“Can you help me signal to my new trans employee that I’m ‘safe’? They think I’m totally out of touch.”

A while ago, I got a fascinating message, from a charity CEO.

(She’s in her early 60s, and she’s built a small team that are around 40 years younger than her. They’re mostly in their 20s).

“I have the feeling my team thinks I’m fusty, that I don’t ‘get it.’ We have a new employee who is trans, and I’m trying very, very hard to show that I’m supportive. I’m not sure my efforts are translating into the effects that I would like to see, though. Often, I’ve opened conversations about trans issues, and had a sense - not only from the new employee, but also from the whole team - of awkwardness or discomfort.”

She told me:

• she’s very fearful of saying the ‘wrong’ thing

• she feels that starting conversations about trans inclusion are a helpful way to create safety (more on that later)

• she believes her team see her as ‘too old’ to understand social issues.

For most of our call, I was in ‘coach’ mode. That means:

• asking lots of open-ended questions,

• listening deeply,

• creating space so she could explore her own thoughts, and

• working through useful frameworks, like a self-coaching model.

I offered suggestions, too (switching out of coach mode and more into ‘mentor’ mode).

They were all very carefully phrased. But here’s the less filtered version I would have likved to offer.

I would have loved to say:

“Hey, have you tried… not making a big deal out of other people’s identities?” 👀

It comes to mind any time someone is contorting themselves into ever more anxious spirals, as they try to “show how much they get it.“

When we were chatting, I had this image in my mind of someone shaping an elaborate balloon animal (trying to show: look how seriously I’m taking this!)

I wanted to pop the balloon. It doesn’t need to be that deep!

Don’t make a big deal

Sometimes, not making a big deal out of something is kind of an inclusion strategy.1

Sometimes, inclusive communication is not that deep.

(Or to quote Mikaela Loach: it’s not that radical!)

Some things that aren’t a big deal

Here’s a non-exhaustive lists of some things that simply do not have to be a big deal:

• Pronoun updates
  Someone changes their pronouns in their email signature or Teams/Zoom display name? Cool! Now you know!

• Neo-pronouns
  Neo-pronouns are new, or recent, pronouns like xe/xem or ze/zir. Unfamiliar words can be so confusing, so it’s totally understandable if they’re hard to get your head around. But you don’t need to put out a press release saying you’re working on figuring them out. You can just… try and use them!

• Mistakes
  If you get someone’s name or pronouns wrong, it really does not have to be the end of the world. A lot of the time, all you need to do is make a quick, sincere apology and focus on not making the mistake again.

• Sharing life news
  There’s sometimes a double standard that straight people can talk about new partners or trying for a baby, for example, and that’s treated as ‘work-appropriate.’ But equivalent details in queer people’s lives, for example, are treated like over-sharing. A casual mention of someone they’re dating? Don’t panic!

• Describing someone
  Generally, we don’t need to guess anyone’s identity.
  I’ve seen people tangle themselves up as if they’re giving evidence in a high-stakes hearing, when they’re trying not to gender a stranger.
  Like: “To the person who just raised their hand, I’m not sure exactly how they identify and I would never assume your gender, so please understand I’m saying this with so much love in my heart, and I’d like to welcome a question from this person, whether their pronouns be she/her or xe/xem, we’re all human beings.”
  You could do that…
  But you’re trying to include someone, not shine a horribly bright light in their face. So you can just default to they/them. (”Did you hear what they said?” has been grammatically fine since the 1300s. Chaucer used it. You can too.)

I guess what I’m saying is: if you want to signal that something is fine (aka not weird) you can just… not be weird about it.

Most of us just want to live our lives. We don’t want to act as ‘lessons’ for other people.2

Some ‘no big deal’ actions you can take

• Swap out gender binary phrases like “ladies and gentlemen” (for “everyone,” “folks,” “all of you”, “colleagues”, “team.” Or a non-gendered insult like “esteemed ratbags”)

• Don’t assume people are straight (say “partner” not “husband/wife” until you know)

• Reflect back what people tell you (if they mention their husband/wife, of course, do mention that!)

• Stop saying “preferred pronouns” (they’re just pronouns!)

• Replace “he/she” in your writing with singular they

• If you’re happy to, share your own pronouns in your email signature and bio, because it helps others to update theirs. Pronoun sharing should always be optional

• Don’t ask trans colleagues to educate you. That’s what resource lists (like the one I’m sharing) and paid consultants are for

• Celebrate LGBTQIA+ people and history all year, not just in June.

And when you get something wrong?

• Say “sorry” briefly and sincerely

• Don’t centre yourself (by making it all about you, your intentions, or your feelings: impact over intent)

• Focus on getting it right next time

• That’s it. That’s the whole process.

You know what is an extremely big deal?

I’ve argued that a lot of the how we behave is not a big deal.

But the why behind it? That is deeply, deeply serious.

Pride is a protest. It was, and still is.

Because trans and LGBTQIA+ people are under coordinated attack:

• In the UK, the government has failed to ban trans conversion therapy in full.

• The NHS has blocked evidence-based healthcare for trans young people.

• The UK has slid dramatically down international LGBTQIA+ rights indices. ILGA Europe’s Rainbow Map now ranks the UK 17th in Europe, down from 1st a decade ago.

• In the US, hundreds of anti-trans laws have been filed in recent years, targeting healthcare, education, sport, and public life. Roe v Wade’s fall signalled that rights once thought settled are not.

• Globally, 71 countries criminalise being LGBTQ+. There is nowhere in the world where it is fully safe to be trans.

“Love is love” is not enough. We need action.

Learn more

• The radical copyeditor’s guide to writing about trans people, and What’s in a word: queer- Alex Kapitan

• How to not be weird about pronouns - Mel Woods

• FAQ on pronouns and trans people - Professor Lal Zimman

• The Trans Journalists Association Style Guide

• GLAAD Media Reference Guide

• Pronouns.org

• Gender Spectrum

• Breaking through the binary - Sam Killermann

• The ABCs of LGBTQIA+

Act now

Campaigns you can join and organisations you can support:

• Not In Our Name, NION (women in support of the trans+ community).

• Third Sector Against Transphobia (TSAT)

• Trans History Week

• UK Black Pride

• Mermaids (support for trans, non-binary and gender-diverse young people)

• Gendered Intelligence

• Action for Trans Health

• Trans Legal Project

• Galop (support for LGBTQ+ abuse survivors)

• Stonewall

• GLAAD

• The Trevor Project (USA, suicide prevention and crisis support for LGBTQIA+ young people)

• ILGA-Europe

• Kaleidoscope Trust

• African Rainbow Family

• akt — LGBTQ+ youth homelessness

• The Outside Project

• Time To Be Out

• Bi Pride UK

• National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition (USA)

• Trans Lifeline (USA)

• Stonewall Housing

• PFLAG

• Peter Tatchell Foundation

• LGBT Foundation

• MindOut (LGBTQ+ mental health)

• Switchboard (LGBTQ+ helpline)

Found this helpful? Please pass it on! Especially to someone who says “I just don’t know what to say.”

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Content note: there are slur terms in this article.

There’s a poem I absolutely love, by Zoe Leonard.

People share it on social media a lot. Or they try to!

It gets taken down a lot. Because some of Leonard’s words immediately raise an alarm with the algorithm. (And may stop you from ever seeing this post too!)

Read more

Or weave wonderful words into a beautiful slide deck.

(They exist! I promise!)

But if your words don’t land with your listener?

If they don’t have the actual effect you intended?

You might as well… not have bothered.

Read more

Over the last few years, I’ve been keeping note of all my favourite content I stumble across online.

