Inclusive language The

Learning how to communicate

Emi Howard (24) provides training on inclusive communication at the University of Groningen. ‘The words that we use have a major impact on the person we are addressing,’ says Howard. ‘They determine who feels welcome at the University, something that every academic institution should consider when communicating.’

Howard has three tips for inclusive communication:

1

Never make assumptions about someone’s identity, such as their gender, ethnicity or age. If you don’t know someone, don’t assume that this person uses the pronouns ‘he’ or ‘she’, for example.

2

Do your research when writing about something that you don’t know much about or that you have not personally come across. For example, if you write about the accessibility of a building, research the preferred terminology to avoid using hurtful language. The phrase ‘accessible parking’ is, for example, preferable to ‘parking for the disabled’.

3

Learn from criticism. If you have written or spoken about an individual or a group of people in a way that they consider offensive, do not label them as being too sensitive. Accept your mistake and learn from it. -MvdB