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Diversity and Inclusion

Hot off the press: our thoughts on what's happening in the world of brand language and business writing. Warning: may contain the occasional rant.

Diversity and Inclusion

How Mindful Language is Boosting HSBC's Bottom Line

Hear how HSBC are creating a more mindful workplace culture. Learn how to put mindful language into practice at work.

Training, HR & internal comms, Learning & development

Diversity and Inclusion

A dose of our own medicine: lessons from our D.E.I. audit

We talk about the language of inclusivity for a living. Time to walk the walk. This year, we audited The Writer's website to see how it measured up to our own stringent standards for DEI.

Diversity and Inclusion

What’s the hidden link between mental health and language?

92% of companies know they need to be doing more to support their people’s mental health. One way to do that is to pay attention to your words in the workplace. And to use language – writing in particular – to boost wellbeing while you’re at it. Here’s how…

Writing, Learning & development

Diversity and Inclusion

Insensitive crisis comms, corrected

We’ve all come across them during “these uncertain times” – tone-deaf, cliché, or generally unhelpful Covid communications.

Writing, Brand & marketing

Diversity and Inclusion

Part 3: keeping everyone on-message

You’ve put out your statement around Black Lives Matter on social media. You’ve added a banner on your website, explaining what you’re doing to support the movement. Job done, right?

Training, Customer experience

Diversity and Inclusion

Part 2: say it with conviction

If your biggest fear about reactive messages is sounding inauthentic, don’t just pay attention to what you say. Pay attention to how you say it. Certain words, clichés or types of language signal to readers that you’re not being genuine. Here’s how to keep it real.

Training, Customer experience

Diversity and Inclusion

Part 1: Get your story straight

Brands needing to react to the news is nothing new. But between a global pandemic and the growth of the #Black Lives Matter movement, 2020 has made topical messaging pretty much a full-time job for marketing departments.

Training, Customer experience

Diversity and Inclusion

The brands ripping up the political playbook

Religion and politics. Not just the two things you don’t talk about at the dinner table, but also two things that most brands have steered clear of in the past. Or, if they did go there, they’d stick to gentle jibes or statements so general they couldn’t offend anyone.

Writing, Brand & marketing

Diversity and Inclusion

Body language

Our Sophie ponders whether it’s time to stop following our hearts, and look elsewhere for romantic inspiration.

Consulting, Customer experience

Diversity and Inclusion

Remember: your employees are people too

Our Anelia picked up plenty of pointers at the Advanced Learning Institute’s recent internal communications conference.

Consulting, HR & internal comms

Diversity and Inclusion

Words can kill

A timely reminder from Jan on how powerful words can be.

Writing, Learning & development

Diversity and Inclusion

Whose English is it anyway?

We’ve been doing lots of training in Europe recently, trying to get a big professional services firm to make their documents easier (and quicker) to read.

Training, HR & internal comms

Diversity and Inclusion

Tell us which words grate

In our workshops people often tell us there are words and phrases they use because it’s what their customers and colleagues expect, and want. We’re going to find out if that’s true.

Training, HR & internal comms

Diversity and Inclusion

The language of sport’s a funny old game

There’s something about the language of sport. It seems to exist in its own little bubble.