Hello, everyone. My name is Joanne Lockwood and I am your host for the Inclusion Bites podcast. In this series, I have interviewed a number of amazing people and simply had a conversation around the subject of inclusion, belonging and generally making the world a better place for everyone to thrive. Like to join me in the future? Then please do drop me a line to Joe Lockwood at m dot co UK that's seechangehappen co UK. You can catch up with all of the previous shows on itunes, Spotify and the usual places. So plug in your headphones, grab a decaf and let's get going. Today is Episode 84 with the title Unlocking Inclusive Communications. And I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome Suzanne Worthheim.
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Unlocking Inclusive Communications
The Inclusion Bites Podcast
Unlocking Inclusive Communications
JL
Speaker
Joanne Lockwood
SW
Speaker
Suzanne Wertheim
05:06 Lack of resources bothered me for long. 08:37 Care, feedback, prep work for successful conversations.
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Highlights
“I think the key thing for me is you actually care about how the other person's going to feel when you talk to them.”
“I think that a combination of caring enough, be open to critical feedback to fix mistakes in the moment and doing some prep work. If you can do those three, then you can have a successful conversation with anybody.”
“Every person in a wheelchair, every wheelchair user that I've talked with or read things by or heard things by, they absolutely have no interest in explaining to you why they are in a wheelchair.”
“I was talking to somebody who is non binary and they have a manager who can't figure out pronouns at this point, like figure it out, right? But so in early stages we understand and as a linguist, I'll tell you that pronouns are different from other words and language and we store them in our brain differently and they're grammar words.”
“I've just systematically misgendered myself four times in this speech, but it didn't make sense to me to say it any other way, but that's my experience.”
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Full transcript
Suzanne describes herself as a linguistic anthropologist, and when I asked Suzanne to describe her superpower, she said that she sees patterns that other people don't see. Hello, Suzanne. Welcome to the show.
Hello, Joanne. It is genuinely a pleasure to be here. I'm really looking forward to this conversation.
Likewise. We've had a great chat and agreement already, so I'm really, really excited about this. So, Suzanne, tell me. Unlocking communications. Tell me about that.
So I said my superpower was seeing patterns that other people can't see. And this is the superpower of almost everybody who is a linguist or a linguistic anthropologist. And so I am here to talk to people here, generally in the world, and here on this podcast, about how can we be more inclusive in our communications. And inclusive communication, in some respects, is as simple as just Bites modern etiquette. It is 21st century etiquette. But if you want to be more pattern based and more behaviour based, I like to talk about inclusive language and inclusive communication as a way of communicating in a set of behaviours. A lot of people will talk about it as a list of words. Here are bad words and here are good words.
But I like to go beyond that and have a very behavioural focus. What are people doing with their language? So when we communicate inclusively, people feel seen and heard and valued. People feel like they are taken into consideration and like they matter. By contrast, when we use what I call problematic language, and there are lots of words that people will use that maybe end with IST or ism, but I like to just call it problematic language. Problematic language comes in many forms and has really negative outcomes. It can damage relationships, it lowers trust, it drives people away and it harms all kinds of relationships. And by relationships, I mean personal relationships. So between family members, friends, colleagues, romantic partners.
But I also mean business relationships could be still interpersonal between a recruiter and a client, a recruiter and a candidate. But it could also be a marketing message and an audience or customer experience, software interfaces and clients who become so irritated that they stop using your product. So that's what I mean by patterns. The patterns that I talk about for inclusive communication can be both one on one and media and planned communications that go out and affect many people, sometimes millions of people.
You're speaking my language. You're speaking my language. One thing that people always come to me and say is they're so afraid of getting it wrong. And that creates this kind of lean back approach to people, because I've never had a conversation with someone who is black, I've never had some conversation with someone who's transgender or has a disability or what if I say the wrong thing? That's the biggest fear people say, is the fear of getting it wrong.
It is a thing that I hear as well. And it is one of the reasons that I wrote my book, because people would feel better after a workshop with me, and a workshop would be very dedicated to the precise thing. So if you bring me in for recruiters, I'll do inclusive language for recruiters. If you bring me in for sales team, I'll do inclusive language for sales. So we're covering some things, but we have a limited amount of time together. And people would say to me, oh, my people are still nervous, or I'm still nervous, or executives would say to me, there are so many things I'm supposed to cover in an all hands meeting, or when I'm interviewing with somebody and I'm really afraid of getting cancelled. So some people are worried about the wrath of the Internet or getting cancelled. It's more self focused and some people are more worried about hurting somebody else.
And so this lack of resources out there has been bothering me for a long time. And so this is why I realised it wasn't a question of ego, where I thought, I simply must write a book, right? It was really more people kept on being so stressed out and so nervous. And when you're paralysed by fear and you don't say anything, sometimes it really lands just the silence is communication in and of itself and it will land very badly on people who expect you to reach out. So this is exactly why I decided to do the work that I do. And I will say that you might have wanted to ask me this later, and I'm just going to say it right now. One of the reasons that my discussion of inclusive language and inclusion communication is different from other people's is I'm the only person I know that starts with behaviour rather than identity. So a lot of people will come and say, there are so many people in the world, I can't keep track of them. I grew up in a very homogeneous way.
My workplace is very homogeneous. I don't know. And so it can feel so overwhelming and so exhausting to think about all the people in the world and all the words related to all the people in the world can feel like too much. So that's why I've come up with six principles that allow you to learn more and also make mistakes and correct them in a way that you feel like you always have a North Star. So I'm just going to say them. I'm not going to wait for you to team me up and I'll just say them. They are reflect reality, show respect, draw people in, incorporate other perspectives, prevent erasure and recognise pain points. So these are always that people want themselves to be treated in some respects.
They're kind of a golden rule of interactions. And so if you can be precise about when somebody is different from you, how do you show respect or how do you make sure you're not marginalising them or how do you recognise the pain points? These are things that can be small research projects that people can get a grip on rather than this long list of words that feels nebulous. And PS is changing all the time. So you can't just go by memorising lists of words because by the time you memorised it, there's a good chance that some of the things that were okay aren't okay anymore.
Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head there, to use a British term, into the person that translates into American perfectly well. Excellent. I think the key thing for me is you actually care about how the other person's going to feel when you talk to them. I think you mentioned it in respect and the other elements of your six points, but if I have enough care about your feelings, your needs, your use the word identity, if you like, your lived experience, what matters to you, what makes you happy, what makes you sad. If I care deeply about that, I want a positive communication, I want a positive outcome from our conversation, then I think that's the basis then everything builds on the fact that I want this to go well. And if I don't know all the, as you say, every single word in the dictionary, I don't have to know every single word, I just have to know that I will not always get it right. And I appreciate that intent isn't everything. The impact kicks in there and bit of accountability as well, making sure I own my words.
But the important thing there is I have to really care that I want you to have a positive experience and for me that's always been the root of it. If I care enough, I will do my best to get it right.
I think that a combination of caring enough, be open to critical feedback to fix mistakes in the moment and doing some prep work. If you can do those three, then you can have a successful conversation with anybody. I think that there are some people who are on the receiving end of people being ignorant about what their lived experience is to the point where it's exhausting, right? So I don't want to just say that if you say to somebody, well, just educate me, or if I say a wrong word, please tell me. Because a lot of times people who are on the receiving end of these things are just done, just done. But if you show that you've already done some homework and you come in and you say, well, I know this, so is this okay? I know I shouldn't say hey guys. So I'm going to say hey folks, or hey people, is that okay with you? Is a story we can talk about a little bit later about a sales call gone wrong and then gone right again. But I think that if you have that combo and show that you've cared enough to put in some work in advance, then people are going to feel they're not educating you from scratch. The burden of education isn't on them.
The burden of explaining to you in a way that won't make you upset or angry isn't on them because you've put in that work. And so that's why I like to recommend people certain kinds of homework, like diversifying your social media. So you start even if you have a homogeneous group, because of the ways that things are set up, like even if you grew up in a homogeneous way and your workplace is homogeneous, social media is a gift, is a gift, gift, gift. And you can eavesdrop on conversations without bothering anybody and learn all kinds of things almost by osmosis.
That's good. What you just said there, again, it resonates because I talk a lot about emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence. And both of those first steps in both of those emotional intelligence is about self awareness, how you come across. And cultural intelligence is all around the drive to develop knowledge. So what you're saying here is you have to put the legwork in first, don't turn up, expect me to be your educator, which I completely resonate with. So you've got to have that drive. You've got to care enough about how you come across to build the knowledge. And then for the knowledge you build a strategy.
So yeah, having that groundwork is really important. I concur. We have Google in our pockets, don't we? We have millions and billions of hours of YouTubes and podcasts and books and Amazon. There's not a lot of excuse really for people not to do the basics, is there?
Well, although I would say that publishing and Hollywood have been real gatekeepers. So you have to have a little bit of critical intelligence and thinking about your sources. Because if you just watch movies about a group, they might not have been made by that group. And if you just read books about a group that might have been written by somebody who's out group. So that's one of the gifts from social media is this decentralisation and the removal of the kind of the gatekeeping. You might not get the knowledge from a book that you need, right? So, for example, I recommend to people, let's just use disability as an example. So people who are perceptibly disabled are low frequency for encounters for many people who are abled out in the world. So it's not frequently that they'll meet somebody who's deaf or hard of hearing or who's in a wheelchair or who's blind, just for example.
And so here's a thing where people suddenly are like, oh, my God, I don't know what to say. And they're paralysed or often when we're so self conscious, the last thing that you wanted to come out of your mouth this happens to me, too, when you're nervous, the last thing that you want to come out of your mouth is coming right out of your mouth. And you're like, oh, I can't believe that I said that. So I talk about this sometimes where somebody gets a bad haircut and in your head you're like, don't mention the haircut. Like, don't mention the haircut. And then you're out of your lips comes, oh, you got a haircut. And then you have to make a comment on it when really you just wanted to say nothing. So what I like for the prep is, for example, I don't think in the book you're going to find stuff, but you can just go to Google or any search engine and type in problematic things said to wheelchair users, problematic things said to blind people, problematic things said to deaf people.
And they'll just tell you, like, it's just out there. It takes very little time. So I would say even having these kinds of directed searches, if you're prepped and you're like, then you're ready to go, right? So it might seem like you're trying to care about somebody. So let's say there's somebody in a wheelchair, and it might feel caring to you to say, oh, how is it that you're in a wheelchair? But I'm going to tell you that every wheelchair person, every wheelchair person is absolutely not the thing to say. Your wheelchair user is what I was trying to say. Every person in a wheelchair, every wheelchair user that I've talked with or read things by or heard things by, they absolutely have no interest in explaining to you why they are in a wheelchair. And intrusive questions are incredibly common. And so something that might feel like caring or curiosity to you might land as very intrusive and inappropriate to somebody else who's just like, can we just talk about my presentation? Why are we talking about how do I put on pants? Why is this now part of the conversation?
We kind of make a bigger deal of it than it really is because that's our insecurity, our nervousness, whatever it may be. I've got a great friend of mine, she's a black woman. She is a wheelchair user. She has cerebral palsy at birth. And I remember we were going, I think we're going something to eat. And I said, should we just walk to the pub or something? And I was going, oh my God. I said, Walk to the pub? You're a wheelchair user. And I got all heats in my brain.
She said, yeah, let's go for a walk, that's fine. And so she doesn't use necessarily different language. She uses contemporary language around the activity. And I was making a bigger deal of it than it was because I picked up the word walk and is that ableist? And it turned out that I was probably overcooking it. I think sometimes we just got to relax and learn about not necessarily taking every single word we say too literally and apologise for it, but just feel the mood. If they said, oh yeah, I've got my powered chair, I'll follow you, whatever, just pick up on their language.
And I would say that that's the kind of thing over apologising is also a thing that I hear from people from marginalised and underrepresented groups who don't want to feel othered, right? So my third principle is draw people in is the reverse of marginalising, right? So there's a lot of ways that we interact with people that highlight difference. People who feel like they just want to be there in belonging and just treated like everybody else end up feeling very othered. And so over apologising is one of the things that happens. So I was talking to somebody who is non binary and they have a manager who can't figure out pronouns at this point, like figure it out, right? But so in early stages we understand and as a linguist, I'll tell you that pronouns are different from other words and language and we store them in our brain differently and they're grammar words. And it's much harder to shift your use of words in this closed set of grammar words than other words. You wouldn't change numbers very easily or prepositions, right? So there are ways that it is very reasonable to have a struggle with pronouns as people say, oh, actually my pronouns are this. And you haven't had unlike young people today, natively use they them for a single person, right? But for a lot of us who grew up earlier, they them wasn't used for a single unknown person or for plural people, but not for a single known person. So it can be a real struggle against the weight.
Of all the times that we've used only she or he to talk about people. So the thing that you do is you just do a minor correction. Oh, yes, so and so she, oh, I'm sorry, they and then you move on. But this manager was, oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, I've done it again. Look at this. I really need to respect that you're nonbinary and on and on and on. So the apology itself was a problem, was problematic language because it was highlighting the otherness. So I think that you can take the cues in the moment here's that emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence.
You're talking about having the ability to live in the moment and see, oh, I said walk. Should I apologise? And you could say, oh my God, I said walk. They'll be like, oh, no problem. And then aside, you don't have to worry about walk with them anymore. So these are the kinds of things that you file away in your mental database for interacting with that person. But PS, just because one wheelchair user says it's okay to say walk does not mean you can apply it to everybody. So you got to suss that out person by person.
Of course, yeah, my experience is my experience and yours differs. Talking about misgendering, I misgender myself. I spent 52 years of my life using one set of pronouns and referring to myself in a certain way. For the last seven so years I've used she her and I can't get it right every time. And my wife is probably better at than I do. She never gets it wrong. But it was our daughter's wedding a couple of years ago and I remember and I'm still dad and still father to our daughter. So I'm extremely proud of that in my life, so I'm not going to lose that.
But I remember I did the father of the bride speech and it's almost impossible to not use male pronouns in this because I said there's no prouder moment in a father's life than when he gives his daughter away. You try and say that sentence with the word she in there instead of he. Linguistically, my head couldn't handle it. So I did the entire father of white speech and I said at the end of it, I've just systematically misgendered myself four times in this speech, but it didn't make sense to me to say it any other way, but that's my experience. There are other people who want to identify as mum or wife or wherever they do and they use different pronouns. As I say, that's my experience. That's the way I treat myself and everyone else is different. So, yeah, you can't know everybody by knowing one person.
And I would add to that that not everybody uses they them pronouns. Some people who are genderqueer or in other way non binary will have pronouns that are very, very low frequency. So this is again why I have these principles. Oh, to show respect and draw in this person right. To show respect for them and draw them in. I have to remember that they're using fay fair, right. So that's also a thing that happens. I think misgendering yourself is okay because of the complexities.