Whenever I find a great bit of guidance or a resource I can hardly live without, I drop it in my inclusive and accessible communication resource hub.

And now I’m sharing it with you!

Explore the resource hub

Explore the resource hub

It’…

Read more

• Reading is hard. Everyone’s frazzled.

• A summary helps people understand the main points, and take action.

• Summaries are great for big documents. Your emails should be so short they don’t need a summary.

• Human summaries are best (AI summaries are risky).

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We’re all frazzled

Picture the scene…

Your morning alarm goes off and you’re already in panic mode (blood pressure up, cortisol spiking).

Unfortunately you check the news (if you’re even faintly aware of what’s going on in the world, you’ll feel absolutely terrible).

Before you know it, you’re running late.

Maybe you’re in a rush to drop kids off at school (and why did nobody tell you it’s “number day” and they need a full costume inspired by their favourite prime number?)

Or you need to get to the post office, pick up your prescription, and get ready for the big meeting.

So when you finally make it to your desk, you feel like you’ve lived a hundred lives.

Then you confront your inbox.

So. Many. Emails.

Attachments. Reports. Surveys.

There’s no way we’re reading all that…

Digital communication is stressful

Linda Stone, who coined the term screen apnoea, found that most of us hold our breath when we check email, texts or work on screens.

And the smaller the screen, the worse it gets.

We start the day stressed. Screen apnoea can push us further into a stress response, causing fatigue, anxiety and complex health issues.

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Processing information is difficult

We act like it’s easy.

But reading - or processing information in any way - is enormously effortful.

It requires energy. Cognitive patience. The ability to find your way back after interruptions.1

Grab their attention at the start

Most of us are skim readers.

If we’re sighted, we skim the page visually.

(But screen-reader users skim the page too, for example, by jumping through sub-headings or generating a list of all the hyperlinks on a page).

One common skim reading pattern is the F-shape.

Why an F? Because we pay close attention to the top of the page.

• The first few lines? We’ll read them closely because we know they’re important.

• The rest? Ehh. We’ll skim for keywords.

If you put the important information up front, there’s a much higher chance the information goes in, before your reader gets distracted or gives up.

Summaries reduce cognitive load

Working memory is limited.

There’s lots to say about cognitive load theory, but I’ll keep it brief for now:

• Putting the important information up front places less burden on your limited working memory.

• That puts our limited capacity to work on the most important tasks. Like processing, understanding and remembering information. Then taking action as a result.

• More words? More load. Intrinsic load comes from the complexity of the information itself. Extraneous load comes from how it's formatted: long paragraphs, no line breaks, walls of text.2

We need containers to hold information

Have you ever noticed that facilitators often open a workshop by asking you what you know about something? There are loads of reasons for this.

One reason is that “pre-testing” people activates useful mental models or “macro-structures.” It gets you thinking in a specific structure about what follows.

Summaries do this too!

• Summaries create a “macro-structure” (Kintsch and van Dijk, 1978) which is basically: a mental model for what’s going on in this piece of content.

• If you have a clear mental model for what’s going on (thanks to the summary) you can understand and remember additional detail more efficiently.

• Launching into a document without a quick summary is like going into a supermarket without a basket. You can grab items in your hands, maybe, but it’ll get chaotic quickly.

• If you go into the supermarket with a basket, you’ve got a container you can easily place information in. You can hold on to your items. They’re more likely to make it to the till, and home without getting dropped on the floor.

Summaries help people take action

• Everything that helps people pay attention (like headings, bold key words, bullet points and so on) acts as a signal.

• Signals guide our attention to what matters. And they also turn our attention away from un-signalled (or de-emphasised) details (Lorch, 1989).

• Un-skilful use of signalling means people forget things you wanted them to remember. (I see this all the time. Busy manager is confused about why their team isn’t paying attention to what they think matters! It’s because they’re not signalling strategically)

• Skilful signals guide your reader’s attention to what matters. They remove the “noise” or interference from unnecessary information. And lead to action.

Big documents need summaries

Whether you call it a TL;DR or an executive summary, quick summaries help people.

They’re great for big documents like reports, white papers or even for pitch decks.

I keep saying how great they are, so you might think that I love a quick summary at the top of every little functional email or instant message.

Nope!

That’s a bad habit to get into.

Your day-to-day emails should be so concise they do not need a summary.

3 sentences, maximum.

I repeat: you should not need a summary for your day-to-day emails or instant messages! Just get to the point.

Try a mullet email

If you really must add more detail to your email, write what Kim Arnold calls a mullet email.

(Business up front, party in the back.)

That’s a quick message, with more detail at the end.

(Quick message) Hi! Can you fill out this survey by Thursday at 5pm? This is so we can share results with the team on Friday.

(Tail of the mullet) If you’d like more information about who we’re surveying, why and how we’ll analyse the data, here’s a guide explaining more.

Human summaries are best

Loads of us are using AI to summarise long documents.

Be careful!

There are documented cases of AI tools being used to embed vendor recommendations, a practice sometimes called “AI recommendation poisoning.”

When you use a 'summarise with AI' button, hidden instructions can be downloaded that nudge your AI agent to prioritise specific products in future.

So if you use AI to create a summary, paste the text in yourself rather than feeding it through a built-in 'summarise' button.

But honestly? Human is best.

Practise summarising your own content

Summarising content can be incredibly hard. I get it!

For some of us - including many autistic and ADHD folks - filtering what's relevant is genuinely harder work, not a skill gap.

So I’m absolutely not saying this is easy, or we “should” all be able to do it.

If you can, give it a try.

Summarising your own content helps you spot problems. It strips out unnecessary detail. It makes you a better writer.

And when you do it well, people notice. It signals that you know your material well enough to distil it - and that builds trust, respect and credibility over time.

TL;DR

• Big documents need a quick summary.

• A summary up top helps people understand, remember and use information. So they’ll do what you want them to!

• Your day to day emails should be so concise, they don’t need a summary.

Let’s work together!

I’m focused on 3 areas of communication at the moment. I’m helping people to:

• cut through overwhelm

• have difficult conversations and

• respond to discriminatory language.

Want to help your team become super-communicators? Want 1:1 coaching, a lunchtime talk, or someone to talk through your communication woes with?

Get in touch!

Work with me

What information overload is

What is information overload?

It’s when information input exceeds your capacity to process, use, and retain that information.

So much information that it stops being useful.

And starts being a problem.

Too many digital pings. Too many notifications. Too many unread emails.

(Can’t speak, I’m infoxicated!)

Information overload sucks

It sucks:

• for you, as an individual1

• for all of us, collectively

Because it drains our creativity, health and productivity.

What’s causing the overload

Information overload has two parts:

1. Information input (loads of stuff competing for your attention) +

2. Your subjective experience of overload (your perception that you lack the time, energy or skills to process it)

Both parts matter.

Too much information? That’s a problem.

But so is subjective perception that there’s too much of everything.

Maybe you’re getting 146 app notifications a day (as a 2024 study found).

If you turn off push notifications and get that down to just 100 notifications a day, that’s not getting to the heart of the problem.

Because it’s so much bigger than just the digital pings.

It’s…

One survey of 1,300 business managers worldwide found:

• Two-thirds of respondents believed that information overload had caused loss of job satisfaction, and damaged their personal relations,

• One-third said it had damaged their health

• Nearly half said it damaged the decision-making process, causing delays and poor decisions. (Source: Dying for Information.)

Researchers agree.

Information overload makes us:

• narrow our thinking (which means less innovation and more snap judgements)

• less able to spot new opportunities

• less able and willing to collaborate

• mentally and physically unwell.

