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Conscious Communication, Inclusion, Accessibility, Cultural Safety

A colleague received a work email asking her to “hold the fort” while a supervisor was away. Instead of feeling good about being trusted with increased responsibility, she felt a pang of sadness remembering her Métis grandmother, who had lived at a Hudson’s Bay Company fort and had been given a rifle to keep out the other Indigenous folks.

Another colleague received a report with a chart of project deliverables. He was concerned that every deliverable was flagged with the same urgent status. Then he realized they were colour-coded with reds and greens, and he is red-green colour blind.

Our audiences have a range of responses to the words and presentations we choose to communicate with. Sometimes, our messages are overshadowed; sometimes, they’re lost entirely. Although some reactions are beyond our control, many audience responses can be anticipated and avoided when we make conscious decisions about our communication.

Many audience responses can be anticipated and avoided when we make conscious decisions about our communication

We can recognize our audience’s varied needs and consider who we might unknowingly include and exclude from our choices. Then, we adjust accordingly to achieve inclusive, accessible and culturally safe communication that welcomes a greater audience and builds trust with readers.

Don’t worry. This isn’t about censoring our messages or adhering to strict checklists. The key to conscious communication is identifying our intentions, identifying our audience, and then deciding on the best approach to communicate our intentions clearly to that audience. Our choices will have consequences, so it is worth taking this extra time for reflection and thoughtful decision-making. Here is how to reach more of your audience through inclusive, accessible and culturally safe content.

Make conscious communication choices

Think about your audience. Who is your message for, and how do you want to communicate to them? When planning your content strategy, ask yourself these questions:

  • Audience: Who do I want my message to reach?
  • Intention: What do I want to achieve with this message?
  • Language: How will I say it?
  • Response: What will impact my audience’s response to the language and presentation I use, regardless of my intentions? Consider historical, cultural and personal contexts.

Thinking about the possible reactions individuals might have helps us understand who is privileged or excluded by our choices. With this knowledge, we can adjust our approach to be more welcoming to everyone in our target audience. The Conscious Style Guide is a great resource to help guide your reflections.

Communicate for inclusion

Inclusive language helps readers feel recognized and welcomed, which invites them to engage further with your content. It is respectful and non-hierarchical and can include consideration of many aspects of identity, such as race, national origin, education level, age, gender, sexual orientation, ability and more. Although there is no single checklist for inclusion, these tips will get you started creating inclusive and engaging content:

1. Speak to your audience the way they speak about themselves.

  • For example, find out if they prefer person-first or identity-first language (“a person with a disability” vs. “a disabled person”).

2. Challenge the gender binary mindset and avoid unnecessarily gendered language.

  • Use the third person they as both a singular and plural non-gender-specific pronoun.

3. Avoid ableist language.

  • Watch out for describing things as crazy or crippling or using phrases like turn a blind eye.

4. Consider intersectionality. Identity is complex and multidimensional and can’t be separated.

  • Don’t rely on single stereotypes. Use real-world examples of people and include multiple facets of their identities.

There are many references available for inclusive language, including Conscious Style Guide, APA Bias Free Language, Disability Language Style Guide and Trans Journalists Association Style Guide.

Communicate for accessibility

You’re most effective when your message reaches as much of your audience as possible. Accessibility is about removing barriers that would prevent people from being able to engage with your content. Communicators on the web need to ensure content is perceivable and understandable, which means making presentation and language choices that allow the audience to find and use content clearly in a variety of ways.

1. Use accessible content presentation, such as:

  • Provide text alternatives for non-text content like images.
  • Use colours with good contrast and don’t rely on colour alone to distinguish content (e.g., make links underlined in addition to colour-coded).
  • Structure content clearly with headings and navigation.
  • Provide captions, text transcriptions and audio descriptions of multimedia content.

2. Use accessible language, such as:

  • Use plain language.
  • Avoid jargon and define complex words.
  • Group text into short sentences and paragraphs.
  • Be straightforward and transparent.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) offer principles and strategies for achieving basic standards of accessibility. Google also has a simple guide to accessible writing.

Communicate for cultural safety and reconciliation

You’ll need to consider the cultural contexts of your audience to meet their needs and expectations safely. Cultural safety recognizes and respects the cultural identities of others and helps create comfortable and welcoming spaces. Taking time to ensure the cultural safety of Indigenous people can be one way to commit to reconciliation.

1. Reflect on your culture, values, and beliefs about others.

2. Avoid culturally specific references like holidays, cultural practices or sports.

3. Learn about the Indigenous communities where you live and work. Use land acknowledgements to recognize the people whose traditional territory you are on.

4. Use the names and terminology preferred by Indigenous communities.

5. Replace colonial terms with inclusive language (“hold the fort” can become “take the lead”).

Native Land can help you identify the territory or treaty you are on. First Peoples Map provides the names and pronunciations of First Nations communities in B.C. Reporting in Indigenous Communities Guide has advice on researching and sharing stories about Indigenous people.

Stay curious and open to feedback

We all make mistakes, and there will be missteps along the way. Conscious communication is a mindset that will take time to practice and integrate. To grow your communication approach in a meaningful way, the most important things to remember are:

1. Be open and curious.

  • Don’t let fear of saying something wrong stop you from trying. It’s okay to make mistakes if you’re open to learning from them.

2. Plan for criticism and listen with empathy.

  • Try not to feel defensive if someone offers a correction. Listen to the explanation they provide and use that information to inform your future choices.

Language is always changing, and we need to change with it. Join the conversations your audiences are having to stay current on preferred terminologies, the latest tools and leading research. Watch for more Moonraker PR Insights as we share thoughts and ideas about conscious communication for specific industries.

Sticky notes with words diversity, equality, and inclusion, on wooden table