I mean, that story is fantastic because it shows the complexities of being very prescriptive about how a person is supposed to be. And let me tell you this, that let's just go to Gatekeeping right? So this happens with disability. I don't know if it happens as much with transgender people, but people who are really trying to walk the walk and be good and learning can get very judgmental and gatekeeping and will lecture people about the language they use for themselves. So I read a few books by disabled activists and in one of them one of the authors talks about how she's a wheelchair user. And so the question of and in the UK and the US, people have landed on different sides of things. Do you say a person with a disability or do you say a disabled person and which one is the right one? So I was listening to somebody recently who does research, disability research, and they publish in English for both a UK and a US audience. And so they're really stymied as to what do I do for the most inclusive choice. And so I think for those, sometimes you have to do a little preface and say, I'm going to be using this language.
But in any case, this wheelchair user named Emily Lido said that she had switched over to saying disabled person. And people would say to her, oh no, you should really say person with a disability. And she would say, but I'm disabled. Well, don't talk about yourself like that. I don't think of you as a disabled person, right? So I talk a lot about stigma. Stigma is a thing that happens a lot in society where a group is socially devalued, is marginalised. It's part of what comes with the marginalisation and the lack of access to power is you get a lot of stigma where a group is just seen as less than, and sometimes not just less than, but stigmatised in some way, right? So for example, people with mental health issues, that's very highly stigmatised, people with disabilities, disabled people, depending on what people prefer. And so you can hear that stigma in don't talk about yourself like that or I don't even think of you as disabled.
I have black friends who also people have said to them, oh, I don't even think of you as black. And it's like, is that supposed to be a compliment? So there's that kind of gatekeeping. I can imagine a scenario where somebody who's being very assiduous and is just learning how to do pronouns, right, would come up and say, whoo, you really need to get better with your pronouns. I hear people who are in group getting lectured by out group people. And so part of my this can be like a lot of navel gazing, inclusive language. Well, what exact term, what exact term? And my feeling is by showing respect, you use the term that a person prefers. And if you're with a group of people who aren't monolithic, then you start to get complicated and you have to explain yourself a little bit more and say, well, for this group of people, I'm going to use the terminology indigenous, but I understand other people prefer native. Or you like a hyperlink or an Asterisk and a footnote to say, I understand that not everybody likes this term, I'm choosing it for these reasons.
So people know that you've put in the work rather than thinking that you're blithely just doing a thing because you don't know any better.
Yeah, I completely agree with that. And often when I'm doing talks or running training, I would tend to use multiple ways of describing an identity, a characteristic, whatever it may be, in very short successions. So I might say a person with a disability or a disabled person, as a matter of fact, in a sentence. So acknowledging both terminology and sometimes I might even say, I know that people have a different way of describing themselves and I don't want to judge. I know that people are very proud of being disabled first, and some people prefer to be described as person with a disability. Then you meet someone who has neurodiversity and they prefer to or they use autistic person rather than the person with autism. They're very proud of the autism first. So it's a real minefield, as you say, you have to be very adaptable, very in tune, do your research or at least your basics, as we talked about having that base level of research first.
And where I know there's ambiguity, I try and use all the different language I know to sort of say I'm aware of the discussion points around this, which is why I use both. And if people ask me to clarify, I say, well, I've got some great friends who really are proud to be a disabled person. I've got some great friends who prefer to be a person with a disability or a wheelchair user and those kind of words. So yeah, I think if you coach it in, it's not my language, it's words that I'm using that people have explained to me or their language. I'm just using the language I've been educated with by my friends and my contemporaries. Which language do you prefer? Which is your chosen language? And it allows you to show that education without assuming or without using your own, if you like bias or stereotype about people.
And I find so let me throw a term at you, which is metal linguistic. So metal linguistic language is language about language. So I used to say meta, now it's a giant company. So I would say to people, go meta, and now I can't do that anymore. But I like to educate people. So I talked about my superpower being seeing patterns, right? So when you explain patterns to people so they can see them, I think of it as giving people x ray vision. How much can I what is currently opaque to you or feels unrelated? And I can show you that. I've been digging, digging, digging, and there are these skeletal structures that connect them all.
Like, how can I show that to you? So if you can name something, if you can talk about it, it allows you to more fluently use metal linguistic language and talk about language. And talking about language is one of the best ways to remove ambiguity and to remove negative feelings and to let people know that you're aware of what you're doing and that you're doing it very intentionally and consciously. And it allows us to bypass hurt feelings and misunderstandings in all kinds of ways. So I do encourage people when it comes to inclusive communication, to really be able to talk about language. And that's why getting educated about how language works really facilitates the ability. Because before I said that, I divide language into two sets, or language practises into two sets, there's inclusive language, inclusive communication, and problematic language and problematic communication. Well, a lot of people don't have the terminology for what's going off the rails when communication is problematic, except for the language of social justice or language available to laypeople, which will be terms like sexism, racism, transphobia, homophobic, maybe they'll say it's a microaggression. I find in my many years of experience looking at what people are resistant to and what lands on people, everything I do is designed to bypass resistance and land on people, right, so they can internalise it, take accountability and say, oh, I should make that shift, right? And it's almost always a small shift.
I have found that a very strong stress response trigger a resistance trigger is using words like sexism and homophobia, because a person may be coming in with very good intentions and just inadvertently say a thing. Sometimes people are being absolutely not inadvertently problematic, they are purposefully being problematic. And I have to say, I don't have time or energy for those people go pre problematic elsewhere. I think this is the kind of behaviour that can be a fireable offence. Like, I don't have time and energy for you. But if you really are a well intended person who's like, oh, I got to shift my attention to impact, then I have to say that you can't use words like sexism or homophobia to tell people when they've said something wrong, because they are going to shut down. They're going to feel very attacked. They're going to get very stuck in their own good intentions.
They're going to get hot with shame. They're going to be filled with adrenaline and cortisol, and it might take 48 full hours for those stress chemicals to exit from their bodies. And so that's why another reason why I've devised these principles is if people are going metal linguistic and saying to somebody, hey, I don't think you realised there's this thing that you said or this thing that you wrote and it wasn't the right thing to say, let me explain it. And you can use this violates a principle of inclusive language. It doesn't reflect. Reality because you've acted as if there are no non binary people in the world when you said your husband or wife. And so you've got to switch over to spouse and partner because non binary people exist. And so we need to reflect reality that lands a lot better with people than using the language of social justice, which may be merited, but doesn't land well with almost anybody.
It's the calling it out versus calling it in. It's the educational element, as you say. If you start using words like privilege and the other social justice words, people who hold those privileges, the majority, as you say, tend to shut down. And I'm a great believer that we need to collaborate rather than attack each other because what happens when privilege gets attacked, it pulls the drawbridge up, it starts throwing rocks at you from the ramparts and you don't get anywhere. All you end up doing is having an argument amongst yourselves, attacking the castle until we've really got to try and lower the drawbridge, lower the heat, lower the temperature and have these she say inclusion conversations where you're educating whilst pointing out a better way, rather than just you're wrong. As soon as you put the hand up or the stop or the accusation, defences hit and you say the brain chemicals kick in, education stops.
And I would add to that, that in my experience the more granular you go and the more behavioural you are rather than saying you're an x or you're y something that's sort of a large scale label. If you move away from telling somebody that they are something and saying, oh, here's this habit you have, or here's this tick you have, or here's this word that you use if you go granular and you say when you do x, it has this effect. It makes people feel disrespected or it makes people feel erased or you're hitting a pain point. And I don't think you realise that this word is actually painful for people who've had different experiences from you. If that level of granularity where it's very specifically and I recommend in a workshop series, I have the SBI model for telling people when something has gone wrong and I think that's a good part of calling in. So not my model, I forget who came up with it, but I credit them on the handout that I give. But it's situation, behaviour, impact. So if you go very granular and you say, the situation is this you said this thing, or the situation is we were in a conversation and nonbinary people were there, or you sent out a press release and nonbinary people will be reading it, or A range of people will be reading it.
The behaviour you used, the phrase husband or wife. And this leaves out non binary people, the impact. People who have nonbinary partners, people who are themselves nonbinary are going to feel like you don't see them, you don't care about them. They're not part of your policy. This thing that you said about you, including benefits or whatever, is something that sounds so mundane, right? We're including benefits. And for people who are married, your husband or wife can blah, blah, blah. Well, what if the husband and wife is not a husband or not a wife? Right, so it can seem so mundane, but people who work for you can still feel so othered or forgotten about. Well, do I count? I'm not a husband and I'm not a wife or my partner isn't a husband or a wife.
So if you explain that impact, these people are going to feel othered, they're going to feel sad, they're going to feel disrespected, they're going to feel erased. So if you just make this little switch, everyone's going to feel included. People on ramp onto that much, much better. So that's my I'm going to say something terrible. It's not terrible, but there is a research that shows that if you ask men, this is just going to be male specific. If you ask men, have you ever raped anybody? The vast majority will say no. But if you go granular this is just like anonymous survey work. I believe I have to revisit this study.
If you go granular and say, have you ever done behaviour A? Have you ever done behaviour B? Have you ever done behaviour C? And those behaviours are components of non consensual interactions of rape. The number of men who admit to that shoots up by more than 100% of what it was. So people are not this is, to me, sort of an end case, right? But there are ways that how are we making people feel bad and not caring about them? Inclusion language is still on that spectrum. It's still on the spectrum of other kinds of physical attacks, right? It's a verbal attack. So that's really where I take my granularity. Like if it works for getting people to be, if not accountable, than the first step of acknowledging that they've done something. If it works even for something as horrific and stigmatised as sexual assault, then I promise you it's going to work well for getting people in your organisation to be more accountable for their verbal problems they've created. And by the way, I want to say that this is an oral medium, you and I, but anytime I say, speak and say, I am in my head, including sign languages.
So I just want to say that everything I'm saying also applies to people who are speakers of sign languages and not just oral languages.
That's important to make sure we are enunciating looking at people respectful of people who have hearing loss or hard of hearing, where I see so many speakers on stage, they're turning their head away. They're not looking at the audience. So not everybody who is hard of hearing lip reads. But there are a number of people who have hearing, who still rely on the visual and the audible to better hear the words properly. So it's always important to be consciously inclusive of your communication, not just passively inclusive, because you're talking about inclusive communication and problematic communication there's. The bit in the middle, really, which is the inconsiderate communication is where you're not being passive or negative deliberately, you're just not considering. And I think part of the for me, part of it is making sure that we're actively thinking about your needs as a person. So if I am speaking in front of an audience or a workshop, whatever, I'm making sure that I cheque with everybody, ask if they have any needs in advance and reinforce that whilst I'm wellbeing, is everyone able to hear me okay? Is there anything I need to do differently? Can you see everything okay? Do you need to come to the front really overemphasising and being overly conscious about it to make sure that you're not inadvertently problematic using your language there?
And for my book, I either hired people or quid pro quo people for doing subject matter expert readings of things or lived experience readings of things. So I collaborated with two autistic linguists, getting their PhDs and studying not just autistic, but studying autistic communication. Right. So real subject matter experts to bring in some autistic communications to my book, because historically, I'm so deeply horrified by how my field has marginalised autistic communications and presented things. I very confidently would stand on a stage and say, all people do X. And now I'm like, all holistic people do x all people who aren't there's so many ways all people are marking hierarchies all the time. Gender is incredibly salient and people really care about gender. I'm like, oh, that is really not true for so many autistic communicators.
For them, power is not that interesting and gender is not that interesting. Right. So there's so many ways in which I was excluding people, but, oh, I got caught up in the autistic thing. Oh, I hired people to so, a person I hired, he actually very recently passed away, which I am very sad about. He was a leader in a new kind of linguistics called crip linguistics. So they're reclaiming the word crip, which was a very stigmatised word.
Before.
Yeah, definitely. With reclamation. So you take the word that's been used against you and you use it in group and you give it power. Much like queer the N word for some people, or African descent, not all. So that's the process of reclamation. And so in the book, I had asked him to read very carefully. I was so careful, it took so much effort for me to say, okay, you're reading as a black person and a disabled person. Here are the relevant pages.
Right. I was so careful for the people doing me this favour. And then he just went and read the whole book, which was good, because he had a lot of comments on stuff, but at the beginning of the book I compare communication event planning to regular event planning. I'm saying, look, if you've ever planned an event, you've had to think about who's coming to the event and think about what their needs are and take them into consideration. A lot of people get so paralysed with fear when it comes to language, but I'm like, this is a transferable skill. Have you planned an event? You can plan a communication event. Do you have to send out a press release? Do you have to do an internal email to the whole company? Are you going to create a video? Like all of these things, especially for planned communications, right? Like, if you can plan a party, you can plan communication, you just need an inclusion checklist. Like you would have a party checklist, right? So in the book I had written, have you ever gone to an event where you felt like you were really taken into consideration, like people had really thought about you and really thought about your needs and you really felt included in the event? And this reviewer, a professor of linguistics, said, I've never been to a non deaf event where I felt this way ever in my life.
Ever in my life. He was in his forty s and I honestly teared up. I'm tearing up right now thinking about it, because I had just asked him, out of respect for his fantastic linguistic skills and his knowledge base, right? And I just asked him to read specific pages and then he went and read additional pages because he was curious and then he just put that thing in there and it stopped me. I had to close down and take a walk around the block and just think about I'm very lucky that I was born into the body I was born in, in a lot of ways, right? And it hadn't occurred to me that being born into a body that was hearing and mobile mostly abled I'm not fully abled and I'm not fully neurotypical, which I learned later in life, but I was born into a body that made it so I could very often feel like I belonging in places. And here he had had experiences where unless he was in his specific group, if he was not in his specific, specific group of deaf and hard of hearing people, he never truly felt taking into account. And that was a really brutal place for me to sit and I still sit there sometimes.
Yeah, that reminds me. I'm a member of the Professional Speaking Association in UK and Ireland and we organised two sort of national events per year and we were approached, because I'm on the board, we were approached by someone who is neurodiverse and they came to us and said it would be better if so they came with that. I want to help you improve the event. For me, for others who are neurodiverse or neurodivergent, some people prefer the term neurodivergent, or people who just maybe have some anxiety about walking into spaces they've never been to before. It would be better if you put chairs at the back of the room so people don't have to walk into the space. They can just sneak and sit at the back, become comfortable before they find the chair, have walk through videos so that before they turn up, they can see the entrance, they can see the walks we had to get from A to B. You narrate things that are happening now and next, those kind of things, putting good signage, having a quiet room. And so we went through this whole thing and the feedback we got from the delegates who went and we've just run another one two weeks ago, was that they found the communication was so powerful because they turned up, they knew what they were going to expect.
They just seen the venue. They knew where the reception was, they knew where the venue was. And this is people who cast themselves as neurotypical. So not only a lot of the work I do, I'm sure what you do, it's what helps the one, she helps the many. And that's what we're doing here. We're not saying it's just for you. It's actually we're benefiting the entire cohort or the communities that are involved, not just providing access for someone who has a disability. In my late 50s, I'm not saying I'm getting on, but sometimes I don't want to walk up flight stairs.