A lot of us are absolutely frazzled.

I know I am.

Phew.

Take a moment to breathe.

Information overload affects us at work

People are living through intense anxiety, grief and trauma at the moment.

They still have to go to work.

1. Overloaded people make more mistakes

And the consequences of those mistakes can be enormous.

In my coaching work, I coach people to become more inclusive and accessible communicators.

I also coach neurodivergent and disabled people to thrive in workplaces that are not built for them.

Something I hear over and over again: “I’m so ashamed of the mistakes I keep making.”

Mistakes at work have a cost: fines and lawsuits from sending data to the wrong client. Safety violations. Lost work because of reputational damage.

And also: a human cost, to our sense of self. Our pride in ourselves.

It feels incredibly crappy to keep making mistakes.

And it makes hard to take your work seriously, improve your performance or ask for the support you need to do better.

2. Overloaded people enjoy their work less

In one of my favourite studies, researchers quizzed people about the parts of the days they enjoy the most.

What they found out is wild.

How much people enjoy an activity is hugely affected by one thing.

And it’s not the nature of the activity.

It’s how closely you pay attention to it (Mogillner, Whillans and Norton, 2018).

Attention predicts enjoyment!

What?! Does this mean I could one day love expense reports? Honestly, I doubt it.

But this has huge implications for our happiness and collaboration at work.

If you want a happy team, you need to invest in protecting their attention.

3. Overloaded people are less productive

According to research by Dr. Gloria Mark, it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to return to a deep state of focus after a single interruption.

And most of us are switching tasks more and more often.

Which shreds our working days (and our leisure time) into time confetti.

4. Overloaded people make poor choices

In 80 clinical trials, Dr. Glenn Wilson monitored the IQ2 of workers throughout the day.

The IQ of people who were juggling emails with work throughout the day fell by 10 points.

Wilson notes: “that’s the equivalent to missing a whole night’s sleep and more than double the 4-point fall seen after smoking marijuana.” (CNN)

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5. Or no choices at all

“It’s like I just keep hitting snooze. But I can’t snooze all these decisions. I’m the CFO, for **** sake!”

Let’s call this person Dora.

(Because I don’t think Dora’s investors or board would like to know how many important decisions she keeps putting off!)

It’s sometimes called analysis paralysis.

We experience it for lots of reasons (as an ADHDer, I often freeze up when there’s a decision to be made).

6. Overloaded people get sick

The health impact of information overload on our mindbodies is massive.

I’ve decided not to share the details of how it causes and exacerbates serious health problems, because I’m conscious you might be reading this as a very overloaded person.

And it could be distressing if I go into all the way that information overload is harming your health.

So I’ll just say:

• Information overload affects your health

• Not in a good way!

7. Overloaded people collaborate less

Information overload erodes “pro-social” behaviours.

Studies into pro-social behaviour look at why people help others.

People who feel they lack time (experiencing “time famine”) are much less likely to help others.

In one famous study, researchers Darley and Batson found that 90% of seminary students would ignore a request for help - literally stepping over an injured person on the floor - if they were told they were running late to give a sermon.

(The sermon they were on their way to deliver was on the Christian parable of the good samaritan. It’s literally about stopping to help someone).

Overload just makes us behave… kind of badly.

Like “how dare you ask me to do that thing that is in my job description” badly.

We have to tackle information overload

No choice about it!

Overloaded people just can’t thrive. Or survive, to be honest.

The good news?

There is tons you can do about it.

Next week, I’ll share just a few of my favourite strategies.

Work with me

How is it affecting you?

I would love to know.

• How does information overload affect you?

• What challenges does it cause in your life?

• What have you tried to tackle it? (More on that next week!)

I can help you!

Well isn’t that convenient…

I offer masterclasses, strategies, coaching and more.

Here are some lovely things folks said about my last workshop:

• “Ettie was such an engaging speaker. We got a lot of information about information overwhelm in a way that was not at all overwhelming- she’s awesome! 100% recommend” - Kezia

• “Such a useful session! Absolutely amazing! The session format and content was catered to neurodiversity and was incredibly insightful throughout!” - Anonymous

• "It’s like being on FaceTime with a friend that’s giving you the best advice and you feel happy and ready for the day after the call” - Louise (Louise, this is my favourite feedback of all time. Thank you!)

• “Ettie provided an easy breakdown of information overwhelm, input and practical ways we can support ourselves and those we work with. Her communication style was very inclusive” - Kola

• “Session was a shortcut to finding all possible advice and resources, combining 10,000h in 1.5h focused talk” - Anonymous

Work with me

If you missed it, you can read: Why won’t these silly women speak up?

Now that we know why it matters…

It’s time for action.

There are countless ways to take action.

I’ve picked 11 of my favourite, just to get you started.

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1. Watch out for hepeating

Hepeating is when a man repeats an idea that was shared by a woman, as though it’s a brand new idea.

Aaand the man gets the credit for it.

There are loads of ways to combat hepeating.

One of my favourites is amplification.

2. Get amplifying

Amplification was popularised by female staffers in Obama’s White House.

It’s this simple:

When a woman makes a key point, someone else repeats it and gives direct credit.

For example, “Sarah, that’s a really important insight. Thank you for flagging that missing perspective.”

That’s it.

Simply naming and crediting helps prevents that idea from being credited to someone else.

(And no, this can’t be your whole gender equity strategy! It’s a tool for people with less power to support and advocate for each other. It doesn’t replace strategic investment from senior leaders).

3. Let women be themselves, hedging and all

As an inclusive and accessible communication consultant, I offer coaching.

I coach people to become more inclusive and accessible communicators.

And I also coach people whose managers say things like:

• “She’s terrible at communicating. She puts emoijs in emails.”

• “She uses too many exclamation marks.”

• “She lacks gravitas. She’s always peppering her messages with ‘I hope you’re well’ and ‘no worries if not’.”

• “I can’t take her seriously because she says ‘um’ and ‘ah’ too much.”

How interesting. 👀

Yes, women and other minoritised people do tend to hedge more.

But why?

Well, if we send a direct email (“hi, you’ve missed the deadline. When can I expect the report?”) we are more likely to be criticised for being “cold”, abrasive or lacking people skills.

It’s not helpful to say:

• Women just be more direct!

• Women, just ask for what you need!

• Women, just be more confident!

Unless changing the standards by which women (and other minoritised people) are assessed.

It is helpful to:

• Use frameworks for assessing people’s contributions at work, so you can see the content of their work,

• Flag if promotion/project assessment conversations focus on someone’s likeability, warmth or “tone.” Bring it back to the actual evidence,

• Say something like “I notice we’re talking about how much Kiran says sorry. As we’re hear to review performance, let’s bring this conversation back to Kiran’s key performance indicators. What do you notice about them?”1

4. Use more agentic language for women

Research suggests that men often get promoted based on potential, while women are promoted based on proven track record.

Women’s feedback at work tends to be vague and less actionable.

We’re more likely to use:

• agentic or “doing” language about men (“he led the team to success”)

• communal language for women2 (“she supported the team”)

When giving feedback, be as specific as possible.

For example “the report you shared was clear and very detailed. I made changes to X and Y because of Z”.

When giving feedback, be as fair as possible.

• root feedback in observable behaviours

• avoid personality-based feedback. (What is seen as “leadership” in men can often be seen as “aggressive” or “bossy” in women.)

• avoid being overly nice to women. (Feedback givers tend to prioritise being kind in their feedback to women and this often holds women back in the workplace.)

