Sergey Spetschinsky, Ph.D

Advanced Writing & Thinking Services

I am a Berlin-based writer, structural editor, and thinking and writing coach
with a philosophy PhD and 10+ years of professional experience,
working across English, French, and German.

By trade, I am a narration, text, and thought expert: I design and restructure intellectual and narrative systems. My role is to ensure that ideas, arguments, stories, and words unfold in a structurally sound and compelling way.

But at heart, I am a thinking partner for hire, and flexibility is my core asset. Taking into account your specific goals, context, needs, and challenges, I adopt your perspective, and do my best to help you solve the problems at hand. Remaining practical while sorting through complexity is my compass.

I love meeting people. Each collaboration comes with a new set of stories that I get to discover, and that is what keeps me interested in my work.

I see intellectual caregiving as the core of my work: I treat ideas and words as beings in need of nurturance, so as they can thrive. And that is why I approach every new project with a simple question:

"How can I help?"

What Do I Do?

Writing

I write and ghostwrite at all stages and for all types of projects:

  • Reports, White Papers, and Policy Briefs
  • Strategic and Funding Proposals (concept notes, program designs)
  • Institutional Narratives and Strategic Positioning Papers
  • Annual, Evaluation, and Impact Reports
  • Thought-Leadership Articles and Position Papers
  • Speeches, Keynotes, and Public Interventions (including delivery support)
  • Essays, Op-Eds, and Commentaries
  • Books, Book Chapters, and Long-Form Nonfiction
  • Research Papers, Academic Articles, and Scholarly Adaptations
  • Manifestos, Vision, and Mission Statements
  • Public Understanding and Civic Communications
  • Curatorial, Exhibition, and Program Texts
  • Intellectual Profiles, Biographies, and Interviews
  • Multi-Author Harmonization and Editorial Direction (unifying volumes and reports)
  • Synthesis Reviews and State-of-the-Field Overviews
Structural Editing

I specialize in the high-level editing of content- and idea-driven texts.

  • Developmental Editing: designing and rethinking the conceptual and narrative architecture of a text.
  • Editorial Direction: accompanying authors or teams through conceptual clarification, structural reorganization, and message alignment.
  • Substantive / COBE Editing: strengthening structure, logic, and tone for coherence and impact.
  • Deep Editing: refining expression, rhythm, and voice to make the text both elegant and alive.

I take on projects at every stage of completion—from vague ideas and scattered notes to near-finished manuscripts that need unifying, or overwritten texts that need cutting and synthesis.

Coaching for Writing

I help writers, researchers, and professionals develop their writing skills and overcome common obstacles like writer's block, procrastination, overwhelm and perfectionism. Through structured coaching sessions, I help you accomplish your writing goals and become a stronger, more confident writer.

Thought Coaching

I accompany clients in moments of conceptual or strategic uncertainty.

This means helping you clarify:

  • Your goals: what you want and need, what your objectives are, what they realistically need to be and how to prioritize between them
  • Your thinking: what you think, what you do know, what you do not know yet and what you still need to understand
  • Your communication: what you want to say, to whom, and how to say it
  • Your actions: what you need to do, in what order and how you could do it

My facilitation involves:

  • structured dialogue and Socratic questioning
  • perspective and scale shifting
  • creative brainstorming and argument mooting
  • critical thinking and devil's-advocate method
  • awareness practice and emotional decompression
  • non-violent communication based engagement and mirroring
  • synthetic writing and reflection
  • synthesis and macro overview
  • multiple scenario planning, path mapping and visualization

What Can I Do For You?

Examples of Services by Industry

Each collaboration begins with attentive listening and ends with a clear, coherent text or plan. In all contexts, I combine writing, editing, and strategic facilitation: helping clients think, decide, and communicate more clearly.