So for me it's important to have an escalator, a lift or elevator or something. I don't have a disability. There are people who maybe go skiing, break their leg. They were okay last week, they're not good this week. So we're providing accessible solutions, not just for people who have a lived or a born disability. We're providing anyone who comes into that in their life. So what you're saying there about your examples is about creating solutions for the one that benefit the many. And you don't know who that many is.
They're just there and they appreciate you've.
Cared about say so. A lot of companies don't want to invest in talent retention. I'm just going to put that right up front. I look at where the budgets go, and right now Dei budgets are being slashed. So people are willing to put money into talent acquisition, into client acquisition and client retention. And then there's that quadrant of talent retention where they're like, oh, we don't have the budget, or it's a nice to have. And I'm just like, I'm right now trying to lay out what are the consequences of when you don't put money into workplace culture, because it's very expensive. So I'm here in tech.
There's a lot of engineers making 200 year dollars. And if you lose them, if you lose a 200K engineer, it's at least 300K. That year to replace them, right? Because of all of the losses. For example, I talk about inclusive meetings. When you're trying to design a meeting that is inclusive for somebody who is autistic, somebody who is a speaker of English as their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th language, a lot of people are much more multilingual than where you're sitting or where I'm sitting, depending on where you grew up. If you are making inclusive language for people who are inclusive meetings, for people who come from a culture where you have to have everything in order before you say something. So, for example, a lot of Native American cultures here, especially on the West Coast, you're supposed to go off and practise on your own. And it's the height of rudeness to bring something half baked, right? Like, you have to come.
So if you do these things for these kinds of cultural diversity and you make inclusive meetings, guess who also benefits? Your introvert white male engineer. Right? There are ways in which people think that the benefit is only for a certain kind of person. And I'm like, everybody wants to work in what I call the optimised workplace, so I just call it the optimised workplace. And I'm like, bias gets in the way. And the optimised workplace is where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued, where they feel like they belong, where they're able to make contributions and aren't blocked, and where they feel safe, right? Psychological safety, it's very basic. And I'm like, guess what? Guess who likes to work? There 100% of people. And my data on optimised workplaces comes from business studies. It doesn't come from dei studies.
It's like, oh, here are the best run companies where people really like to work. They've got incredible retention rates, they're incredibly productive, and it aligns 100% with diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives. So to me, that's evidence. That's what we call data validation, right? And so people often don't think that way. But what you're talking about is exactly that example, and I'll add another to it. I present a lot right now, much more virtually, but often in person, it's coming back. And recommendations for keynote speaking, they're like, use ten slides maximum. And I'm like, no, because I know a lot of people aren't great with only if you're a speaker of an oral language, it doesn't mean that you're great with only auditory comprehension.
And so when I have an important thing to say, those words are on the slide in big letters, high contrast font, black and dark blue on a white background. And people can read them as I'm saying them because those are my punctuation points. So back in early rap and 80s rap, it would be where everybody comes in and says the thing and then you go back to the one person, right? It's kind of doing like a little Beastie Boys moment here. But people are very grateful. People are like, I really understood you in a way that I don't understand a lot of other presenters because I'm thinking about and so many people use closed captions now, right. People have gotten very used to streaming with closed captions because that extra bit of information for language is helping their language processing. So, by the way, what you talked about sounds for me, I can be anxious coming into a new space and everything you said, I'm like, oh, that sounds amazing for coming into a meeting and already knowing where I'm going to sit and stand and I can come in and what's happening next. That's the best.
Yeah. And the feedback, the quiet room. There were people who just wanted quiet. They didn't want to talk to anybody. I'm a self confessed and out and open introvert. I can do an hour or so. I can go full max for an hour, then I need the recharge. So I'll just go and lock myself away.
It's nice. You haven't got to justify yourself or say to people, I don't want to speak. Everyone knows if you're in the room, you don't speak. You just have your own little space. Play a bit of Candy Crush or something on your phone, do whatever you're going to do, just cheque out. And it really is powerful. I picking up on what you say about slides. There's a kind of a thing around professional speakers, about true professional speakers don't need slides, they just stand up on stage and it's the power of their voice, the storytelling, and yeah, great, brilliant.
But I'm a great believer also in, as you said, there are people in the audience who will zone out. English is not their primary language. They'll forget what you're saying or they miss something. I'm the same, actually. I was listening to some talks at this conference last week, and one person was working through this exercise and they had this model called Soap. Soap. And they give a little card. You're supposed to write this little thing down on the card.
Then you had to tick at the end of it. Whether it was an S, whether it's no, whether it's a whether it was a P. And I kind of zoned out in this talk because I was so engrossed in what this person was saying and my mind was exploding in different directions. I got to the end, he says, Right, now, I want you to do this. I thought okay. And there's nothing on the card that says what Soap means. His slide had gone and I'm going, so I don't know what I can't remember what it stands for. So I went out to ask and said, look, if you're going to commit these cards, put it on the back, put it on your slide, do something.
Because people like me who zone out then realise at the end they need to learn what they should missed, can't go back. And another speaker did the same. She had an ABCDE model and she put a and she put a list of things under the A, then she put a list of things under the B. But when she clicked on the B, the A ones disappeared. I assisted at the end, I said Brilliant. But I zoned out. It wasn't until I got to the end of the E that I suddenly thought, I wonder what I said. I wanted to go back, it's too late.
So I couldn't go back to the A's. I said, what would be better if kind of thing is instead of blanket out, just grey it out until you have a bright and a dark. So you've taken the focus off of it. But for me, I can just go back and go, oh yeah, I remember, because my attention span just doesn't hold that long. And I learned that about myself last weekend, that I was zoning out. It wasn't because I wasn't paying attention, it's because what they said sparked me. All these things were firing off and I didn't know how to come back.
I mean, I wouldn't even call it zoning out, which feels a little too self deprecating to me. I think it's more that they didn't signal to you that this was a thing you were going to have to retain, right? They didn't signal to you, here's a thing, I need you to take this away. And it's too much for people who are so I'll tell you. I'm a professional linguist. I learned two languages from my dissertation, like learned in my twenty s two languages, and then went to Russia for a year and studied how one language was affecting the other in all these different ways, right? And I cannot learn things without visual cues. I would have to write down if there was a new word, I would have to write it down. I remember one time I was with my parents on what's called Navajo reservation, but they prefer the term Dine. And so we were talking and we were supposed to visit a hogan with an elder and I wanted to speak respectfully and I said, can you teach me a few things to say to be respectful? And they said them and I'm like, uh oh.
And I found a scrap of paper and a pen and I said, Please tell me again. And then I wrote it down using a phonetic alphabet, and then I was able to say it. But as a professional linguist, a professional language, learner in some respect without a visual cue, I couldn't even do it. And I would say the same about song lyrics. I couldn't tell you what any song is about if it's just going in order. If I don't see it all in one place on a piece of paper, then I'm like, oh, that's what the song is about. But I'm a native speaker of English and some people enunciate well, and I couldn't tell you what almost any song is actually talking about. So I think that for many of us who are processing, if you're processing things through time, if there's temporal distance, that there isn't the same kind of retention, if something is gathered for you with a different kind of input written and you can see it synthesised all in one place.
So I reject your zoning out and say that I would say that you were doing what's natural for an engaged audience member, and there needed to be supplemental things if somebody really wanted you to take something and turn it into active knowledge on your behalf.
Yeah, I take your charitable definition and I agree with you. So absolutely, I was using zoning out as my kind of shortcut to how I would describe, but you're right, I was probably acting very typical in that until I need to remember something or until I know I need to remember something, I probably don't. You have to punctuate and say this next word is worth remembering. It's the other thing, isn't it? If someone says, Would you like a cup of coffee, Steven? You don't hear, Would you like a cup of coffee? Until the word Steven is used. So if you say, Steven, would you like a cup of coffee? You know that whatever's going to come next is an instruction or a question or something for you. So it's about making sure you cite I think you said it earlier say something as a warm up before you want to say the main point. Otherwise you got to get people back on the page. Right? I'm going to say something really interesting now, and this is it, okay, I'm back in the room.
And I think that's what you're trying to say there is you got to give the people that audible or visual cue, the next thing that follows is for you.
Yeah. And so what I think is also interesting, let me bring it back to inclusive communication in a less hey, if you're a speaker, do these things. Although I completely agree. A lot of people don't get good training in how to speak to people, and then it shows. But bringing it back to inclusive language, there are people who are worried that they're going to sound very woke or not on brand if they use more inclusive substitutes. Right? So I'm on retainer for a financial services company, and they send me things, and so they're like, well, what would you do? And I'm like, but my brand is inclusion, so what's correct for me isn't like, I see you as three years, five years behind me, right? Like, there's stuff that I'm using now that five years from now is okay for you to use, but I think it's too soon for you to use now, given who your audience is. They got 23 million customers or something, right? So I'm like, let's be more cautious. For example, I say to people, like, well, I don't want to sound woke.
And I'm like, but you don't have to sound woke to be inclusive. So one thing is here's an important term. Terminological precision is a thing that I said during my book launch a few weeks ago, and a few people came up. So when I'm talking about inclusion language, I'm saying I want you to be precise. And there are times that you're saying things that are actually imprecise. So let's move it to the more precise thing. If you're saying husband and wife, that's imprecise, because there are people who don't fit in those categories. You think you've included everybody who's legally bound to another person in a romantic relationship.
And I'm here to say you have been imprecise and you've forgotten people, right? So terminological precision. So people, for example, think that guys includes everybody. And I'm here to tell you that there are semantic tests that show yes for the listener. Joanne is shaking her head saying, Guys, it does not include so. But there are people who are very resistant. And they say to me, guys includes everybody. And I'll say, okay. So I'm going to a bathroom, the loo, as it were, in a restaurant, and I am female, assigned female at birth, female to this day.
And the first bathroom door that I see, because I'm here in the US. Says, guys, do I walk into that bathroom and think it's gender inclusive, or do I walk down the hall and look for a bathroom door that says gals or dolls or girls? I'm not walking into the guy's bathroom because I know it's a bathroom designated for people who are understood to be male, right? So I say you don't have to sound super hippie dippy or California woke or whatever. If you say so every time you're going to say guys. Like, let's say you're a manager running a meeting, and every time you're going to say, hey, guys. All right, you guys, all right, guys, let's move to this. I said, you can just switch it up. You don't have to use the same thing. So you can start by saying, hey, everyone, let's start.
And okay, team, you did a great job. Okay, folks, let's move on. And he said, you know who's noticed? Nobody's noticed. Nobody's paying attention to the fact nobody's going to. But you know who's eventually going to notice? Like, your non binary or female team members who suddenly realise that they like when they're in a meeting with somebody else who's saying guys all the time, they're like, oh. They're like, oh, mike never says guys, right? So it's going to be some sort of retroactive credit you're going to get, but they're going to just feel better. And to my mind, that's the majority of inclusive language. It's not designed to signal how good a person you are.
It's designed to have set things up for comfort, just like all of those careful things to talk you. Through to talk an attendee through what the meeting was going to be. It's the same thing for all of the interactions, whether they're one on one, a meeting, all hands, meeting speech, an email to the entire company, et cetera, a slack communication to everybody. That's why I say communication and language and a set of practises rather than focusing on words.
Yeah, for sure. What I've found is you can just put the full stop earlier in the sentence. So instead of good morning, sir. Good evening, sir, you just put the full stop after good evening or Good morning. It's easy, just don't say anymore. Because our natural politeness, maybe as an English speaker, our natural politeness is we want to sort of use this familiarity terms, but if you just say good morning, good afternoon, or how are we doing? Everything okay with you today? Good morning, everybody. Hi, everybody, great to see you here, team. Those kind of things are really great ways you say a number of times I'm standing on the platform at train station and they say, ladies and gentlemen, the train now arriving at platform two is for Cardiff.
You go, what about my friend? Where are they going to go? You're not talking to them. Every time a speaker or people are here uses the phrase ladies and gentlemen, I always think all the people is excluding or. If you have a slide where you're putting stats and demographics and you've just got male and female on it, you think, well, even if people who are non binary or gender nonconforming are so insignificantly represented on the statistic, have you stopped you having a column showing zero to at least you've thought about it. And what I always say to people is if you try Googling, do a Google Image search for guys. If you think guys are gender neutral, do a Google Image search and tell me how many people don't appear to be men in swimsuits on the first five pages. Most of them are men in swimsuits on the first five pages.
An intriguing result. What I also say is another example I like to give it. We call it a semantic test or heuristic right. So what can you go through and test and see what's the gender reference involved is? Two coworkers, one's moved there recently, and they're both male and they're both straight. And one says to the other, so how many guys have you dated since you moved to town? Right, I know it can be hard to meet people here. It's a small town. Is that like a regular thing to say? Does this person of course it doesn't invoke dating everybody. So a nice example I like to give them.
Let's just get historical here. How does it feel when a word has genuinely changed the gender of the kind of person it refers to? Let's use the word girl. So it's 1350, and I say girl, and then I say things in English that whatever, I'm not going to try. But so I'm speaking in 1350 English and I use girl, and if I write girl, I spell it with a Y and I point to two people. One of them appears to be a young male person and one appears to be a young female person. I can be referring to either because girl in 1350 refers to boys and girls. It is gender agnostic. It is what people claim guys is.
Girl is absolutely referring to anyone who is a young person. So sometimes you can say girl and mean somebody who is a young male person. But cut to there was a gender shift and so now it refers only to young female people. So we know what it feels like when a word has genuinely changed the reference of its gender, because nobody's going to say girl and think of young male people. Although we're being more careful with gender now. Right, but anyway, but oh, look at that group of girls over there. And it's a group of boys playing football or whatever. Right.
And I meant soccer. So anyway, I like that counterpoint. Does guys feel like it's shifted all the way? No. Absolutely. Will it shift in the future? Possibly. Semantic shift is a thing you can look back on, but you can't look.
Forward at it's most prevalent here in restaurants, the meet and greeter tends to say, hi, guys, can I get you a table? And it's kind of I don't want to make any stereotypical accusation here, but it seems to be imported from North America as a kind of a cultural thing. And in the UK, we kind of picked up on it and it's as bad as I mean, I'm not a big fan of folk or folk and high folks and things like that. That's kind of again, it's like forced English. You have to try and make the language sound natural and inclusive without it being, as you say, woke or deliberately inclusive, just naturally inclusive.
I think that's I don't see folks, you know, people write to me and they're do I or they ask a question, what do I do about sir and ma'am? Especially people in the American South or people, black Americans are often raised that they have to say sir or ma'am. And I'm like, OOH, we don't have one yet. I'm like, I'm waiting for the young people to come up with a gender neutral alternative. But we don't have one, I said. So you got to maybe do politeness and tone. So if you're going to walk up to somebody on the street, so if there's somebody you know is male and wants to be called sir, then fine, there's someone you know is female and wants to be called ma'am, then fine, or madam, right? But if there's somebody you don't know on the street or the next client or the next customer, you can't do it. So you have to use it. Well, you were saying good morning, right? Instead of sir, just drop it off, right? And you can just say, oh, excuse me.