Being kind is nice, but not if it:

• blocks people from learning,

• hides actionable insights,

• denies people the chance to grow

• and is unequally distributed (research finds that men get constructive feedback without such an emphasis on being nice)

If you’re not sure, swap the gender and see if it is still valid (“flip it to test it”), especially if you’re about to give feedback!

5. Do not demote women

Researchers at Cornell University found that people are more likely to call women - even fictional ones - by their first name, and men by their surname and title (or just their surname).

Kamala versus Trump.

The upside is that using first names can make people more “approachable” says Stav Atir. The downside? It’s often seen as “lower status.”

Informal language is not the problem.

It’s the unequal application of familiar, friendly, low status language.

By using their first name, women are often demoted.

Do:

• use women’s professional titles,

• name people of all genders consistently (whatever you pick, just apply it to everyone).

6. Stay away from gendered insults

Feedback is a gift. We can’t grow without it.

We absolutely should comment on people’s actions, and their impact.

But… you don’t need to call anyone:

• shrill,

• bossy,

• crazy (or any other of the hellish gendered insults)

• angry (this one is massively racialised, Black women are very often stereotyped as angry or hostile)

• overly emotional (hmm, are they? Or are they having a completely reasonable response to an un-reasonable situation. Often, anger is an apt response.)

Side note: I would love if “emotional” went from being a gendered insult to a compliment. I want leaders to be connected to (and responsible for) their emotions!

7. Structure your meetings

Unstructured meetings typically favour the loudest voices.

That’s tough on introverts, folks with processing delays and differences (many neurodivergent people), and anyone who just doesn’t fancy battling to speak over Jeremy. (I’m so sorry if you’re a Jeremy who doesn’t speak over others. #NotAllJeremys).

If you have a question about parental leave, when would you ask it in this meeting?

Agenda: 1 hour for “company updates.”

When would you ask your question? Is it clear?

OK, let’s try again.

When would you ask it in this meeting?

• Agenda:

  • 15 mins for “financial updates”

  • 15 mins for “updates about the board”

  • 15 mins for “staff wellbeing, benefits and leave updates”

  • 15 mins for “Summer party”

Personally, I’m picking the second meeting.

Roughly half way through the meeting there’s time for “wellbeing, benefits and leave updates.”

Also, if Tim from accounts starts monologue-ing again about the accounting software, there will be a time limit! (#NotAllTims).

Having a structure for a meeting:

• keeps the meeting focused

• keeps it on time

• can create psychological safety to ask questions

• shares the load of admin work between the team, reduces risk of women taking on non-promotable tasks (note-taking, scheduling)

• and so much more!

8. Share important but non-promotable work

Women are 44% more likely to volunteer for non-promotable tasks (Babcock et al, 2017).

Non-promotable tasks tend to include: taking notes, scheduling, organising office parties, and so on.

(Unless they’re in your job description. They’re obviously promotable tasks if your job is office manager or events co-ordinator!)

These tasks are incredibly important. But if they’re not a defined part of your role, they’re unlikely to count towards promotion.

• Create a rota. Rotating these tasks, so you share the burden for the important tasks that keeps things running, and combating sexism in the workplace.

• Tanya Reilly writes about “being glue.” Read more about glue work or office housework if you care about this.

9. Use anonymous tools

There are huge barriers to women speaking up and challenging inequity at work.

It’s one of the reasons whisper networks can be such an important tool for justice and safety (though they also bring challenges).

Create anonymous systems to help people speak up.

You can use anonymous tools during workshops, webinars, and so on. Use tools like slido or mentimeter to poll people.

I use anonymous tools like this a lot when I’m teaching inclusive language.

Because it can be unsafe for someone to say something - especially if they’re the “only” in their team (like the only Black woman or Muslim - it can be obvious who’s saying what).

They can usually speak more freely without fear of how they’ll be perceived.

10. Prioritise questions from women

If a man asks the first question in a Q&A, the gender balance of further questions tips towards more of them being asked by men.

If a woman asks the first question, participation is significantly more proportional (Davenport et al., 2014).

What can you do?

Consciously take the first question from a woman.3

11. Pay close attention to interruptions

Gender experts often recommend a “no interruptions” rule.

Because women are so much more likely to be interrupted (usually by men).

For example, a study of U.S. Supreme Court arguments found that male justices interrupt female justices 3 times more often than they interrupt other men (Jacobi & Schweers, 2017).

But i’s not neuro-inclusive to completely ban interruptions.

Because ADHers and many other neurodivergent folks often communicate through overlapping (which might be called: a whole load of interruptions).

We build on each other’s contributions (often by interrupting in an enthusiastic, constructive way like: “amazing point! I love how you said that, let me build on it with…”). When I’m chatting with another ADHDer, we’re likely to interrupt each other dozens of times throughout the conversation (and we’re often both very happy with this! It can be a form of un-masking).

Interruptions are not always harmful. It depends who’s being interrupted, when, why, and what the impact is on them.

So consider:

• talking about this with your team,

• co-creating some agreements that work well for you,

• auditing who speaks (if you’re comfortable with AI tools, some tools can monitor who speaks for what percentage - for example, my Fathom warns me if I’m in ‘monologue mode’. I am offended by it every time… but it’s helpful).

OK, that’s it!

I’ve focused on communication, cos you know. that’s my jam.

You obviously have to combine this with actual structural changes (pay audits, flexible working and leave policies, and so on).

This is just a starting point.

Want more? Check out:

• How to take sexism and male default thinking out of your language.

• Are you being too polite?

• Why won’t these silly women speak up?

Now let’s take 1 action

What 1 thing are you going to do differently?

And what have I missed?

What would you add to this list?

Hit reply to let me know! I read all of them.

(And people are often incredibly surprised when I reply! It really is me on the other end of this email, not a bot).

Beep boop,

Ettie 🤖

You know, just be more confident!

Ahem…

Let’s rewind.

I’m on my way to give a keynote about the power of women’s voices.

I try to pack in the inspiration, positivity and optimism into everything i do (simply because I think it helps us take action).

That feels tricky.

Because the scale of the problem is gigantic.

And the cost is huge.

Today, we’ll look at:

• why women aren’t speaking up

• what happens when women’s voices are silenced

• the enormous cost - to everyone involved.

Next week, we’ll get into the solutions. 😊

It’s juicy stuff. I can’t wait to share with you the practical interventions that really help.

But first: the cost of women not speaking up.

Look, if you’ve read my writing for a while, you know I feel about the business case for inclusion.

It’s a weak, wobbly foundation for justice.

I wrote about it here:

• Stop selling inclusion like it’s a discount sofa

But I love data and evidence.

And I know data can move decision-makers to take action.

(If you need evidence to help convince leaders in your organisation, feast on some of these statistics, why don’t ya?

• Stop leaving money on the table

• Don’t get sued (even Beyonce can get sued for inaccessibility)

In that spirit, let’s look at the cost of women being silenced.

What happens when women are silenced?

Your organisation’s culture, collaboration and impact all suffer.

That’s before you get to the impact on individual women’s health and wellbeing.

You’ll lose talent

Many different factors push women out of their jobs. One of them is lack of psychological safety.1

Only around a third (30% or just over 33%, depending on the study) of employees report that managers regularly challenge biased language and behaviour (Lean In).

So please: be the colleague who speaks up. Who challenges harmful behaviour, in a safe and effective way. (We’ll dive into loads of practical tips on how you can do that, in my next letter).

Women who are “only”s (the only woman, woman of the Global Majority, disabled woman, queer woman etc) experience extra scrutiny. They’re more likely to experience stereotype threat and harassment. Stress and anxiety go up, performance often goes down.

