie
• Harvard University Press
• Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• International Association for Neo-Latin Studies
• Israel Science Foundation
• Leibniz-Institut für Europäische Geschichte (Mainz)
• No Limits Media
• Princeton University Press
• Renaissance Society of America
• Salto Film UG
• Social Science Research Council of Canada
• Sonderforschungsbereich 948 "Helden - Heroisierung - Heroismen" (Universität Freiburg)
• Texas A&M University
• VSI Berlin
• ZDF Digital

About Me

Born in 1976 in Chicago (USA)
Ph.D., married, two children, resident in Berlin

Whether German or Italian, Latin or Ancient Greek – my passion is foreign languages. After completing a B.A. in history and classical archaeology at the University of Michigan, I taught English at Berlitz in Berlin, led educational tours in Tuscany, and assisted the General Editor of the I Tatti Renaissance Library. I studied philosophy at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and received a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University (2009). Since then I have taught medieval history and literature and written about the Italian Renaissance, most recently at Humboldt University of Berlin. At the same time I have built up an extensive portfolio as a translator, editor, and language consultant. In 2018 I started my own business as a Premium English Consultant.

Go here for information about my academic career.

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