Like, you can try to do it in tone or you can say, oh, I think the person in the green shirt was next. Or instead of saying, Hi, guys, you can say hello, everyone, folks doesn't feel natural for me at all. For some people it's a very natural word. For me it feels very artificial. So I recommend that people use it if it feels good in their mouth, but if it doesn't feel good, dump it like that's. Okay. There's plenty of other things to say.
It's funny you said that. Describe someone as the person over there in the green shirt. I tend to wear a hat. I've got a couple of hats, different coloured hats. I tend to wear those when I'm at events and speaking and things like that. Because I want to give somebody an easy way to describe me rather than get confused by my gender identity or use my obvious characteristic as a description. The trans woman over there or something, I give them the lady in the hat or the person in the hat, or the person with the yellow tights, or something like that. So I try and give people a very easy way of recognising me and spotting me when I walk in the door as part of my personal brand.
So it does help sometimes to signpost yourself in a way you like to be signposted.
But I think it's an excellent example of the extra labour that people have to do in order to make sure they're treated well. I think about all the black women I know straightening their hair, for example, or all the work that people do in order to make sure that's your labour to prevent negative things being said, like you're helping people out, but it's also protection for yourself because you've made it easier through your labour. But I long for a world where people already have very fluent ways of referring to a person that they don't have to go right to gender identity and already are thinking maybe gender identity isn't relevant to how I describe a person. Right.
On that note, it's been an amazing hour having a chat with you and obviously the 20 or 30 minutes beforehand in the green room where we just got to know each other. Suzanne Wertheim, tell me about your book. Tell me about how people can get in contact with you because I know the listeners of this show would love to make contact. So what's the best way of getting in touch?
Sure. So you can find the book. The book is called The Inclusive Language Field Guide. It is available all the places books are sold, including if you're in the UK, there are a few bookshops there that are stocking it in person. Paperback. It is a paperback it is an ebook. And if you thought I have a nice voice, you can listen to it for 7 hours and 56 minutes, narrating the audiobook. Although I do have to warn you, there is a table at the end that I read for 30 minutes.
So the audiobook might not be the best might not be the best option. So if you want to find me, the best way to find me is Suzannewortheim.com. If you want to connect with me, you can contact me there. You can sign up for my free newsletter, which I send out twice a month. Once a month, I send out an inclusive language article about something often topical. And once a month I send out an advice column so you can write to me and get free advice. It's fully anonymized. And people I recently covered sir and Ma'am, for example, and people like, I don't know what to do.
And people also like to follow me on LinkedIn because I do write articles on topical things. They're often topical in the US, but sometimes they're topical on a more global level. So I will give the analysis and show the patterns that people aren't seeing or give the names for things. Oh, this is an example of inflating language. When the white basketball player did it, nobody complained. And when the black basketball player did it, there was an outrage on Twitter. And so that's a double standard using what I call inflating language, et cetera. So, website LinkedIn and all bookstores.
Absolutely. Also, as you were talking there, I nipped onto Amazon, into Audible, and I just purchased your book using one of my Audible credits. So that'll be something I can listen to on the train. So I'm looking forward to that. Having chatted for an hour, I'm really intrigued to get into the nitty gritty in the weeds of this to find out more about it. So, no, absolutely fantastic.
Lovely. And I read it slow because there's a good number of linguistic concepts and sometimes people take time. So if you need to speed it up, it's read slow enough that it works okay. For 1.25 speed, I believe.
Okay.
I was very deliberate in the speed because I know that when people have new concepts, sometimes it just takes a while. You just need a little more time to hear that new word.
Yeah, we've picked up on my terminology about zoning out. Sometimes when I'm on audiobooks, I find myself zoning out or hyper focusing on the previous thing, and then I have to stop it, rewind and go back again because I realise I haven't listened to about five minutes worth. So, yeah, I do regularly rewind and play them at different speeds or pick my moments. So I'll enjoy that. So thank you very much.
I love it. Well, thank you again. This has just been such a pleasure and such a nice conversation. I really, genuinely enjoyed it.
Thank you. And obviously. Thank you to you, the listener. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for listening. Thank you for getting to the end. I really appreciate that. Of course, if you're not already subscribed, please do subscribe to keep updates on future episodes of the Inclusion Bites podcast.
That's B-I-T-E-S. Tell your friends, tell your colleagues, share the love, share the episode. I've got a number of other exciting guests lined up over the next few weeks and months. And, of course, if you'd like to be a guest, please let me know. I'd welcome any feedback or suggestions to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk. let me know how we can improve the show, if that's possible. Finally. My name is Joanne Lockwood.
It's been an absolute pleasure to host this podcast for you today. Catch you next time. Bye.
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🔖 Titles
Language Matters: Unlocking Inclusive Communications for a More Inclusive Society
Breaking Barriers: Navigating Inclusive Communications for a Diverse and Respectful World
The Power of Words: Creating Inclusive Communication Spaces for All
From Gatekeeping to Embracing: Unpacking Inclusive Language for Effective Communication
Building Bridges: Tools and Techniques for Unlocking Inclusive Communications
Inclusive Language Unleashed: Understanding the Impact of our Words on Others
Inclusion Bites: Exploring the Role of Language in Cultivating Inclusive Communication
Communication Redefined: A Deep Dive into Inclusive and Respectful Dialogue
Unlocking the Code: Strategies for Fostering Inclusive Communications in a Diverse World
Breaking the Mold: Embracing Inclusive Language for Better Understanding and Connection
ℹ️ Introduction
Welcome to another episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, where we delve into the world of diversity, equality, and inclusion. In today's episode, titled "Unlocking Inclusive Communications," our host Joanne Lockwood is joined by linguist and communication expert, Suzanne Wertheim. Together, they explore the fascinating field of linguistic anthropology and dive deep into the intricacies of inclusive and problematic language.
Throughout the episode, Joanne and Suzanne explore various topics, starting with the challenges faced by marginalized individuals who receive inappropriate comments disguised as compliments. They discuss the gatekeeping around inclusive language and pronouns and the importance of showing respect by using the terms individuals prefer.
Drawing from personal experiences, they emphasize the need to educate oneself and acknowledge diverse preferences in terminology. Suzanne shares a powerful sales call story that highlights how caring, being open to feedback, and doing the necessary preparation work play a crucial role in successful conversations.
Addressing the exhaustion that stems from ignorance about others' lived experiences, they shed light on the delicate balance between asking for education and avoiding burdening others. The importance of avoiding offensive language and the power of showcasing effort and understanding are also highlighted, using anecdotes to illustrate their points.
Moving on, Suzanne opens up about her own struggles with retaining information without visual cues and her fascinating linguistic research. She shares a memorable experience on a Navajo reservation that prompted her to be mindful of her language choices.
The conversation then turns towards the complexities of inclusive language in regards to gender-neutral pronouns and disability terminology. Suzanne touches on the ongoing debate about the terminology used in the UK and the US, highlighting the perspectives of disabled activists and researchers.
Throughout the episode, the importance of understanding how language works and its impact on inclusive communication is emphasized. Joanne and Suzanne delve into the connection between language use and problematic communication, while offering strategies for making small shifts towards more inclusive language.
They explore accountability tactics and draw parallels between communication event planning and party planning, showcasing the skills learned from one that can be applied to the other. The importance of considering the needs of the audience is stressed, particularly for those with hearing loss or who are hard of hearing.
In their dynamic conversation, Joanne and Suzanne inspire listeners to consciously make their communication inclusive, offering practical advice and reflections on their own privileges and experiences. They discuss the necessity of caring for others' feelings, acknowledging mistakes, and taking responsibility for words and actions.
So, if you're ready to unlock the secrets of inclusive communications, join us on this enlightening episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast. It's time to dive deep into the world of language and uncover the power of inclusive communication.
📚 Timestamped overview
05:06 I realized the lack of resources was causing stress and silence, so I decided to focus on inclusive communication and behavior rather than identity.
08:37 Successful conversations require caring, open-mindedness, and preparation. It's important to avoid being ignorant and exhausting for others. Show that you've done your homework and ask for feedback respectfully. Take the burden of education off others.
15:03 Over-apologizing can make marginalised groups feel othered. Drawing people in and treating them equally is important. Understanding pronoun struggles is reasonable due to linguistic differences.
19:36 The text discusses the complexities of prescriptive language and gatekeeping in relation to disability and transgender individuals. It highlights the debate between using the terms "a person with a disability" or "a disabled person" and the dilemma faced by someone conducting inclusive research for both UK and US audiences.
25:11 Using metal linguistic language allows for effective communication, removing ambiguity and negative feelings. Encourages inclusive communication through educating about language, distinguishing between inclusive and problematic language. Emphasizes the importance of understanding terminology and making small shifts to foster understanding and accountability.
29:23 The author advises using specific examples and focusing on behaviour and impact rather than labelling people. They suggest using the SBI model (Situation, Behaviour, Impact) for discussing issues, particularly in relation to nonbinary individuals.
36:28 The text discusses the comparison between event planning and communication event planning, emphasizing the transferable skills and the need for an inclusion checklist. The reviewer, a linguistics professor, expresses never feeling truly included in non-deaf events.
38:45 A member of the Professional Speaking Association in the UK and Ireland, who is also on the board, was approached by a neurodiverse individual who suggested improvements for events. Suggestions included placing chairs at the back of the room, providing walk-through videos, clear signage, and a quiet room. Delegates found the communication to be effective and helpful.
44:36 The speaker uses large, high contrast text on slides as punctuation. The audience appreciates understanding and closed captions aid language processing, making presentations more accessible and helpful for navigating new spaces.
48:28 The text suggests that the speaker struggles to retain information without visual cues, and shares a personal anecdote about learning languages.
56:30 What about my friend? They feel excluded in phrases like "ladies and gentlemen." Including non-binary and gender nonconforming in stats is important, even if the representation is low. Google Image search for "guys" shows mostly men in swimsuits.
01:00:18 The text discusses the use of sir and ma'am and suggests using politeness and tone instead when addressing strangers.
01:04:33 I write topical articles on LinkedIn, analyzing patterns and exposing double standards. Available on LinkedIn and in bookstores.
📚 Timestamped overview
05:06 Lack of resources bothered me for long.
08:37 Care, feedback, prep work for successful conversations. Avoid ignorance.
15:03 Over-apologising is an issue for marginalised groups. Drawing people in prevents othering. Pronoun struggle is reasonable due to linguistic differences.
19:36 Complexities of prescriptive identities: gatekeeping, language.
25:11 Inclusive language helps remove ambiguity and negativity.
29:23 Be specific, consider impact, avoid general labels.
36:28 Planning communication events is similar to planning regular events. It requires considering the needs of attendees and using transferable skills. However, a linguistics professor reviewer mentioned never feeling this kind of consideration at non-deaf events.
38:45 Improving events for neurodiverse attendees with accommodations.
44:36 Big letters on slides help convey message.
48:28 Retention difficulties in linguist's cross-language study
56:30 Consider inclusivity: where is everyone represented?
01:00:18 Lack of gender-neutral alternatives to sir/ma'am.
01:04:33 LinkedIn, writings, analysis, global, double standards, language.
Episode Tags
inclusive communication, language and inclusion, linguistics and diversity, inclusive language use, overcoming language barriers, inclusive communication strategies, inclusive podcasting, linguistic anthropology, promoting inclusivity, building inclusive cultures
A Subtitle - A Single Sentence describing this episode
Unlocking Inclusive Communications explores the complexities of language and offers strategies to promote inclusivity and understanding in our interactions.
Episode Summary with Intro, Key Points and a Takeaway
In this episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, our host Joanne Lockwood sits down with guest Suzanne Wertheim, a linguistic anthropologist, to delve into the fascinating world of inclusive communications. Together, they uncover the complexities of language, explore the power dynamics inherent in communication, and discuss strategies to create more inclusive and respectful conversations.
Wertheim starts the conversation by shedding light on the common but inappropriate comment made to black friends - "I don't even see you as black." She emphasizes that such a statement is not a compliment but erases a person's identity and lived experience. Gatekeeping around inclusive language and pronouns is also discussed, where individuals may face criticism for not being knowledgeable enough. Wertheim stresses the importance of using the terms that individuals prefer and shows respect by acknowledging diverse preferences in a diverse group.
The guest advocates for caring enough, being open to critical feedback, and doing prep work as key factors for successful and inclusive conversations. They explore how ignorance about someone's lived experience can cause exhaustion and highlight the significance of avoiding offensive language and showing genuine effort to understand and respect others.
Wertheim shares a powerful story about a sales call gone wrong and then right again, illustrating the impact that doing homework, avoiding offensive language, and showing an understanding of others' perspectives can have. They emphasize the importance of putting in effort and not burdening marginalized individuals with the task of educating others from scratch.
The conversation then delves into the complexities of pronouns and the challenges of shifting language conventions. The guest explores the phenomena of gatekeeping and the ongoing debate surrounding inclusive terminology, particularly regarding disability.
Wertheim highlights the importance of discussing language and educating ourselves to improve inclusive communication. They emphasize the need to bypass resistance and make small shifts in language use. The guest also addresses the impact of communication on individuals with hearing loss or who are hard of hearing, emphasizing the importance of being consciously inclusive and meeting the needs of the audience.
Throughout the episode, the guest shares personal experiences and insights, leaving listeners with a key takeaway - the power of empathy, understanding, and accountability in creating a more inclusive world. So, join Joanne Lockwood and Suzanne Wertheim in this thought-provoking conversation, where they navigate the intricacies of language and pave the way to unlocking inclusive communications.
(Listen to the full episode for an in-depth exploration of the topics discussed and gain valuable insights into fostering inclusive conversations in your own life and beyond.)
💬 Keywords
inappropriate comments, black friends, gatekeeping, inclusive language, pronouns, showing respect, diverse group, successful conversation, exhaustion, ignorance, offensive language, positive interaction, sales call, education, correction, homework, visual cues, linguistic cues, Navajo reservation, respectful phrases, over-apologizing, marginalized groups, sense of belonging, pronoun conventions, gender-neutral pronouns, prescriptive, gatekeeping, disability, transgender, terminology, inclusive communication, problematic communication, sexism, racism, transphobia, homophobia, microaggressions, accountability tactics, oral communication, sign languages, hearing loss, inclusivity, communication events, inclusion checklist, party checklist, reviewer, linguistic skills, neurodiverse, empathy, accountability, mistakes, slides, information processing, wheelchair users, specific habits, SBI model, diverse experiences, press releases.
💡 Speaker bios
Suzanne Wertheim, a renowned linguist and linguistic anthropologist, possesses the incredible ability to identify patterns that often go unnoticed by others. With her keen insight into language and communication, she aims to promote inclusivity in our interactions with one another. Through various platforms, including this podcast, Suzanne engages with people from different walks of life to explore ways in which we can foster a more inclusive society. She emphasizes that inclusive communication is akin to modern etiquette, rooted in understanding patterns and behaviors rather than relying solely on a list of "bad" and "good" words. Suzanne's expertise in linguistics allows her to shed light on the power of inclusive language and its impact on building a more harmonious world.
