Of course, you’ve spotted where Rob’s title comes from: our good friend Jean Baptiste Colbert, a French finance minister under Louis XIV, “the art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers with the least amount of hissing.” Worry not, Rob won’t be reviewing the salt tax or other delights of seventeenth century French taxation. Rob will begin with a hypothetical company and how it is taxed by itself. Then he’ll describe what happens as it grows and starts to form a group, first domestically then internationally, what facilities and arrangements it can use to optimise its tax situation, and how it interacts with the tax authorities. No need to hiss when Rob does the talking. Or to lose feathers. Rob spent three years working as an in-house translator for Meijburg & Co, where the translators and legal editors were part of the Vaktechniek department and worked closely with its tax lawyers. As a freelancer, he’s translated hundreds of tax texts for firms such as Meijburg, DLA Piper and Houthoff.

On infographics …. and writing ‘Due to popular demand’ the evening will be dedicated to infographics. How they have invaded our writing lives, what we should know about them and what we can do with them. We are happy to announce that guest speaker Joost Bakker will be revealing how he fulfills his promise to clients that they: “Can be sure [their] complex messages are translated into compelling and clear visuals of the highest standard that are understood by [their] audience.”

The topic of the meeting is "Levels of Editing”. Having known each other for some time - and passed on clients to one another - freelance editors Kumar Jamdagni and Sally Hill are well aware that they do not always change the same things. But they are also aware that clear communication with the client is essential so that the client knows what to expect in terms of the level of editing provided. Before the meeting, Kumar and Sally will edit a 300-word text. At the meeting they will compare their edits and hear from other SENSE members whether or not they agree (e.g. why would you (not) change something? are the changes justified?). The text will of course also be made available to anyone else who wants to have a go beforehand, but preparation is not compulsory. Attendance is free of charge to SENSE members and includes coffee and tea. If you wish to attend, please register above.

Teaching students how to speak a language properly, as opposed to writing it, can be quite challenging. To begin with, there are so many approaches to the subject that it can be difficult to make the right choice. Additionally, speaking is a very public matter, and the teacher often has to deal with students’ embarrassment and insecurities. There are foreign university students who have a better grasp of writing than of speaking, and they require extra support in learning to communicate their ideas verbally. This is especially true of students from some Asian countries. At this SENSE Ed meeting, we are pleased to be able, for the first time, to present our topic in the form of a panel discussion. Michelle Mellion, Iris Maher and Tom Johnston will be on hand to talk about their experiences and offer tips and advice. All of them are long-time members of SENSE with wide experience in teaching spoken English in a variety of educational settings, so it should be an instructive and entertaining afternoon. Please register directly for the event on the SENSE website if you plan to attend. I look forward to seeing many of you on 25 May.

Topic: "Flipped Classroom Teaching"

There is a short text to prepare if you have time, from a book about improving our future.