Research by Lean In suggests lack of psychological safety pushed 25% of the women they surveyed into leaving a job.

Did you know that replacing a mid-level employee is estimated to be around 1.5 to 2 x their annual salary? (According to research by Gallup).

Innovation suffers

Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability, according to research by McKinsey.

What happens when you silence or muffle women’s voices?

Groupthink!

You get dominant views from the same old people.

The same old perspectives.

I’m quoting from Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed here, so please check out his work. But did you know?

• A diverse group (with varied skill levels) was found to be 15% more accurate at forecasting than a team of elite experts who all had similar skill levels.

• Increased diversity in professional teams correlates with over 25% higher productivity. And 66 to 100% higher returns if you’re in the highest quartile for diversity.

• Teams including ‘outsiders’ often outperform homogenous groups.

You miss important risks

Women, and especially multiply minoritised women (like women of the Global Majority, disabled, neurodivergent, LGBTQIA+ women and gender expansive folks) are often called “canaries in the coalmine.”

As Trevor Noah said in his last-ever episode of the Daily Show:

“People have always been shocked, ‘Why do Black women turn out the way they do in America? Because they know what happens if things do not go the way it should. They cannot afford to f*** around and find out.”

Minoritised women are often the first to experience harm.

Did you know 300,000 Black women left2 the US workforce in 3 months? (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).

The harm is devastating, for them.

For the teams they leave behind, what else can we expect to follow?

Lack of agility. Slow responses. Clumsy reads. Missing out on part of the picture. Narrow frames of reference, and all-round weaker cultural intelligence.

Women spot risks

There are observable differences in how different genders perceive risk.

Research finds that women are more alert to risks from climate change, for example. (Small surprise, since we are more affected by climate breakdown). And that women perceive the dangers of AI differently (though it’s often framed as a problem: “how do we get more women adopting AI” instead of reflecting on what drives our more cautious adoption).

In an increasingly chaotic world3 we need women’s perspectives more than ever.

And if women aren’t speaking up and speaking out, you’re missing out on crucial data.

Why don’t women just speak up?

Honestly, how long have you got? A few to start…

The likeability penalty

If women are assertive, they can be labelled as ‘aggressive’. That’s even more of a challenge for women of colour. Consider the myth of the ‘angry Black woman.’ It’s used to attack Black women when they so much as voice a neutral, factual observation. Or calmly ask “why was that decision made?”

Of course, loads of us worry about how we’ll be perceived.

And some of us worry even more, especially some neurodivergent folks, shy, anxious and introverted people. We may tangle ourselves up in polite language and elaborate caveats, but the impact is not the same for all of us.

Research shows that women:

• are 22% to 38% more likely than men to receive feedback on their personality rather than their work (Textio, 2022/2024)

• are more likely to receive subjective feedback on their tone, such as being called “abrasive,” “too nice,” or “emotional”

• may be viewed as “less competent” if we are highly collaborative,

• are viewed through a gendered lens. A 2025 analysis of the 2024 data showed that 78% of women were described as “emotional” in performance reviews compared to just 11% of men,

• are more likely to be spoken over. 45% of women in leadership report it is difficult to speak up in virtual meetings, and 1 in 5 feel ignored or overlooked on video calls,

• often have our ideas stolen. When men do it, it’s called hepeating,

• experience highly coded criticism. Some gendered dog whistles include: “she lacks gravitas”, “I just don’t see her as a leader” or “she lacks that killer instinct.” One of the areas in which Black women experience discrimination? Their natural hair is 2.5 more likely to be called “un-professional” than non-Black womens’ hair,

• are sometimes exposed to threat in the guise of opportunity. It’s called the glass cliff. Women are more likely to be appointed to risky and precarious leadership positions in times of crisis. Once you spot this, you can’t un-see it!

Let’s pause there.

Women’s voices matter.

Next week: how to create an environment where women can speak up and out.

See you next week for the actions we can all take!

Want to work together?

Need support building inclusive communication skills in your workplace? Hi! Let’s chat!

Trying to create a workplace where everyone can speak up? I’ve got you.

Looking for a speaker to talk about inclusion, accessibility, neurodivergence or why language matters? Book me!

Work with me

Want to work together? Fill out my work with me form, or drop me an email.

Noisily,
Ettie

Today I have to tell you about The Unlikeable Woman TM Summit.

Come with me for the day, as we enter the realm of The Unlikeable Woman TM…

Subscribe now

Read more

Say less.

That’s it.

That’s the tip.

Say less.

Want to connect deeply with people, no matter how overwhelmed or distracted they are?

Start by…

Saying less.

Work with me

5 tips to help you say less

1. Pick a guiding principle

Something to focus on each time you write, or each time you present slides in a meeting.

I live by the mantra:

“If in doubt, cut it out.”

2. Write fast, edit slow

When I’m writing an email, creating a slide deck or crafting a strategy, I spend most of my time editing.

(And since Ernest Hemingway never said “write drunk, edit sober”, he won’t mind me updating the saying).

By “write fast, edit slow” I mean:

• get your ideas out (voice dictate, type, talk to someone, whatever is accessible for you)

• do not judge what comes out!

• edit ruthlessly.

(You don’t literally need to edit slowly! My best editing is quite fast: I scribble out words with a marker pen).

3. Go analogue

Editing on paper is a game-changer.

It’s not always accessible or available, I know. But if you can, edit your writing by hand.

Sighted people tend to spot errors much more easily when we’re reading a hard copy, compared to skim reading on screen.

4. Read aloud

If you’re a hearing person, read your words aloud.

You’ll hear waffle, repetition and missed opportunities.

You can also use:

• Inbuilt tools (Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome reading mode, Siri)

• Free text to speech apps like Speechify, Audify and Natural Reader (Personally I would use in-built tools first. Avoid these AI tools if you can. The water usage!)

5. Work backwards

Read your writing (ideally a hard copy printout) backwards.

Go one word at a time.

It’s much harder to skim read backwards, so you’re more focused on the actual words on the page.

Saying less helps everyone

When you say less, everyone benefits.

Including:

Anyone who’s overwhelmed

(is that… everyone?) Information overload makes us much worse at filtering and processing information. Every time you say less, you’re helping

Neurodivergent folks

particularly ADHD and dyslexic folks, and some autistic people can experience a wall of text as a source of sensory over-stimulation. Side note: nobody wants a wall of text in their inbox!

People experiencing anxiety

…or countless other mental health challenges. Now, this also goes under the neurodivergent umbrella. But I’m mentioning it separately because a concise, thoughtfully-crafted message is the single best thing that helps me on a day when my brain feels like it’s full of bees.

Folks with limited memory

I was 35 when I got my ADHD diagnosis. Before that, I often googled “what’s wrong with my brain” and “why can I remember every detail of a TV show I watched as a kid, but my working memory resets every 3 seconds?” Many neurodivergent people (and loads of other people too!) struggle with working memory.

Non-native speakers

If you’re reading or listening in an additional language, you’re working hard.

When you say less, there’s less content to process. And you’re also throwing fewer idioms and unfamiliar constructions at people. That’s fewer layers of interpretation.

Anyone under stress

When we’re trying to solve a problem our focus narrows. Research finds that money stress reduces our cognitive capacity. If you’re even vaguely aware of the world right now, then you’re trying to process complex, distressing, constantly-changing information.

We are trying to understand horrors on a global scale (with brains that evolved to help us… forage for fruit, not atrocities).

Many of us are thrust from ‘discover’ mode and towards ‘defend’ mode, which makes us ruthlessly filter information. We miss things. So say less.