❇️ Key topics and bullets
Topic: Linguistic Anthropology and Inclusive Language
The importance of understanding how language works to improve inclusive communication
Distinguishing between inclusive language and communication and problematic language and communication
Educating oneself about language to improve inclusive communication
Bypassing resistance and helping people make small shifts in language use
Using accountability tactics to address verbal issues
Being mindful of language when referring to oral communication and including sign languages
Enunciating and looking at people when speaking to be respectful of those with hearing loss or who are hard of hearing
Considering the needs of the audience and making communication consciously inclusive
Topic: Event Planning and Inclusive Communication
Transferring event planning skills to planning inclusive communication events
Having an inclusion checklist for planned communications
The impact of inclusive communication on individuals who have not felt included in non-deaf events
Reflecting on privilege and the impact of inclusion or exclusion on individuals
Topic: Improving Events for Neurodiverse Individuals
Suggested improvements such as placing chairs at the back, walk-through videos, good signage, and quiet spaces
Effective communication and caring about the feelings and needs of others
Understanding and empathizing with others' identities and lived experiences
Taking responsibility for one's words and acknowledging mistakes
Topic: Visual Aids and Presentation Styles
Using slides with big letters and high contrast colors for emphasis
Presenting information in a sequential and accessible manner
The use of closed captions for language processing
Personal experience and the benefits of visual aids for reducing anxiety
Topic: Respectful Communication with Wheelchair Users
Avoiding intrusive questions and respecting personal boundaries
Focusing on relevant topics and avoiding bringing up personal matters
Using specific and behavioral language to address communication issues
Considering diverse experiences and the impact of words and actions on different individuals or groups
Tailoring messages to different audiences in press releases or communication messages
Please note that the sub-topics listed are not exhaustive and may be expanded upon in the actual podcast episode.
🎬 Reel script
[Background music playing]
Entrepreneur Business Influencer (EBI): Welcome to The Inclusion Bites Podcast! In our latest episode, "Unlocking Inclusive Communications," we dive deep into the power of language and its impact on building inclusive cultures and communications.
We discuss the importance of understanding the nuances between inclusive and problematic language, avoiding microaggressions, and the art of making small shifts in our language to create a more inclusive environment.
Our guest, Suzanne Wertheim, a professional linguist, shares their insights on the challenges of learning new words without visual cues and the importance of respecting individuals' preferred terms.
We explore the dynamics of gatekeeping and how to navigate inclusivity when it comes to gender-neutral pronouns and disability terminology. We also touch upon the need to draw people in and avoid marginalizing them by highlighting their differences.
Moreover, we emphasize the power of accountability and empathy in addressing verbal problems, as well as the significance of incorporating inclusive practices into communication event planning.
Join us on The Inclusion Bites Podcast as we unlock the secrets of creating inclusive cultures, one word at a time. Tune in now and let's revolutionize our language for a more inclusive future.
[Background music fades out]
EBI: Remember, inclusivity is not just a buzzword; it's a responsibility we all share. Keep listening, keep learning, and together, let's make a positive impact.
🗞️ Newsletter
Subject: Unlocking Inclusive Communications: A Podcast Episode You Don't Want to Miss!
Hello [Subscriber],
We hope this email finds you well. We're excited to bring you the latest episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, where Host Joanne Lockwood sits down with guest Suzanne Wertheim to delve deep into the world of inclusive communications.
In this thought-provoking episode, Suzanne shares valuable insights and personal experiences related to inclusive language and communication. We explore how some seemingly "complimentary" comments can actually be inappropriate and how gatekeeping can hinder progress in using inclusive language and pronouns.
Suzanne emphasizes the importance of respecting individuals' preferred terms and the need for open dialogue. They discuss the challenges of diverse groups and the responsibility of explaining your choice of terminology while acknowledging different preferences.
We also dive into the essential factors that contribute to successful conversations, such as caring enough, being open to critical feedback, and doing the necessary preparatory work. Suzanne sheds light on the exhaustion experienced by individuals when faced with others' ignorance about their lived experiences and the limitations of simply asking for education or correction.
To illustrate the power of inclusive communication, Suzanne shares a captivating story about a sales call gone wrong and then, thanks to small shifts in language and behavior, how it was redeemed. By demonstrating that you've put in the effort and taken the time to educate yourself, interactions can become more positive and inclusive.
But it's not just about verbal communication. Suzanne also highlights the importance of non-verbal cues for those with hearing loss or who are hard of hearing. They stress the need for conscious inclusivity and consideration of the audience's needs, which can make all the difference in creating an inclusive environment.
In addition, we explore the complexities surrounding gender-neutral pronouns and the pitfalls of prescribing how an individual should be. Suzanne tackles the phenomenon of gatekeeping, particularly in relation to disability, and shares insights into the ongoing debate about terminology choices in the UK and the US.
This episode is packed with valuable information and practical tips to help you unlock inclusive communications in your personal and professional life. Suzanne encourages us to educate ourselves about how language works and to actively work towards improving our inclusive communication skills.
So, whether you're a seasoned communicator or just starting out, this episode will provide you with valuable tools and perspectives to foster more inclusive dialogue.
Tune in to The Inclusion Bites Podcast now on [platform] or visit our website [link] to listen to this episode and explore our previous episodes on a wide range of inclusion-related topics.
As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to reach out to us via email or on our social media channels.
Thank you for your continued support, and together, let's unlock the power of inclusive communications!
Warm regards,
The Inclusion Bites Podcast Team
🧵 Tweet thread
Thread: The Power of Language and Inclusive Communication 💬🌍
1/ Language is a powerful tool that shapes our interactions and culture. Today, let's explore the fascinating world of linguistic anthropology and the importance of using inclusive language and communication strategies to foster understanding and respect. #InclusiveCommunication
2/ Have you ever heard someone say, "I don't even see you as insert identity!" as if it's a compliment? Well, that can actually be hurtful. Acknowledging someone's identity, whether it's race, gender, or disability, shows respect and appreciation for their unique experiences. #RespectfulLanguage
3/ We often encounter gatekeeping around using inclusive language and pronouns. But the truth is, no one is expected to know everything. The key is to be open to learning and adapting our language to honor others' preferences. It's about respect, not perfection. #InclusiveLanguage
4/ In diverse groups, it's important to explain our terminology choices and acknowledge that different individuals may prefer different terms. The goal is to create an environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued. #DiversePerspectives
5/ It's crucial to care enough to do the prep work. Educate yourself on the struggles and experiences faced by marginalized communities. Ignorance can lead to exhaustion and frustration for those constantly facing others' ignorance. #EducateYourself
6/ Asking for education or correction isn't always effective. Instead, show that you've done the homework. Put in the effort to understand and avoid offensive language. Small actions can make a big difference in creating positive and respectful interactions. #RespectfulDialogue
7/ Let me share a story to illustrate this. A sales call gone wrong. But then it's turned right again. Why? Because the speaker demonstrated they had already put in effort. Others won't feel burdened if you show that you've done your homework. #EffortMatters
8/ Speaking of language, ever struggle to retain information without visual cues? Same here! As a professional linguist, I've learned two languages from my dissertation. I've studied how one language impacts another. But, I can't learn new words unless I write them down. #VisualCues
9/ Let me tell you about a specific incident that happened to me on a Navajo reservation. I wanted to learn some respectful phrases, but I was terrified of saying the wrong thing. Sometimes, it's okay to admit that we don't know everything and approach with humility. #LearningExperience
10/ Over-apologizing is often seen among marginalized and underrepresented groups who want to avoid feeling othered. Let's aim to draw people in, avoiding marginalization and promoting a sense of belonging where everyone is treated equally. #SenseOfBelonging
11/ Pronouns play a vital role in inclusive communication. Did you know they're actually stored differently in our brains? Shifting our use of pronouns might be challenging, especially if we grew up with different conventions. Let's embrace and respect gender-neutral pronouns! #RespectPronouns
12/ Now, let's tackle a touchy subject: gatekeeping. When it comes to disability and gender, there can be debates about which terms are most inclusive. For example, "person with a disability" vs. "disabled person." Remember, listen to individuals who identify as part of that group. #RespectIdentity
13/ Inclusive communication isn't about being prescriptive. It's about understanding the complexities of individual identities and preferences. For instance, a disabled activist might prefer the term "wheelchair user." Let's respect their choice and listen to their needs. #RespectChoices
14/ Talking about language is essential to using it more fluently, without ambiguity and negative feelings. Educate yourself on how language works to improve inclusive communication. Understanding words like sexism, racism, transphobia, and homophobia can be transformative. #LanguageAwareness
15/ Bypassing resistance and making small shifts in our language use are key to fostering inclusive conversations. Accountability matters. Just like in addressing issues like sexual assault, acknowledging wrongdoing plays a significant role in addressing verbal problems. #AccountabilityMatters
16/ When we discuss language, we must also consider non-verbal communication. Enunciate, make eye contact, be respectful of those with hearing loss or who are hard of hearing. Even if not everyone lip-reads, visual cues can help foster understanding. #NonVerbalCommunication
17/ Inclusive communication requires us to actively think about the needs of others. Consider specific accommodations, check in advance, and be conscious of the impact our words may have. Being considerate and kind goes a long way. #BeConsiderate
18/ It's easy to go overboard trying to be inclusive, but that's better than being inadvertently problematic. Let's overemphasize inclusivity rather than underemphasize it. Inclusivity should be a priority in all our interactions, fostering respect and understanding. #InclusiveInteractions
19/ Planning communication events can be similar to planning regular events. Just like you make a checklist for a party, create an inclusion checklist for planned communications. Consider the needs of diverse audiences to ensure everyone feels welcomed and valued. #InclusionPlanning
20/ Here's a powerful example: a reviewer, a professor of linguistics, showed up at a non-deaf event feeling excluded. It's a reminder that language inclusivity is a transferable skill, and everyone benefits when we create spaces where everyone feels included. #PowerOfInclusion
21/ As a member of the Professional Speaking Association, I witnessed the impact of inclusive improvements. By placing chairs at the back, providing walk-through videos, good signage, and a quiet room, delegates felt heard and valued. That's the essence of effective communication. #InclusionMatters
22/ Inclusive communication is all about caring, having empathy, understanding diverse experiences, and being accountable for our words. We don't need to know every single word, but we must acknowledge mistakes and take responsibility for fostering a positive outcome. #CaringCommunication
23/ I use slides with big letters and high contrast colors to emphasize important points. By accommodating different learning styles, understanding improves. Just like many use closed captions while streaming, using specific communication styles can benefit everyone. #AccessibleCommunication
24/ Personally, I've found that directed searches can help reduce anxiety when entering new spaces. But remember, asking intrusive questions isn't appropriate. Let's focus on relevant topics and avoid bringing up personal matters unrelated to the current conversation. #WorkingTogether
25/ Lastly, let's strive for specific, behavioral language rather than broad labels. The SBI model (Situation, Behavior, Impact) is an effective way to address and communicate when something has gone wrong. Let's foster understanding and create positive change. #PositiveCommunication
26/ Inclusive communication is a journey, but it's one worth taking. Let's care about the feelings and needs of others, be accountable for our words, and continuously improve our understanding of language. Together, we can build a more inclusive and respectful world. 💙🌍 #InclusiveWorld
(Thread ends)
Guest's content for their marketing
Title: Unlocking Inclusive Communications: An Interview with Suzanne Wertheim
Introduction:
In a world where inclusive communications are of utmost importance, The Inclusion Bites Podcast proudly presents a thought-provoking episode with linguistics expert, Suzanne Wertheim. Join Suzanne as she discusses the intricacies of inclusive language, the impact it has on our interactions, and the strategies to foster more inclusive cultures and communications.
Body:
The Power of Inclusive Language:
Suzanne expertly delves into the significance of inclusive language, addressing the harmful effects of inappropriate comments disguised as compliments. She emphasizes the importance of acknowledging individual identity and preferences, urging listeners to use terms that individuals themselves prefer as a way of showing respect. Suzanne also highlights the need to be aware of diverse perspectives within a group, explaining that not everyone may prefer the same terminology.The Role of Education and Sensitivity:
Suzanne emphasizes the importance of caring enough, being open to critical feedback, and doing the necessary prep work when engaging in conversations around inclusivity. Detailing personal experiences, she shares how ignorance about others' lived experiences can create exhaustion and the need for individuals to educate themselves. Suzanne encourages listeners to make an effort to avoid offensive language and to show that they have done their homework, so as not to burden marginalized communities with the responsibility of educating them from scratch.Navigating Pronouns and Gender Identity:
In a frank discussion, Suzanne unpacks the complexities of gender-neutral pronouns, acknowledging that shifting our language use can be challenging, especially for those who grew up using different pronoun conventions. While emphasizing the importance of understanding and using gender-neutral pronouns like "they/them," she also highlights the debate surrounding terminology in relation to disability and transgender communities. Suzanne provides insights into the intricacies and sensitivities surrounding language choices.Creating Inclusive Communications:
Suzanne provides practical tips for improving inclusive communications, drawing from her extensive background in linguistics. She stresses the importance of actively including all individuals, ensuring that everyone feels a sense of belonging. Suzanne advocates for consciously considering the needs of others when speaking, such as checking for specific accommodations in advance. By discussing specific behaviors and using the SBI model (situation, behavior, impact), she encourages listeners to address instances of exclusion and create more inclusive and respectful environments.
Conclusion:
Unlocking inclusive communications is not a matter of simply using the right words; it requires empathy, education, and a deep understanding of diverse experiences. Suzanne Wertheim's enlightening conversation on The Inclusion Bites Podcast highlights the power of inclusive language and the necessity of conscious, considerate communication. By adopting these strategies, we can create more inclusive cultures and foster meaningful connections with one another.
Note: When using gender pronouns in this article, please substitute the appropriate pronoun for the guest when finalizing the content.
Questions Asked that were insightful
Absolutely! Here are some key questions that were asked during the interview, along with insightful responses that could be turned into a series of FAQs for our audience:
How can we navigate conversations where people make inappropriate comments about not seeing someone's race?
Response: "It's important to understand that not seeing someone's race as a compliment can be offensive. Acknowledging and respecting a person's racial identity is crucial for inclusive communication."
What can we do to avoid gatekeeping around inclusive language and pronouns?
Response: "To avoid gatekeeping, it's important to educate ourselves and be open to critical feedback. We should respect individuals' preferred terms and be aware that not everyone may have the same preferences."
How can we effectively communicate without burdening others for education or correction?
Response: "By doing the prep work, showing that we've already made an effort to learn and respect others' experiences, we can create a more positive interaction. This helps avoid putting the burden solely on others to educate us."
What is the importance of inclusive language for individuals with different abilities?
Response: "Inclusive language is crucial for individuals with different abilities to feel a sense of belonging and to be treated like everyone else. We must be mindful of terminology preference and avoid othering individuals based on their abilities."