For Think Tanks, Research Institutes & Policy Centers
  • Policy and position papers, reports and policy briefs
  • Multi-format outputs from research — Adapting analysis for different audiences: briefs for policymakers, op-eds, technical summaries, funder narratives.
  • Internal and external institutional positioning documents
  • Cross content in European and international contexts — Working in English, French, and German for different national and international-level audiences.
  • Institutional facilitation — Defining core messages and communication priorities through structured sessions.
For Universities, Academics & Researchers
  • Grant proposals
  • Research reports, strategic documents, and program documentation
  • Conference proceedings and workshop synthesis
  • Research translation for broader audiences — Adapting research for public policy outreach or communication and engagement.
  • Multi-author publications and editorial support
  • Strategic facilitation for individuals and research units — Running sessions to clarify research identity, goals and collaborative directions.
For Ethics Boards & Science-Policy Organizations
  • Ethics frameworks for emerging technologies
  • Advisory reports and recommendations
  • Cross-institutional research proposals
  • Scenario planning documents
  • Science-policy and public communication — Converting technical research and frameworks into formats for policymakers and broader public understanding.
  • Technological landscape analyses and field reviews
  • Multi-stakeholder and trans-disciplinary facilitation — Running structured sessions with scientists, ethicists, and policymakers.
For Foundations & Stiftungen
  • Impact narratives and reports
  • Theories of change and program frameworks
  • Grantmaking frameworks and funding rationales
  • Strategic documents and positioning materials
  • Multi-stakeholder convening papers
  • Strategic facilitation for leadership
For International & Intergovernmental Organizations
  • Program strategy papers and institutional narratives
  • Policy and guidance documents
  • Multi-office synthesis and harmonization
  • Cross-linguistic adaptation — Working across English, French, and German.
  • Support for speeches and public interventions
  • Strategic facilitation for interdepartmental alignment
For NGOs & Civil Society Organizations
  • Advocacy materials and policy positioning — Translating grassroots work into policy briefs and advocacy documents.
  • Impact narratives, annual reports, and funding proposals
  • Campaign materials and public communications
  • Strategic clarity and mission articulation
  • Multi-stakeholder convening documentation and strategic facilitation
  • Cross-border and multilingual coordination — Working across English, French, and German contexts.
For Consulting Firms & Professional Services
  • Thought leadership articles, white papers, and research reports
  • Client-facing proposals and pitch materials
  • Practice area narratives and positioning
  • Conference presentations and keynote speeches
  • Case studies and project narratives
  • Internal knowledge synthesis — Organizing insights into frameworks.
  • Strategic facilitation for positioning and messaging
For Private Sector & Creative Professionals
  • Thought leadership articles, essays, and white papers
  • Books and book-length manuscripts
  • Company mission, values, and positioning narratives
  • Keynote speeches and conference presentations
  • Strategic storytelling for pivots and transitions
  • Leadership narratives and executive positioning
  • Executive strategic reflection and facilitation
For Cultural & Arts Organizations
  • Exhibition texts and curatorial statements
  • Annual reports, funding proposals, and grant applications
  • Strategic plans and institutional positioning
  • Speeches and public addresses
  • Program documentation and artist materials
  • Cross-linguistic materials and multilingual coordination — Working across English, French, and German.
  • Mission alignment workshops
For Artists, Writers & Independent Thinkers
  • Essays, artist books, and memoirs — Writing, co-developing, or providing developmental editing for book-length projects from concept to manuscript, including structural reorganization and conceptual clarification.
  • Artist statements and portfolio materials
  • Grant applications for creative projects
  • Philosophical and conceptual articulation support — Helping articulate the ideas, themes, and intentions behind artistic or intellectual work.
  • Creative facilitation and project reframing — Running sessions to help clarify artistic direction, resolve creative blocks, or reframe work during transitions.

How Do I Do It?

My Skills
Curiosity & Intellectual Empathy

I am genuinely interested in all people and situations. This allows me to enter fully into your worldview through active listening, curious inquiry, perspective-shifting, and non-violent, outcome-oriented communication. My goal is to understand your ideas and challenges from within, from your own perspective.

Consistency & Systemic Analysis

As a philosophy PhD, I am an intellectual Swiss army knife. My trade is logical, conceptual, and narrative consistency, no matter the field or topic. Systemic analysis and structured scale-shifting (from micro to macro and back) are central parts of my toolkit. I can quickly and flexibly engage with many kinds of intellectual and practical problems, adapting to their specific demands.

Generalist & Transdisciplinary Identity

I am a true generalist with a broad, eclectic culture. I know at least a little about most things and can swiftly gain a general understanding of new issues. My curiosity and years of experience as a writer across many fields make me highly adaptable.

Research Approach

When necessary, I ground writing, discourse, and thought in rigorous fact-checking, evidence-based argumentation, and recognized scientific sources and debates, drawing on my extended experience in academic research.

Style & Storytelling

I tell impactful stories and use a clear, direct, and simple writing style to communicate messages effectively. When required, I shape narratives that connect humanly and persuasively, making ideas resonate emotionally with readers. I aim to produce writing and thought that are simple, clear, and graspable—regardless of topic complexity.

Cosmopolitan Perspective

I draw on my lifelong cross-cultural, expatriate, and multilingual experience to adapt texts and solve problems that are intercultural and multilingual in nature, across English, French, and German.

Bridge Building & Transversal Thinking

I am a transversal thinker: I build bridges across contexts that do not seem to belong together, and that is often how I solve problems. This makes me a transdisciplinary expert, but not only: I am adept at creating meaning through any kind of connection—between fields, disciplines, ideas, stories, problems, perspectives, lived experiences, or people.

What are my Values?

My Code of Ethics
  • I commit to work in service of the client's perspective: my role is to help their ideas, arguments, and projects advance from within their own framework.
  • I commit to trying my best to help.
  • I commit to giving my honest counsel — even when it means challenging aspects of the draft.
  • I follow a strict code of confidentiality.
  • If I find myself unable to help a client effectively, I commit to disclose it upfront, so as to avoid wasting anyone's time or resources.
  • The experienced and critical use of AI tools is a core part of my workflow. It is geared towards improving overall quality by improving speed, enabling me to focus on the areas where my specific expertise is most impactful.
  • I do not take on projects that require advanced technical, mathematical, or specialized legal knowledge which are outside my field of expertise.

Book a Free Consultation

Before committing to any collaboration, let's make sure we're aligned — and that I can genuinely help.

Book a free video call, and we'll talk through what you're working on.

After we meet, I'll send you a short written assessment that includes:

Think of it as a thinking session with a follow-up roadmap — even if we do not end up working together, you'll at least leave with a fresh outside specialist perspective.

Write to me, including a short explanation of the situation at hand, and we will schedule a call.