Screen reader users

Do you enjoy listening to a robotic voice drone through 80 words, that could have been 8? Maybe, if you’re trying to fall asleep.

For the rest of us, let’s keep it concise.

Want to work together?

Need support building inclusive and accessible communication skills in your workplace? Hi! Let’s chat!

Trying to cut through the overwhelm? I’ve got strategies tailored to your team’s needs. I am obsessed with learning about how overwhelm affects our brains (more on that coming soon) and how we can adapt our communication behaviours to reduce and even remove overwhelm. So basically… book me to speak to your team about how to cut through the overwhelm!

Looking for a speaker for International Women’s Day? Book me!
Of course, you don’t have to book me! But do check out my list of incredible speakers you should hire for International Women’s Day.

Work with me

Want to work together? Fill out my work with me form, or drop me an email.

Yours concisely,

Ettie

Because I mostly feel like my brain is working against me.

Every time I try to follow a to-do list, I get the feeling my brain is leading me on a very elaborate scenic detour to somewhere far away.

Side note: want to know what ADHD feels like? You can learn about what ADHD is, or… watch this video of Hal from…

Read more

“Whimsy” is one of my words for 2026. And I’m actively trying to bring in more play, silliness and randomness into my life.

So you might think that I loved the latest change to the tube map (for non-Londoners, that’s what we call our underground train system).

Read more

Maybe you have a list of 3,421 things you said you’d get done “before the end of the year.” (Oh no. That’s now. Oh no, no, no).

Or you’re exhausted by carrying an impossible mental load.

Or trying to survive over-stimulating social events while juggling executive function-draining shopping lists…

I know the feeling.

On a particularly dark day, I posted on LinkedIn.

I asked people how they cope with overwhelm (and specifically asked people not to reply if they were broadly organised people with good executive function! I love you but sorry, we are not the same!)

I was moved to tears by all the amazing replies on this LinkedIn megathread.

Then the wonderful sent me a message.

About Parul Singh, founder of Parallel Minds

Parul Singh is the founder of Parallel Minds Neurodiversity Consultancy, supporting organisations to be more neuro-inclusive through consultancy, workplace audits, training/workshops or eLearning training.

Please drop Parul a LinkedIn message or head over to Parul’s website to find out more and send an enquiry.

Parul says: “I spent some time reading through the comments and making notes for my own purposes, but then this sparked an idea, why let all of these incredible strategies and apps in the comments fade away; so I asked her if she’d like to collaborate on a newsletter article to share them all and here we are!!”

This is part 1 of 2 of 50+ crowdsourced tips and tools for ADHDers where we’re going to cover some tried and tested strategies and tools for:

• Time agnosia (also known as time blindness)

• Working memory

• Object permanence (out of sight, out of mind)

• Task initiation

• Organisation and structuring tasks

In part 2, we’ll cover cognitive overload, emotional regulation, sensory regulation, communication and energy management (ways to reduce risk of burnout).

Why conventional approaches often don’t work for ADHD brains

Before we go into the strategies and tools, it’s important to understand how an ADHD brain actually works. This explains why conventional approaches often don’t work for us. We aren’t usually motivated by discipline, rigid schedules or consistency.

ADHD shows up in different ways, but there’s one thing that almost all of us have in common; we have an interest-based nervous system.

Here’s a graphic Parul created:

That means that to actually do something, we need 1 or more of the following:

• Novelty - “I like this exciting new thing”

• Competition - “I think I can do this better/faster than this person”

• Urgency “I now have imminent consequences if I do not do the thing now”

• Intrinsic interest - “I actually love doing this thing”

(This is an over-simplified explanation. Please feel free to interpret it in a way that works for you!)

A few other things which help ADHDers manage executive function challenges:

• Making it easier (for example, reducing the number of steps to do something)

• Making it visible

• Gamification

• Instant gratification

• Accountability

Actually understanding the drivers behind an ADHD brain can help massively, both with actually being more productive, but also for giving yourself grace. You don’t need to try harder, you just need to try different. ❤️

Oh, and you may want to check out my ADHD-friendly communication guide too.

Here’s how Parul has structured the resource:

• Each section is a common ADHD challenge,

• Under each challenge, you’ll find strategies and tools to help with this (crowd-sourced from the LinkedIn megathread.)

• We recommend you find a challenge that you relate to most, read through and identify a few tools and strategies you’d like to try first. Don’t try to do everything at once!

Time agnosia

If you find it extremely difficult to guess how long something takes, or to feel the passing of time, then congrats1! You may experience time agnosia. Time agnosia is sometimes called time blindness. But blind and vision impaired folks have asked us to call it time agnosia instead.

Strategies

• 10-minute timers to turn tasks into a game. You often stay focused once the time’s up.

• Pomodoros (for example, 90 minutes of focus time, 15 minute housework sprint).

• “20 minutes to success” – even on bad days, 20 minutes might be possible, and can help future you. (Don’t worry if 20 minutes isn’t doable for you! I have days when I can’t even do 1 minute. Just see what you can manage).

• To-done or ta-das lists: Log what you actually did. This may seem trivial but it’s actually a really powerful way to tap into feelings of satisfaction, motivation and momentum. Over time, it can genuinely help you to re-wire your thinking.
  Fun fact, In French, ADHD is called TDAH! Trouble Déficit de l’Attention avec ou sans Hyperactivité. If you’re ADHD, you may really benefit from a little bit of celebrating your ta-dahs.

• Time-blocking. I know, I know. If you’ve read all the productivity books, you’ve probably tried this one a million times over. And one of the reasons time-blocking might not work well for you? Well, it’s very likely you experience demand avoidance. Or something called PDA (sometimes called pathological demand avoidance, but I love the reframe “persistent drive for autonomy”). Note: it’s not actually a clinical dimension of ADHD or autism, though you will hear people saying this online. So try flexible time blocking. With generous buffer time in between each block, to allow for how difficult task switching is.

• Treating task planning as a ritual (coffee, music, candles). Romanticise it!

Tools and apps

• Google calendar – or another free calendar tool, which you can combine with blocking and reminders.

• Trello – when paired with deadlines or time-focused columns.

• Finch app – gamifies small wins. I am absolutely obsessed with Finch! Some days, it’s the only reason I manage to brush my teeth.

• AI tools like Claude AI, Gemini or ChatGPT – build out realistic schedules and help re-anchor when off track. Look, I’m no unquestioning AI fan. But they really can help when you’re struggling.

• Toggl - track your time so you know how long you spend on specific tasks - helps estimation

• A visual timer - you can find visual timers online. I wouldn’t give this to someone if they haven’t asked for it (passive aggressive much?) but if you know they’d like it, I think a visual timer would make an awesome holidays gift.

Task initiation and motivation

Strategies

• “Eat the ice cream first” – instead of eat the frog (do the most daunting task first), do what feels easiest or most interesting to build momentum. This is probably the single best tip I know! I always under-estimate how powerful it is.

• Follow the dopamine – admin might be impossible today, but a creative project might flow.

• Make starting low-stakes and low-effort – start with something easeful, like journalling or a big, unfiltered brain dump.

• Use cosy, sensory rituals to kick off work gently (music, favourite mug, warm socks).

• Cycle novelty intentionally – allow systems to change every 1 to 3 weeks (or a suitable timeframe for you) without guilt. It’s totally normal that we need novelty. That’s ADHD brains for you, bb.

Tools and apps

• Paper notebooks – novelty and sensory pleasure (pens, paper, visuals).

• Bullet journals – low-pressure and designed by you, not for you.

• Gamified systems (Finch, confetti to-do lists, game music) to create dopamine-rich rewards.

• AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude – can “talk you into” a task and break down steps gently.

• Goblin tools - a truly brilliant selection of free tools designed for neurodivergent minds.

Working memory

Strategies

• Write everything down, even if you think you’ll remember. Don’t leave it to chance! (Or ask yourself: how has that worked out for me in the past? I don’t think you’re reading this post if it has worked out well for you before!) Have a brain dump note in your notes app to reduce the number of steps to log a thought - no processing or thinking needed. Just write. No filtering, no editing.

• Forgive yourself for ‘inefficient’ approaches – let yourself store tasks in multiple places (calendar + notebook + phone). If it works for you, don’t worry about what the ‘official’ productivity wisdom says. (And if it doesn’t experiment to find a single place that is genuinely easy for you).

• Revisit notes daily to refresh your brain’s index. In Parul’s amazing talk practical tech and tools for ADHD minds, she mentioned how she has widgets on her phone homescreen to show her notes app. I tried this a few days ago and I already love it! I also now have 2 widgets showing my Things 3 app on my phone.

• If it’s right for you, pick a primary system (like one core notebook or app) to reduce searching. It’s likely that you’re better off having a “single source of truth”, because it will cut down on searching time. But again, let yourself work with your unique and magical brain. Don’t shame yourself if you genuinely work better when your notes are spread across a few different places.

Tools and apps

• Free calendars like Google Calendar – used for “actual” events like metings and non-events/tasks. Make sure you note down recurring tasks and things that may not seem important, but really need to happen. I block out things like lunch, doing my laundry and checking my emails. If it’s not blocked out, it may not happen.

• Task management apps like Microsoft To Do – great for combining email flags + task lists + reminders.

• OneNote / Notion – flexible digital spaces that can be reviewed easily across devices.

• Things 3 - obviously find the task management app that works best for you, but my word I love this app. Particularly the “quick add” keyboard shortcut. It’s the quickest one I know (and I have tried um… all the apps).

• Physical notebooks – they offer visual reinforcement and don’t disappear. Although you may find that you forget they exist the moment they’re out of sight. That’s okay! Be mindful about how you can keep them in view so you don’t forget they exist. For example, you could keep your notebook on top of your laptop.

Object permanence (out of sight, out of mind)

OK, I know that “out of sight, out of mind” isn’t actually the same as object permanence. Because we do understand that the object still exists, we just forget about it. Is there a better term for this? Let me know in the comments!

Strategies

• Visual boards and Kanban layouts – keeps tasks in sight and physically visible.

• Widgets or wall-mounted lists – for example, Trello widget on phone home screen.

• Use notebooks as physical anchors, kept open or in view.

• Write things down again and again – lots of clever neuroscience on this one, but basically writing stuff out by hand is a signal that helps our brains to pay attention. Repetition reinforces visibility.

Tools and apps

• Trello or another task management app, displayed in a widget – shows “this week” list at a glance, no opening needed.

• Sketchpads / A1 sheets – one person uses them to make everything physically visible.

• Google Keep or another task management app with similar functionality, or sticky notes on mirrors, doors, laptops.

• Notion dashboards – for people who like visual digital layouts. Who doesn’t love a beautiful Notion setup? (Shh, if you don’t love Notion, I’m not willing to hear it!)

Organisation and structuring tasks

Strategies

• Build routine into actions, not just calendars (e.g. “Late mornings = email time”).

• Use categories and prioritised lists rather than flat task dumps.

• Allow your system to be chaotic, if that helps (e.g. 4 overlapping notebooks).

• Make adjustments by week or by energy, not rigid rules.

Tools and apps

• Trello Kanban boards with “Doing”, “This week”, “Next week” columns.

• Google Calendar with layered task types. You can set up separate calendars in Google Calendar for different tasks, and then toggle them on and off.

• Physical planners for basic structure + digital for flexible tracking.

• Notion, OneNote – for people who enjoy building modular structure.

OK that’s part 1, folks!

I want to say a massive thank you to Parul for collating all the tips from the LinkedIn mega-thread, having the brilliant idea of sharing all these tips, and generously agreeing to co-publish this.

We hope you’ve found this article helpful!

Learn more from Parul Singh

To learn more from Parul:

• Connect with Parul Singh on LinkedIn

• Subscribe to Parul’s LinkedIn newsletter

• Check out Parul’s extensive neurodiversity resource bank

We’ll be back with part 2 in the new year.

Please share this article with anyone who you think would find it useful!

These tips and tools aren’t just for ADHDers.

Your friendly local overwhelmed parent, stressed-out shopper or person inexplicably cooking a holiday feast for 18? They could probably do with this, too.

Happy holidays!

It’s the start of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.

I wish I could say that in 2025 gender equity is magically fixed, or at least looking positive.

But the outlook …

Read more

I’m Ettie and I’m an inclusive and accessible communication educator.

Thank you so much for being here!

I’m so glad you’re ready to learn all about inclusive language and accessibility.

It’s not just a nice-to-have. It’s vital.

Here’s why…

Why inclusive and accessible communication matters

If you want to connect more deeply with your customers, colleagues and audience, you’ve got to be an inclusive and accessible communicator.

I can help you:

• save money,

• boost your reputation

• reach more customers

• boost your employer brand

• protect your team’s time and energy

• stop you from getting sued (yes, really)

• improve profitability (from time efficiency)

• super-charge staff wellbeing and their ability to do their jobs brilliantly

• help you hire and retain the right staff (helping you attract the best candidates, harness their talent, and be the kind of place people want to work).

How this archive works

If you want to learn more, you’ve landed in the perfect place.

Here are some of the most popular posts.

There are way more posts in the archive than I’ve listed here.

But here’s an overview of the most popular topics.

Accessibility

Simple writing is better writing

• What is simple writing?

• Who needs simple writing? (Hint: it’s not just ADHD, tired, distracted folks. It helps everyone!)

• 10 top tips for making your writing simpler and more accessible.

Read: Simple writing is better writing.

A guide to writing alt text

• What alt text is

• What image descriptions are

• Who needs alt text and image descriptions

• How to write great alt text and image descriptions.

Read: A guide to writing alt text.

Disability is not a dirty word

• What disability is

• How the social model of disability helps us (and why the medical model of disability can be unhelpful)

• How to enable people with our communication choices

• 10 practical tips for accessible communication.

Read: Disability is not a dirty word.

The best accessibility tip you already know

• Why bullet points are such a powerful accessibility tool

• How bullet points help sighted readers scan the page

• How bullet points help writers, by making us think logically and say less.

Read: The best accessibility tip you already know

How sighted people scan the page

• How most sighted people read (we scan the page, we don’t read every word)

• How some screen-reader users skim the page.

• Explore some common ways that sighted people scan the page, and what that means for our content.

Read: How sighted people scan the page

How to write the time in an accessible way

• Why it matters. Times and dates are essential information. Way too many people are excluded from important details, if we don’t share them accessibly.

• Practical tips and further resources on how to write the time accessibly.

Read: It’s about time: how to write the time in an accessible way.

Even Beyoncé can be sued for inaccessibility

• Why accessibility matters (because it connects you with the people you’re trying to reach)

• What happens if your content is inaccessible (you risk excluding and harming people)

• The cost of inaccessibility (like lost sales: an estimated 4.3 million disabled online shoppers have a combined spending power of £11.75 billion in the UK)

• The accessibility laws and directives that could get you into serious legal trouble or land you with a gigantic fine, like the European Accessibility Act (EAA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Read: Even Beyoncé can be sued for inaccessibility.