How can we address issues of non-consensual interactions through language?
Response: "Using accountability tactics like acknowledging wrongdoing is effective in addressing issues like sexual assault, and can be applied to verbal problems as well. Creating a culture of accountability is crucial for inclusive communication."
These are just a few examples, but we can certainly expand on these FAQs and cover other insightful questions that were discussed during the interview to provide our audience with valuable information on unlocking inclusive communications.
Pain Points and Challenges
Yes, there were several pain points and challenges discussed during the interview. Some of these could be used to create content focused on addressing those issues, such as:
Inappropriate comments: Addressing how to navigate and respond to inappropriate comments made towards different marginalized groups, like the example given about making comments to black friends that negate their identity.
Gatekeeping around inclusive language: Discussing the challenges faced when using inclusive language and pronouns, and how people may be criticized for not being knowledgeable enough. This can lead to a discussion on ways to foster a more supportive and inclusive environment.
Ignorance and the burden of education: Highlighting the frustration and exhaustion experienced by people when others are ignorant about their lived experiences. This can lead to a discussion on how to approach learning and educating oneself without burdening marginalized individuals.
Language learning and cultural sensitivity: Exploring personal experiences with language learning and cultural sensitivity, like the example of wanting to learn respectful phrases on a Navajo reservation but feeling unsure and worried about saying the wrong thing. This can lead to a discussion on how to approach language learning respectfully and navigate cultural differences.
Pronouns and gender-neutral language: Discussing the complexities of using gender-neutral pronouns and language, and the challenges some individuals may face in adopting these new pronoun conventions. This can lead to a discussion on the importance of understanding and using gender-neutral language, and providing resources for individuals to learn and practice.
Gatekeeping and terminology: Exploring the debate around terminology and identity, like the example of the terminology "person with a disability" versus "disabled person." This can lead to a discussion on the importance of respecting individuals' preferred terminology and avoiding gatekeeping.
Accountability in communication: Addressing the importance of accountability in communication and how acknowledging wrongdoing and taking responsibility can help address issues like verbal problems and promote a more inclusive environment.
Accessibility in communication events: Discussing the importance of planning communication events with inclusivity in mind, similar to event planning, and providing specific accommodations for individuals with different communication needs, such as individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
By addressing these pain points and challenges, the content can provide valuable insights and strategies for creating more inclusive and respectful communication.
Blog article based on the episode
Title: Unlocking Inclusive Communications: Building a Language of Belonging
Introduction:
In this episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, host Joanne Lockwood delves into the complex world of inclusive communications. Inspired by guest Suzanne Wertheim, a renowned linguist and advocate for inclusivity, this episode unravels the power dynamics embedded in language while offering tangible strategies to foster a culture of belonging. Join us as we explore the intersection of linguistics and inclusivity, and discover how we can all contribute to unlocking the power of inclusive communications.
Unveiling the Problem:
The episode begins by shedding light on the subtleties of offensive language and communication. Often, individuals may unknowingly make inappropriate comments to their black friends, claiming not to see them as black, which is far from a compliment. Gatekeeping also comes into play, where people are criticized for not being knowledgeable enough when it comes to inclusive language and pronouns. Such behaviors create an exclusionary atmosphere, reinforcing harmful power dynamics and preventing true inclusivity.
Key Actionable Items:
Respectful Terminology: The guest speaker emphasizes the importance of using the terms that individuals prefer as a way of showing respect. However, in diverse groups, it is crucial to explain one's choice of terminology and acknowledge that not everyone may prefer the same term. Doing the necessary prep work and being open to critical feedback are key factors in fostering successful conversations.
Avoiding Ignorance: It is imperative to understand the impact of our words on others. Some individuals experience exhaustion from others' ignorance about their lived experiences. Instead of asking for education or correction, the speaker encourages showing that you have done your homework and putting in the effort to avoid offensive language. By demonstrating knowledge, others won't feel burdened by having to educate from scratch.
The Importance of Pronouns: The episode highlights the complexities of using gender-neutral pronouns and the challenges that arise when shifting from pronoun conventions we grew up with. Gender-neutral pronouns, such as "they/them," may be difficult for some to adapt to. It is essential to understand and respect these preferences, particularly for those in the transgender community who face gatekeeping and debates over terminology.
Sensitivity around Disabilities: The speaker emphasizes the need to be mindful and inclusive when discussing disabilities. The choice of terminology, such as "person with a disability" versus "disabled person," can vary between the UK and the US. Listening to disabled activists who have a preference, such as "wheelchair user," allows for respectful and inclusive communication. It is essential to be considerate and avoid othering individuals or making assumptions about their conditions.
Call to Action:
Building inclusive communications requires a conscious shift in our language habits. It is not enough to be passively inclusive; we must actively consider the needs and feelings of others. By educating ourselves about inclusive language, we can remove ambiguity and negative feelings from our interactions. Let us take inspiration from Suzanne Wertheim's insights and commit to creating a language of belonging.
So, how can you contribute to unlocking inclusive communications? Start by being mindful of the impact of your words and actions. Consider the diverse experiences of those around you and the power dynamics inherent in your language choices. Take the SBI model (Situation, Behavior, Impact) as a guide when addressing communication issues. Remember, even small shifts in language use can make a significant difference in fostering inclusivity.
The Inclusion Bites Podcast, with Joanne Lockwood and guest Suzanne Wertheim, provides a powerful exploration of inclusive communications and linguistic anthropology. By incorporating the actionable items discussed in this episode into your everyday interactions, you can contribute to creating a more inclusive world, one conversation at a time.
Listen to the full episode, "Unlocking Inclusive Communications," on The Inclusion Bites Podcast, and let's embark on this journey together towards unlocking the power of inclusive language.
Note: This blog article is inspired by the episode "Unlocking Inclusive Communications" from The Inclusion Bites Podcast, featuring guest Suzanne Wertheim.
The standout line from this episode
"Effective communication is not just about the words we use, but about truly caring about the other person's feelings and needs, and being accountable for the impact we have with our language."
❓ Questions
How can inappropriate comments like "I don't even see you as [insert race/ethnicity]" be harmful rather than complimentary?
What does gatekeeping in inclusive language and pronouns look like, and why is it important to avoid criticism when someone is not knowledgeable enough?
How does using the terms that individuals prefer showcase respect in inclusive communications?
What considerations should be made when choosing terminology in a diverse group, and how can one navigate potential conflicting preferences?
How can we show care, be open to critical feedback, and do the necessary prep work for successful inclusive conversations?
What impacts can ignorance about a person's lived experience have on their well-being and engagement in conversations?
How can asking for education or correction be ineffective for those who have experienced ignorance, and what alternatives can be used to create positive interactions?
How does demonstrating that you have done your homework and making an effort to avoid offensive language contribute to more inclusive communication?
In what ways can sharing personal stories, such as the sales call example mentioned, help illustrate the importance of inclusive language and communication strategies?
How do the speaker's experiences as a professional linguist highlight the importance of visual cues and writing down new words for effective communication, particularly in cross-cultural contexts?
FAQs from the Episode
FAQ: Unlocking Inclusive Communications
What is inclusive communication?
Inclusive communication refers to the use of language and communication strategies that consider and respect the diverse experiences, identities, and needs of the audience. It aims to create an environment where everyone feels included and valued.What is the importance of terminology in inclusive communication?
Terminology plays a crucial role in inclusive communication as it reflects how we understand and relate to different identities and experiences. Using the terms and language that individuals prefer shows respect and acknowledges their unique perspectives.How can I navigate the complexity of inclusive language without unintentionally causing harm?
To navigate inclusive language effectively, it is important to educate yourself and do the necessary prep work. Be open to critical feedback and continually strive to improve. By demonstrating that you have put in effort to understand and avoid offensive language, you create a more positive and inclusive interaction.How can I ensure inclusivity in my communication without making others feel burdened?
Avoid placing the burden of education solely on marginalized and underrepresented groups. Show that you have already taken steps to educate yourself and ask specific questions to foster a conversation that is considerate and inclusive.What role does pronoun usage play in inclusive communication?
Pronouns are an essential aspect of inclusive communication. Understanding and using correct gender-neutral pronouns, such as "they/them," is crucial in respecting all individuals' gender identities. However, it may take time and practice to shift our linguistic habits in this area.How should I navigate terminologies related to disability and gender identity?
When it comes to terminologies related to disability and gender identity, it is important to listen to individuals and respect their preferences. Different individuals may prefer different terms, so being open to learning from their experiences and using the terminology they are comfortable with is key.How can I address and rectify communication mistakes?
It is important to take accountability for any communication mistakes. Using the SBI model (situation, behavior, impact), you can address and communicate when something has gone wrong. Focus on specific behaviors and their impact on others to improve future interactions.How can I ensure inclusivity for individuals with hearing impairment?
Be mindful of inclusivity for individuals with hearing loss or who are hard of hearing by enunciating clearly, making eye contact, and providing any necessary accommodations. Avoid assuming that all individuals with hearing impairment lip-read, as people may have different communication preferences.How can event planning and communication intersect to foster inclusivity?
Similar to event planning, communication planning should be consciously inclusive. Consider the needs of your audience, provide accommodations in advance, and be mindful of language choices to create an inclusive environment for everyone involved.How can I effectively communicate inclusively without making others feel marginalized?
Avoid overemphasizing a person's differences and focus on their sense of belonging. Treat everyone with respect, create a comfortable atmosphere, and be mindful of not making others feel singled out or uncomfortable.
Remember, every individual's experience and preferences may vary, so always be open to learning, adapting, and improving your communication skills in the pursuit of inclusivity.
Tell me more about the guest and their views
Our guest for this episode is Suzanne Wertheim, a linguist and anthropologist who specializes in the study of language and communication. Suzanne brings a unique perspective to the conversation, drawing on her expertise in linguistic anthropology to provide insights into inclusive and problematic language.
As a linguist, Suzanne is passionate about examining the ways in which language both reflects and shapes our understanding of the world. She believes that language plays a crucial role in creating inclusive cultures and fostering effective communication.
Throughout the episode, Suzanne emphasizes the importance of understanding the impact of our words and being mindful of the language we use. She encourages listeners to educate themselves about how language works and to actively work towards using language more fluently and inclusively. Suzanne also acknowledges that while some people may not have the terminology to identify problematic communication, there are terms like sexism, racism, transphobia, homophobia, and microaggressions that can be used to address and navigate these issues.
Suzanne believes that by bypassing resistance and helping people make small shifts in their language use, we can create more inclusive and respectful communication spaces. She emphasizes accountability and the need to acknowledge and address any wrongdoing in our communication. Suzanne also touches on the importance of considering diverse experiences and being mindful of the impact our words and actions may have on different individuals or groups.
Overall, Suzanne's views center on the power of language and the role it plays in creating inclusive cultures, fostering effective communication, and addressing problematic language and communication practices. Her insights and expertise in linguistic anthropology provide a valuable perspective in unlocking inclusive communications.
Ideas for Future Training and Workshops based on this Episode
"Mastering Inclusive Language: Building Bridges of Understanding" - This training workshop focuses on equipping participants with the knowledge and skills to communicate inclusively and respectfully, addressing topics such as appropriate terminology, pronouns, and avoiding microaggressions.
"Unlocking Inclusive Communication: Tools for Effective Conversations" - This workshop offers practical tips and techniques for having meaningful and inclusive conversations, emphasizing active listening, empathy, and understanding diverse perspectives.
"Inclusive Language in the Workplace: Creating a Culture of Respect" - This training program explores the benefits of using inclusive language in the workplace, including how it contributes to a positive and inclusive work environment. Participants will learn strategies for incorporating inclusive language into their day-to-day communication, both written and verbal.
"Effective Communication with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals" - This workshop provides participants with an understanding of the challenges faced by the deaf and hard of hearing community and how to enhance communication to ensure inclusivity. Topics covered include the use of visual cues, effective use of captions, and considerations for inclusive event planning.
"Navigating Gender Pronouns: Respecting Identity Through Language" - This training session aims to educate participants on the importance of gender-neutral language and the use of appropriate pronouns. It provides practical exercises and guidance on how to navigate conversations sensitively and respectfully, fostering a more inclusive environment for all gender identities.
"The Power of Inclusive Storytelling: Harnessing Language for Positive Impact" - This workshop explores the influence of storytelling in shaping perceptions and attitudes. Participants will learn techniques for crafting inclusive narratives that celebrate diversity and foster empathy, ultimately promoting inclusion in various settings.
"Communicating Across Cultures: A Roadmap to Cross-Cultural Understanding" - This training program focuses on raising awareness about cultural differences in communication styles, non-verbal cues, and language choices. Participants will gain practical strategies to bridge cultural gaps and foster effective communication in multicultural environments.
"Building Inclusive Communications in Customer Service" - This workshop targets customer service professionals, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to provide inclusive customer experiences. Participants will learn how to use inclusive language, respond to diverse customer needs, and handle potentially challenging situations with empathy and understanding.
"The Art of Inclusive Public Speaking: Engaging and Impactful Presentations" - This training session is designed to empower individuals to deliver inclusive and engaging presentations. Participants will learn how to use accessible language, incorporate visual aids, and create an inclusive environment that caters to diverse audiences.
"Inclusive Language in Media and Marketing: Communicating Responsibly and Authentically" - This workshop delves into the significance of using inclusive language in media and marketing campaigns. Participants will explore real-world case studies, examine the impact of language choices, and gain practical strategies for designing inclusive and effective communication strategies.
🪡 Threads by Instagram
Post 1:
Unlocking Inclusive Communication is all about using language that respects everyone's identity. Small shifts in how we talk can make a big impact. Let's create a culture where everyone feels seen and valued. #InclusiveCommunication #LanguageMatters
Post 2:
Inclusive language isn't about being politically correct, it's about being respectful. Let's educate ourselves and be mindful of our words. Together, we can build a more inclusive world. #InclusivityMatters #ChooseYourWordsCarefully
Post 3:
Communication goes beyond just words. It's about actively considering the needs of others. When we're mindful of diverse experiences and create supportive environments, it opens up genuine connections. #MindfulCommunication #BuildingConnections
Post 4:
Inclusive communication isn't a checklist, it's an ongoing commitment to empathy, understanding, and accountability. Let's care about each other's feelings and needs, and work towards positive outcomes. #EmpathyAndAccountability #BeingIntentional
Post 5:
Words have power. Let's wield that power responsibly. By using language that lifts others up and avoids exclusion, we can shape a world where everyone feels welcome and valued. #WordsHavePower #InclusionMatters
Leadership Insights - YouTube Short Video Script on Common Problems for Leaders to Address
[Background music fades in]
Host (Joanne Lockwood): Hello, and welcome back to the Leadership Insights Channel. Today, we're diving deep into a common problem faced by leaders – creating inclusive cultures and communications. It's crucial to understand the power of language and how it can either build or hinder inclusion in our workplaces.
