We don’t play favourites. But after years of partnership, Tyler Moselle, Managing Editor of Cisco’s Global Employee Communications, is pretty special to us. So we were thrilled to to talk with her about accessibility, inclusivity, and global readability—from a language perspective.
Together with Senior Account Manager Sancha Spiller, we talked about why shorter messages are kinder for your reader. How feeling safe to take risks encourages accessibility. And how “you don’t need a disability to benefit from what accessibility truly means.”
Short on time? Read on for tips for how to put accessibility into action on your next bit of writing.
Keep things brief
Easier said than done. As writers, we can get carried away with the story. But if we know readers are short on time and attention (it’s us, we’re readers). The kindest thing we can do is keep things brief, so our readers can find what they’re looking for–fast.
Try this:
- Use the 1% test: If your reader’s phone was about to die, could they find the point of your story and understand what it’s about before it went dark? If not, move the main point up.
- Know, feel, do: Before you start writing, decide what you want readers to know, feel, and do after reading your piece. It’ll ensure everything you write is working towards your goal.
- So what?: If you want readers to care, you have to give them a reason. So ask yourself ‘so what?’ about what you’re trying to say. Uncover the golden nugget of information that will matter to them most. Then speak to it first.
Embrace cultural humility and curiosity
The fastest way to lose a reader is to make them feel excluded. Cultural humility happens when you learn about other cultures while reflecting on yourself and your own. It helps us embrace nuance, deepen consideration for others, and avoid ethnocentrism.
And it starts and ends with curiosity.
Try this:
- Inclusive language policies and tone of voice guidelines: They help us get rid of jargon, slang, or culturally focused idioms while maintaining a welcoming tone.
- Never stop learning: Academy sessions. Office hours. Inclusive community events. Heck, even webinars on financial literacy. Tyler’s team has done them all (and keeps it up every quarter). Ongoing growth helps fill skill gaps, so everyone can be a part of inclusivity.
- Include alt-text and text-to-speech: Both of these standards are critical for people with disabilities. Including them in your writing is simple and makes a huge impact.
Create safe spaces to take risks
Learning happens when we push ourselves out of our comfort zone–but you can’t grow if you’re too scared to take the leap.
Tips to try:
- Slow down the urgency culture: The feeling that we to produce without slowing down to simplify our process is a common one. Which is why making time to review work and having a thoughtful structure when starting your writing makes it easier—from start to finish. And builds trust between teammates.
- Start with empathy and proximity: The closer you get to empathy and proximity, the closer you get to breaking down what global readability and accessibility is. It’s all about making people feel heard, seen, and valued.
Want to know more?
Curious about how to make your writing more inclusive and accessible? Contact The Writer and we'll show you how.