[Text: "Unlocking Inclusive Communications"]
Host: One common challenge is the inappropriate comments made towards individuals from marginalized communities. Saying things like, "I don't even see you as [insert identity]" may not seem harmful, but it actually undermines a person's uniqueness and lived experience. So, let's ensure we avoid such comments.
[Text: "Action #1: Educate Yourself"]
Host: The first action is to educate yourself. Take the time to learn about inclusive language and pronouns, and understand why they matter. By expanding your knowledge, you'll be able to communicate with respect and inclusivity.
[Text: "Action #2: Be Open to Critical Feedback"]
Host: Action number two is being open to critical feedback. When someone corrects your language, listen attentively and embrace it as an opportunity to grow. It may feel uncomfortable, but remember that feedback is a valuable gift for personal development.
[Text: "Action #3: Demonstrate Care and Preparedness"]
Host: The third action is to demonstrate care and preparedness in your conversations. People from marginalized communities often experience exhaustion from ignorance about their lived experiences. Show that you care by doing your homework, avoiding offensive language, and being prepared to engage in meaningful dialogue.
[Text: "Action #4: Draw People In, Don't Marginalize"]
Host: Our fourth action is all about drawing people in, rather than marginalizing them. Some individuals simply want to feel a sense of belonging, like everyone else. Understand their preference, and treat them accordingly. Avoid constantly highlighting their differences.
[Text: "Action #5: Use Pronouns Respectfully"]
Host: Lastly, let's talk about pronouns. Using the correct pronouns is crucial for creating inclusive communications. It may be challenging at first, especially if you grew up with different conventions. However, it's essential to understand and respect gender-neutral pronouns like "they/them."
[Text: "Wrap-Up"]
Host: So, there you have it – five actions to unlock inclusive communications in your leadership role. By educating yourself, being open to critical feedback, demonstrating care and preparedness, drawing people in, and using pronouns respectfully, you'll be making a positive difference in your workplace.
Remember, inclusion is not just about using the right words; it's about creating an environment where every voice is heard and valued. Let's strive for inclusive communications in our leadership journey.
[Text: "Leadership Insights Channel. Subscribe for more insights."]
Host: Thank you for joining us today on the Leadership Insights Channel. Don't forget to subscribe for more valuable insights. Until next time, take care and lead with inclusivity.
[Background music fades out. Fade to black.]
[End of script]
SEO Optimised Titles
"7 Inclusive Language Strategies for Effective Communication | Unlocking Inclusive Communications" - Joanne Lockwood @The Inclusion Bites Podcast
"The Power of Specificity: Using the SBI Model for Positive Communication Impact | Unlocking Inclusive Communications" - Joanne Lockwood @The Inclusion Bites Podcast
"Building Inclusive Cultures: Strategies to Foster Respectful Conversations | Unlocking Inclusive Communications" - Joanne Lockwood @The Inclusion Bites Podcast
Email Newsletter about this Podcast Episode
Subject: Unlocking Inclusive Communications: A Bite-Sized Podcast Episode You Don't Want to Miss!
Hey there,
I hope you're having an awesome day! I wanted to share with you a fantastic episode of our podcast, The Inclusion Bites Podcast, hosted by the amazing Joanne Lockwood. In this episode titled "Unlocking Inclusive Communications," Joanne is joined by the talented linguist Suzanne Wertheim to delve into the fascinating world of inclusive language and communication.
So, what can you expect from this episode? Allow me to give you a sneak peek!
In this episode, you'll learn:
The importance of using the terms that individuals prefer to demonstrate respect and avoid unintentional microaggressions.
The significance of doing your homework and being aware of potential offensive language.
How to navigate the complexities of pronouns and gender-neutral language.
The power of inclusive communication in creating a sense of belonging and avoiding unnecessary highlighting of differences.
Strategies for planning inclusive communication events using an inclusion checklist.
Now, here's a unique fact from the episode: Did you know that pronouns are stored differently in our brain compared to other words? It's pretty mind-blowing!
As a call to action, we want to encourage you to educate yourself about the nuances of inclusive language. Small shifts in our language use can make a huge difference in creating a more inclusive environment. We challenge you to be mindful of your words and actions, showing empathy and understanding towards others' identities and lived experiences.
And finally, the speaker's ability to convey emotion and knowledge through their engaging presentation style, accompanied by slides with big letters and high contrast colors, has been highly praised and well-received by our listeners.
So, there you have it! Unlock the secrets of inclusive communication by tuning in to "Unlocking Inclusive Communications" on The Inclusion Bites Podcast. Remember, it's the little things that can make a big impact!
Thank you for being a part of our inclusive community. Together, we can make a difference!
Wishing you a fantastic day ahead.
Warm regards,
[Your Name]
Potted Summary
🎙️ Intro: In this episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, Joanne Lockwood and guest Suzanne Wertheim delve into the intricacies of inclusive communications. From navigating inappropriate comments to understanding the complexities of pronouns and terminology, they explore the power of language in fostering inclusivity. Join the conversation as they share insights, personal experiences, and strategies for building inclusive cultures. 🎧
💬 In this conversation we discuss:
1️⃣ Inclusive language & pronouns
2️⃣ The impact of language on marginalized communities
3️⃣ Strategies for creating inclusive communication
💬 Quotable Moments:
1️⃣ "Caring enough, being open to critical feedback, and doing prep work are key factors for a successful conversation."
2️⃣ "Not everyone who is hard of hearing lip reads, but there are people who rely on visual cues to better understand speech."
3️⃣ "Inclusion language is still a form of verbal attack and can make people feel bad."
📢 Summary: Join Joanne Lockwood and Suzanne Wertheim as they unlock the power of inclusive communications in this insightful episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast. From understanding the impact of language on marginalized communities to navigating the complexities of pronouns, they provide valuable strategies for fostering inclusivity in our interactions. Don't miss out on this eye-opening conversation – tune in to the full episode now! 🎧
LinkedIn Poll
LinkedIn Poll Question:
"Which inclusive communication strategy do you find most effective? 🗣️🌍 #InclusiveComms #DiverseLanguage"
Response Options:
"Using preferred terms 💬🚀 #RespectfulLanguage"
"Doing the prep work 📚💪 #InclusivePreparation"
"Acknowledging diverse experiences 👥❤️ #EmpathyMatters"
"Using the SBI model 📝🌟 #EffectiveFeedback"
Highlight the Importance of this topic on LinkedIn
🌟 Unlocking Inclusive Communications: Why it Matters! 🌟
🗣️ As a Senior Leader, HR or EDI professional, I just had an eye-opening experience listening to the latest episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast. 🎧💡
😊💬 Language matters! It's the key to inclusivity and creating respectful environments in our industry and profession. We need to unlock inclusive communications for all.
💪🌍 This discussion on linguistic anthropology and the power of inclusive language has opened my eyes to the nuances and impact of our words. It's given me a fresh perspective on building inclusive cultures and communications.
📚💡 From gatekeeping to pronouns, microaggressions to accountability, the podcast covered it all! It reminded me of the importance of educating myself, using the right terminology, and being open to critical feedback. Let's do our prep work and create conversations that empower and respect everyone.
🤝🔓 Let's break down the barriers and create a workplace culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued. Together, we can build a more inclusive industry and profession.
#InclusiveCommunications #LanguageMatters #InclusionMatters #CreateChange 💙✨
L&D Insights
📢 As an L&D expert reporting on "Unlocking Inclusive Communications," here are the key takeaways for Senior Leaders, HR, and EDI professionals:
1️⃣ Insights:
Inclusive language and communication are essential for building inclusive cultures.
Gatekeeping and criticism around using inclusive language can create barriers.
Taking the time to learn and use terminology preferred by individuals demonstrates respect.
Acknowledge and address diversity within a group when choosing terminology.
Effective conversations require caring, openness to feedback, and preparation.
2️⃣ "Aha moments":
Some people experience exhaustion from others' ignorance about their lived experiences.
Asking for education or correction may not be effective for marginalized individuals.
Small shifts in language use can make a significant impact.
Language is stored differently in our brains, and pronouns can be challenging to change.
The complexity of prescriptive language choice and gatekeeping within marginalized communities.
3️⃣ Action points:
Educate yourself on how language works to improve inclusive communication fluency.
Be mindful of terminology and strive to avoid offensive language.
Show that you have done your homework and avoid burdening others with education.
Consider specific accommodations for communication events.
Use the SBI model (situation, behavior, impact) to address communication problems.
📸 Hashtags: #LanguageMatters #InclusionBites #EffectiveCommunications #InclusiveCulture #LDExpertReport
Shorts Video Script
Title: Unlocking Inclusive Communications! 🌍🗣️
Hashtags: #InclusiveCommunications #LanguageMatters #MakeADifference #StayConnected #StayInclusive
[Video starts with a close-up shot of myself, smiling]
Me: Hey there! 👋 Do you want to unlock the power of inclusive communications? Let's dive in! 💫
[Text on screen: "Key Insights"]
Me: In today's discussion, we explored the importance of using the right language and communication to create inclusive spaces. 🤝
[Text on screen: "Educate Yourself"]
Me: It all starts with educating ourselves. 📚 Understanding the different ways our words can impact others helps us make better choices in our conversations.
[Text on screen: "Specific Behaviors Matter"]
Me: Remember, it's not just about labels or stereotypes. We must focus on specific behaviors and actions that can make people feel excluded or included. 🌟
[Text on screen: "Be Accountable"]
Me: Being accountable for our words is key. 💬 We must acknowledge when we make mistakes and take responsibility for the impact they may have had.
[Text on screen: "Consider Diverse Experiences"]
Me: It's essential to consider the diverse experiences and backgrounds of others. 🌍 What may seem harmless to us could be hurtful to someone else.
[Text on screen: "Focus on Impact"]
Me: Instead of dwelling on intent, let's focus on impact. 🎯 How our words and actions make others feel is what truly matters.
[Text on screen: "Take Small Steps"]
Me: We can make a difference by taking small steps. Let's strive to create a culture of inclusivity, one conversation at a time. 💪
[Text on screen: "Stay Connected, Stay Inclusive"]
Me: Thanks for watching! Remember, together we can make a difference. Stay connected, stay inclusive! See you next time. ✨
[Fade out]
Thanks for watching! Remember, together we can make a difference. Stay connected, stay inclusive! See you next time. ✨
Glossary of Terms and Phrases
In this episode, there are a few concepts and terms that may be less common in everyday conversations. Here is a list of some of those words/phrases and their definitions as implied in the episode:
Gatekeeping: The act of controlling or limiting access to a certain community or knowledge, often by imposing strict rules or standards.
Microaggressions: Subtle, everyday behaviors or comments that may unintentionally discriminate against or belittle marginalized groups, often based on stereotypes.
Prescriptive Language: The use of language rules and guidelines that dictate how language should be used, as opposed to descriptive language that observes how people actually use language.
Linguistic Privilege: The advantage or benefits that someone may have in terms of language skills, fluency, or accessibility, which can affect their ability to communicate effectively and be included.
Inclusive Checklist: A set of guidelines or criteria used to ensure that communication or event planning is inclusive, covering aspects such as accessibility, accommodation, and sensitivity to diverse identities.
Neurodiversity: The concept that neurological differences, such as autism or ADHD, should be recognized and respected as a natural part of human diversity, rather than being pathologized or stigmatized.
Closed Captions: Textual representations of spoken words in videos or live events, typically used to assist people with hearing impairments but also beneficial for language processing.
SBI Model: A communication model that stands for Situation, Behavior, and Impact. It is used to address and communicate when something has gone wrong, focusing on specific instances and their consequences.
Please note that these definitions are based on the context of the episode and may have broader or more specific meanings in other contexts.
SEO Optimised YouTube Content
Focus Keyword: Positive People Experiences
Title: Unlocking Inclusive Communications and Cultivating Positive People Experiences | #InclusionBitesPodcast
Tags: inclusive communication, culture change, linguistic anthropology, inclusive language, pronouns, education, respect, microaggressions, gatekeeping, verbal communication, disabilities, hearing loss, empathy, accountability, language fluency, diversity, inclusivity, tag, tag, tag, tag
Killer Quote: "Using accountability tactics like acknowledging wrongdoing is effective in addressing issues like sexual assault and can be applied to verbal problems as well." - Suzanne Wertheim
Hashtags: #inclusivecommunication #culturechange #positivepeopleexperiences #inclusivecultures #diversityandinclusion #verbalcommunication #inclusiveleadership #inclusivelanguage #linguisticanthropology #empathyandunderstanding #accountability #education #disabilities #hearingloss #inclusiveworkplaces #respect #microaggressions #gatekeeping #languagefluency #inclusivelanguageuse
Why Listen:
In this episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, Joanne Lockwood and Suzanne Wertheim delve into the fascinating world of linguistic anthropology to explore the complexities of inclusive and problematic language. They highlight the importance of communication that fosters positive people experiences and drives culture change. By understanding the impact of language choices, educating ourselves, and practicing accountability, we can create more inclusive cultures and communities. Join Joanne and Suzanne as they provide actionable insights and strategies to navigate inclusive communications and spark positive change.
Closing Summary and Call to Action:
Understand the power of language: Learn how our words can impact others and contribute to a culture of inclusivity or exclusion. Acknowledge the importance of inclusive language in creating positive people experiences.
Educate yourself: Take the initiative to educate yourself about different identities, experiences, and perspectives. Research and familiarize yourself with inclusive terminology to engage in meaningful conversations and avoid unintentional microaggressions.
Practice empathy and accountability: Cultivate empathy towards others by actively listening, acknowledging the impact of your words, and taking responsibility for any unintentional harm caused. Incorporate accountability strategies, such as the SBI model (Situation, Behavior, Impact), to address and rectify communication mishaps.
Consider diverse audiences: Be mindful of the diverse experiences and backgrounds of your audience when communicating. Avoid assumptions, stereotypes, and offensive language by actively considering different perspectives and sensitivities.
Embrace curiosity and openness: Foster a culture of continuous learning by engaging in open and respectful conversations. Encourage questions and discussions that promote understanding and inclusivity while avoiding over-emphasizing and making others uncomfortable.
Prioritize accessibility: Consider the accessibility needs of your audience when planning and delivering communications. Provide accommodations such as closed captions, sign language interpreters, and ensuring good signage for those with hearing loss or other disabilities.
Become a language champion: Champion the use of inclusive language in your personal and professional life. Share your knowledge and educate others about the power and impact of language choices on building inclusive cultures and positive people experiences.
Remember, small shifts in our language can make a significant difference in creating inclusive environments. Let's commit to being mindful, empathetic, and accountable communicators, and together, we can drive culture change and foster positive people experiences.
Outro:
Thank you for tuning in to The Inclusion Bites Podcast. We hope this episode has provided valuable insights and tools to enhance your understanding of inclusive communications. If you enjoyed this episode, remember to like and subscribe to our channel for more thought-provoking content. For additional resources and information, visit our website at SEE Change Happen (https://seechangehappen.co.uk) and explore The Inclusion Bites Podcast (https://seechangehappen.co.uk/inclusion-bites-listen). Stay curious, stay kind, and stay inclusive.
Stay curious, stay kind, and stay inclusive - Joanne Lockwood
Root Cause Analyst - Why!
Problem: Inappropriate comments and lack of awareness regarding racial identity.
Why? Some people may make inappropriate comments because they don't see them as harmful or understand the impact.
Why? They may lack knowledge and understanding about race, racism, and the experiences of different racial groups.
Why? Lack of education, exposure to diverse perspectives, and a failure to engage in self-reflection and critical thinking.
Why? Society may not prioritize or provide sufficient resources for education on racial sensitivities.
Why? There may be systemic inequalities that perpetuate ignorance and prejudice.
Root Cause: Society's failure to prioritize and provide comprehensive education on race and racial sensitivity.
Solution:
Education and awareness: Implement inclusive and comprehensive educational programs that teach about race, racism, and the experiences of different racial groups.
Curriculum review: Review school curricula to ensure accurate, diverse, and inclusive representation of history, culture, and lived experiences.
Community engagement: Encourage open and respectful conversations about race and racism. Foster safe spaces for dialogue and learning.
Media representation: Advocate for diverse and authentic representation in media, literature, and other creative platforms to broaden perspectives and challenge stereotypes.
Continuous learning: Encourage individuals to engage in self-reflection, seek out diverse perspectives, and actively educate themselves on racial issues.
By addressing the root cause through education, dialogue, and representation, we can foster a more inclusive society and prevent inappropriate comments based on race.
TikTok/Reels/Shorts Video Summary
Focus Keyword: "Unlocking Inclusive Communications"
Title: Unlocking Inclusive Communications | #InclusionBitesPodcast
Tags: inclusivity, communication, culture change, linguistic anthropology, positive people experiences, inclusive language, gatekeeping, pronouns, terminology, education, critical feedback, microaggressions, accountability, hearing loss, empathy, language processing, disability, inclusive culture, linguistic skills, behavioral communication, diverse experiences, press releases
Killer Quote: "Using accountability tactics like acknowledging wrongdoing is effective in addressing issues like sexual assault and can be applied to verbal problems as well." - Suzanne Wertheim
Hashtags: #inclusion #communicationmatters #diversityandinclusion #inclusionpodcast #inclusiveculture #language #inclusivecommunication #communicationtips #hearinglossawareness #learnandgrow #positivity #inclusivebehavior #accountability #culturalchange #inclusivequotes #linguistics #understanding #inclusivecommunity #empowerment #acceptance
Summary Description:
In this episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, Joanne Lockwood and guest Suzanne Wertheim dive deep into the topic of unlocking inclusive communications. They explore the importance of inclusive language, addressing problematic communication, and fostering positivity in interactions. Suzanne shares her expertise as a linguistic anthropologist and discusses the impact of gatekeeping and the use of pronouns. They highlight the significance of empathy, accountability, and understanding diverse experiences for a successful conversation. The episode also explores the challenges faced by those with hearing loss and the ways in which we can ensure inclusive communication for all. Join Joanne and Suzanne as they provide actionable tips and strategies to improve inclusive communications and create a culture change. Listen now to unlock the power of inclusive conversations.
Call to Action: Are you ready to unlock inclusive communications? Tune in to The Inclusion Bites Podcast to learn how to use language more fluently, foster empathy, and create a positive impact through communication. Let's build an inclusive culture together. #UnlockInclusion
Outro: Thank you for tuning in to The Inclusion Bites Podcast. Remember to like and subscribe to our channel for more insightful episodes. Stay curious, stay kind, and stay inclusive. For more information, visit our SEE Change Happen website at https://seechangehappen.co.uk. And don't forget to listen to the full episode, "The Inclusion Bites Podcast," on our website or your preferred podcast platform.
Canva Slider Checklist
Topic
Respectful Language
Accountability
Accessibility
Empathy
Specific Communication
Checklist
Respectful Language
Use the terms individuals prefer, respecting their choices.
In diverse groups, acknowledge that preferences may vary and explain your terminology choices.
Avoid offensive language and show that you've done your homework.
Accountability
Acknowledge wrongdoing and take responsibility for mistakes.
Be open to critical feedback and show willingness to learn.
Avoid over-apologizing and focus on addressing the issue constructively.
Accessibility
Be mindful of different communication needs, such as visual cues or sign language.
Enunciate clearly, look at people when speaking, and consider specific accommodations.
Actively think about the needs of others to make sure your communication is inclusive.
Empathy
Understand and recognize others' lived experiences and identities.
Foster a sense of belonging by treating everyone equally, without constant highlighting of differences.
Care about others' feelings and needs, aiming for positive outcomes in conversations.
Specific Communication
Focus on specific behaviors or words rather than broad labels.
Use the SBI model: Situation, Behavior, Impact, to address issues effectively.
Consider diverse experiences and the impact of your words or actions on different individuals or groups.
Opening Slide (50-word summary):
Unlock inclusive communications with these key best practices:
Respectful Language
Accountability
Accessibility
Empathy
Specific Communication
Enhance your workplace by adopting these inclusive communication strategies.
Closing Slide (<50 words):
Connect with Joanne Lockwood at SEE Change Happen to learn more about inclusive communication. Visit https://seechangehappen.co.uk and take the first step towards building an inclusive culture today.
Episode Carousel
Slide 1:
🎙️ The Inclusion Bites Podcast presents: Unlocking Inclusive Communications 🌟
🤔 Are you aware of the impact your words can have? Let's dive into the fascinating world of linguistic anthropology and explore the power of inclusive language! Join us on this thought-provoking journey. 💬🌍
Slide 2:
🔑 Key Takeaways:
1️⃣ Using preferred terms shows respect: Discover why using the correct terminology matters and how it contributes to inclusive communication.
2️⃣ The power of doing your homework: Learn why educating yourself and avoiding offensive language helps foster positive interactions.
Slide 3:
🔑 Key Takeaways (cont'd):
3️⃣ Understanding pronouns: Delve into the complexities of gender-neutral pronouns and why making the shift can be challenging but crucial.
4️⃣ Addressing disability and terminology: Explore the nuances of person-first language vs. identity-first language and why it matters to different communities.
Slide 4:
🌟 Language is a tool for connection and empowerment! 🌟
🔍 Discover how to communicate inclusively and navigate potentially challenging conversations. Let's promote understanding and unity together! 💪✨
Slide 5:
🎧 Ready to unlock inclusive communications? 🎧
📲 Click the link in our bio to listen to the full episode now! Let's create a world where everyone feels heard, respected, and included! 🌈🗣️
#InclusionBitesPodcast #UnlockInclusiveComms #InclusiveLanguage #LinguisticAnthropology #ListenNow
6 major topics
Title: Unlocking Inclusive Communications: Conversations That Matter
Introductory Paragraph:
Hey there, lovely listeners! Welcome to another riveting episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast. Today, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the brilliant Suzanne Wertheim to dive into the fascinating world of inclusive communications. As a linguistic anthropologist, Suzanne brings a fresh perspective on how language impacts our interactions, and more importantly, how we can create inclusive cultures through our communication choices. So, grab your headphones and get ready to unlock a wealth of knowledge. Let's dive into the six major topics we explored together!
Navigating Inappropriate Comments with Grace:
When discussing inclusive communications, Suzanne sheds light on the inappropriate comments some people make to their Black friends, thinking they're giving a compliment by saying they don't even see color. Curiosity arises as Suzanne explains why these comments are far from complimentary and suggests alternative approaches to show respect and promote inclusivity.The Power of Language and Pronouns:
Do you ever find yourself gatekeeping the use of inclusive language and pronouns? Suzanne delves into this touchy subject, where people may be criticized for not being knowledgeable enough. We explore how using the terms individuals prefer can be a powerful way to demonstrate respect and inclusivity. But how do we navigate diverse groups and terminology preferences? Suzanne offers valuable insights and practical advice.Effective Conversations: Caring, Feedback, and Preparation:
Ever wonder why some conversations fall flat while others flourish? Suzanne emphasizes that caring enough, being open to critical feedback, and doing prep work are key factors for successful conversations. We discuss the importance of understanding and acknowledging others' lived experiences and the mental exhaustion that can arise when faced with ignorance. How can we create more positive interactions? Suzanne shares a captivating story to illustrate the significance of these factors.The Delicate Dance of Language:
Being a professional linguist, Suzanne reflects on her own struggle with retaining information without visual cues. From learning multiple languages to studying how one language influences another, she offers a unique perspective on language acquisition. Suzanne shares a memorable incident on a Navajo reservation, highlighting the carefulness required when aiming to learn respectful phrases and the fear of unintentionally saying something offensive.The Complexities of Being Prescriptive:
In our pursuit of inclusivity, Suzanne raises thought-provoking questions about the terminology we use. Is it "person with a disability" or "disabled person"? The debate rages on. She introduces us to a disabled activist who prefers the term "wheelchair user." We delve into the phenomena of gatekeeping, particularly when it comes to disability and potentially transgender individuals. Suzanne confronts the complexities of prescribing how a person should be identified.The Dance of Effective Communication:
Suzanne unveils the less-explored world of inclusive communication and problematic language. We explore the importance of talking about language, uncovering our linguistic blind spots, and creating a safe space for dialogue. Suzanne shares her expertise on tackling issues such as sexism, racism, transphobia, homophobia, and microaggressions through accountable tactics and conscious language choices. We discover the power of considering diverse audiences and making communication a tool for inclusion.
Conclusion:
Wow, what a mind-blowing conversation! Suzanne's insights into unlocking inclusive communications have truly broadened my understanding of how our language choices can shape inclusive cultures. From navigating inappropriate comments with grace to understanding the complexities of being prescriptive, each topic we explored left me with a deeper appreciation for the power of communication. Remember, listeners, let's strive for conscious and inclusive communication in all aspects of our lives. Until next time, keep those conversations inclusive and bite-sized!
Pain Points and Challenges
Certainly, the interview highlighted several pain points and challenges related to inclusive communications that could be valuable for addressing in content creation. For example, the challenges of understanding and using gender-neutral pronouns, the impact of overemphasizing inclusivity, the importance of avoiding intrusive questions, and the need to be mindful of the impact of language on different audiences were all key points of discussion. These topics could be explored in more depth to provide practical guidance and strategies for creating more inclusive and respectful communication environments.
Pain Points and Challenges
Yes, there were several pain points and challenges discussed during the interview that could be used to create content focused on addressing inclusive communication issues. The guest, Suzanne Wertheim, shared insights on the difficulties of effectively communicating with diverse audiences, the challenges of using inclusive language and pronouns, as well as the struggle of being mindful of the impact of words or actions on different individuals or groups.
Some specific pain points and challenges that could be addressed in the content include:
Gatekeeping around using inclusive language and pronouns, where people may be criticized for not being knowledgeable enough.
The exhaustion experienced by some individuals from others' ignorance about their lived experiences.
The complexity of learning and using gender-neutral pronouns such as "they/them" for individuals who did not grow up with them.
The potential impact of unconscious biases and negative language on marginalized or underrepresented groups.
The difficulties of effectively acknowledging and addressing linguistic and communication-related barriers faced by individuals with disabilities or other specific needs.
By addressing these pain points and challenges in the content, the podcast can provide valuable insights and strategies to help listeners navigate and improve their inclusive communications and interactions.
Pain Points and Challenges
The interview touched upon several pain points and challenges related to inclusive communications. One notable point was the struggle with using inclusive language and pronouns, where individuals may face criticism for not being knowledgeable enough. Additionally, the discussion highlighted the exhaustion experienced by some individuals due to others' ignorance about their lived experiences. Another important issue was the debate around terminology, such as the preference for "person with a disability" versus "disabled person," and the complexity of being prescriptive about how a person should be.
These pain points and challenges provide valuable opportunities for content creation aimed at addressing them. Topics could include strategies for navigating the complexities of inclusive language, understanding and using gender-neutral pronouns, and fostering empathy and understanding towards diverse experiences. Content could also explore the significance of understanding the impact of words and actions on different individuals or groups, and the importance of considering diverse audiences in communication efforts.
Pain Points and Challenges
Yes, the interview covered various pain points and challenges related to inclusive communication. These included issues such as inappropriate comments, gatekeeping around inclusive language, fatigue from ignorance, difficulties in learning and using new language, ambiguity and negative feelings stemming from language use, the impact of non-consensual interactions, and the need for accountability and empathy in communication.
The content could address these challenges by providing strategies for navigating difficult conversations, understanding the impact of language on diverse audiences, and implementing inclusive language practices. It could also explore the importance of empathy and accountability in communication and provide practical tips for creating a more inclusive and respectful language environment.
The content could include real-life examples, expert insights, and actionable advice to help listeners address these pain points and challenges in their own communication practices.
Pain Points and Challenges
Title: Overcoming the Challenges of Inclusive Communication: Strategies for Building Positive Engagement
Host: Joanne Lockwood
Guest: Suzanne Wertheim
Introduction:
In today's episode, we dive into the complex world of inclusive communication and the challenges that individuals and organizations face in creating truly inclusive cultures. Our guest, Suzanne Wertheim, a professional linguist, shares insights into specific pain points and challenges that need to be addressed. Let's explore how we can overcome these hurdles and foster positive engagement through inclusive communication.
Key Challenges and Pain Points:
Ignorance and Insensitivity: Some individuals make inappropriate comments or ask intrusive questions, causing discomfort and exhaustion for those on the receiving end.
Gatekeeping and Criticism: There is a fear of being criticised for not using inclusive language and pronouns correctly, leading to reluctance and apprehension in communication.
Language Retention and Learning Styles: Difficulty in retaining information without visual cues and challenges in adopting new words and terminology.
Pronoun Usage: Shifting to gender-neutral pronouns and addressing complex pronoun conventions, especially for those who did not grow up using them.
Disability Terminology Debate: The ongoing debate around choosing the most inclusive terminology for addressing disability, and the impact of language on individuals' sense of belonging.
Strategies for Overcoming Challenges:
Education and Preparation: Building understanding and empathy through self-education and preparing oneself to communicate respectfully by doing thorough research and acknowledging potential areas of ignorance.
Active Listening and Empathy: Showing genuine care for others' experiences and needs, and being open to learning from different perspectives.
Inclusive Communication Event Planning: Applying event planning skills to communication strategies, including creating checklists to ensure inclusive language and consider specific accommodations.
Specific Behavioural Feedback: Using the SBI model (Situation, Behavior, Impact) to address problematic communication and focusing on specific actions rather than broad labels.
Visual Aids and Accessible Communication: Utilising visual cues, high-contrast colours, and closed captions to facilitate inclusive understanding and knowledge processing.
Conclusion:
Navigating the landscape of inclusive communication poses challenges, but with intentional effort and empathy, we can transform communication into a vehicle for positive engagement and belonging. By addressing these pain points and adopting the suggested strategies, we can foster inclusive cultures and build meaningful relationships through our words and actions.
Join us next time as we continue to unpack the dynamics of inclusive communication on The Inclusion Bites Podcast.
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