What the func? A lesson from TFL’s accessibility mistake

I love whimsy, wordplay and wonder.

But not when it causes confusion and inaccessibility.

Read: What the func? A lesson from TFL’s accessibility mistake

The best accessibility tip I know

• Say less.

• 5 tips.

Read: The best accessibility tip I know

Neurodiversity

How to give neurodivergent-friendly instructions

• Instructions can be overwhelming, but they don’t have to be.

• How to use Ellie Middleton’s “what, by when and why” framework.

Read: How to give neurodivergent-friendly instructions.

The ultimate ADHD-friendly communication guide

• What ADHD really is

• Why ADHD needs a rebrand (it’s not an attention deficit, it’s not always hyperactive, and it does not need to be seen as a disorder!)

• Some common ways ADHD affects us

• How to write and speak in a way that works better for ADHDers

• Practical tips for meeting invites, reminders, email summaries and more.

Read: The ultimate ADHD-friendly communication guide.

Tips for neuro-inclusive working (how I run my life as a neurodivergent freelancer)

• I explore how my neurodivergence affects areas like memory, emotional regulation and organisation.

• Practical tips on how to make business work better, for neurodivergent folks.

Read: Tips for neuro-inclusive working (how I run my life as a neurodivergent freelancer)

7 ways information overload is killing your productivity

• What information overload is

• What causes information overload

• The impact of information overload

Read: 7 ways information overload is killing your productivity

50+ crowdsourced ADHD survival tips

I asked people how they cope with overwhelm, and here are over 50 survival tips (featuring Parul Singh, founder of Parallel Minds)

Read: 50+ crowdsourced ADHD survival tips

Allyship

How do you make people care about inclusivity and accessibility?

• How to encourage senior leaders and colleagues to care about, support and invest in inclusive and accessible communication.

Read: How do you make people care about inclusivity and accessibility?

Eating disorders at work: how to navigate food and eating inclusively

• What disordered eating is

• How common disordered eating is (a lot more common than you may realise!)

• Practical tips to support colleagues and friends with disordered eating.

Read: Eating disorders at work: how to navigate food and eating inclusively.

Time to ditch the devil’s advocate

• How “playing the devil’s advocate” can show up at work

• Who it can harm

• An inclusive alternative (Basically: ditch the devil’s advocate. The devil has enough advocates!)

Read: Time to ditch the devil’s advocate.

Why (inclusive) language matters

• How language can shape the way we think, feel and act.

• An overview of research from psychology, neuroscience and business, showing the far-reaching impact of our word choices.

Read: Why (inclusive) language matters.

Gender and sexuality

Should I say girl or woman?

• What gendered language is

• How “feminine” words impact how we see someone

• The answer to: Should I say “girl” or “woman”?

Read: Should I say “girl” or “woman”?

Are you being too polite?

In this guest post, Jaya Bhogal explores:

• What “hedging” is

• If women are more polite than men

• What the female register is

• Practical tips for taking hedging out of your language.

Read: Are you being too polite? (Guest post by Jaya Bhogal).

How to take sexism and male default thinking out of your language

• How sexism can show up in our language

• What “male default thinking” is

• The harmful effects of sexism and male default thinking

• How to take sexist bias out of our words.

Read: How to take sexism and male default thinking out of your language.

How to be LGBTQIA+ inclusive

• What genders and sexual orientations are in the LGBTQIA+ umbrella (sometimes called QUILTBAG, if you’re looking for a word you can say easily)

• Why it’s important to be LGBTQIA+ inclusive

• Practical tips on how to be LGBTQIA+ inclusive.

Read: How to be LGBTQIA+ inclusive.

What cis and trans mean

• Why it’s important to have clear labels for identities (especially “default” ones)

• What cis and trans actually mean!

Read: What cis and trans mean.

9 practical ways to be trans inclusive

• Why we need Pride Month

• A quick intro to pronouns and “coming out”

• 9 practical ways to be more trans inclusive

Read: 9 practical ways to be trans inclusive.

Singular they is a-okay

• What pronouns are

• What “singular they” is and how it works

• How to use “singular they” in conversation.

Read: Singular they is a-okay.

It’s male violence against women, actually

Content note: details of sexual violence, violence against women, femicide, and torture.

This post is all about how language impacts:

• Misogynistic framings

• Passive portrayals

• Power dynamics

Links to support and resources at the end.

Read: It’s male violence against women, actually

Why won’t these silly women speak up? (part 1)

• why women aren’t speaking up

• what happens when women’s voices are silenced

• the enormous cost - to everyone involved.

Read: Why won’t these silly women speak up?

11 ways to help women speak up (part 2)

Now that we know why women not speaking up matters, it’s time for action.

I’ve picked 11 of my favorites, just to get you started.

Read: 11 ways to help women speak up

Race, culture and ethnicity

Why capitalise Black?

• Why language around race and identity matters

• Why I follow thinkers who capitalise the B in Black.

Read: Why capitalise Black?

Why nude isn’t everyone’s colour

• The racist history of “skin colour”, “nude” and “flesh”

• Why choices about skin colour matter deeply

• How to communicate inclusively around skin colour.

Read: Why nude isn’t everyone’s colour.

The enormous harm of staying silent

• Why leaders need to speak up when their staff are going through difficult or dangerous times.

• The devastating impact that an upsurge in racist, anti-Muslim violence in the UK may be having on your team.

Read: the enormous harm of staying silent

Practical tips for supporting staff through racist, anti-Muslim violence

• We know it’s vital to speak out and support staff when they’re going through challenging times. But how do you do it?

• Practical tips for exactly how you can support your staff.

Read: Practical tips for supporting staff through racist, anti-Muslim violence

A practical guide to help you spell and say people’s names correctly

• Why spelling and saying people’s names correctly matters

• Practical tips on how to get names right.

Read: A practical guide to help you spell and say people’s names correctly

Recruitment

The ultimate guide to inclusive and accessible recruitment

• How recruitment processes can be exclusionary and inaccessible.

• Hundreds of practical tips to guide you in how to make recruitment more inclusive and accessible.

Read: The ultimate guide to inclusive and accessible recruitment

Explore the full archive

That’s just a list of my most popular articles.

There’s even more in the archive!

Explore the full list of posts in the Fighting Talk archive.

Suggest a topic

Got a topic you want me to cover?

Email me on hello at fightingtalk.uk, send me a message on LinkedIn or reply here on Substack.

I’d love to hear from you!

No wait!

Forget that.

I’m delighted to introduce our first ever guest post on Fighting Talk.

You’re in for a treat.

Jaya Bhogal is our author today.

Jaya’s planning to study psychology and neuroscience next year at university. She has an interest in language and the brain.

As …

Read more

Way too many organisations ignore inclusive and accessible communication because they think it’s complex, confusing or expensive.

Brands are missing out

They’re missing out on:

• deeper connections with their audiences,

• earning loyalty from customers who feel cared for,

• building a ro…

Read more

And these words in particular.

Nova writes:

“Monday 15th September 2025 - the day melanated Brits go into the office looking at every white person with suspicion wondering if they were enjoying themselves at far-right hate marches at the weekend. Or if they were responsible for draping union Jacks up and…

Read more

Bold Type is my 12 week group programme in inclusive language and accessible communication.

It’s your fast track to feeling clear, calm and confident.

To knowing how to connect more deeply with customers, clients, colleagues and more.

Join Bold Type

How to apply

Ready to join us on…

Read more

So today I’m sharing a guide to building your own business case for inclusive and accessible communication.

We’ve got:

1. What a business case for inclusive and accessible communication is,

2. Statistics that support the business case (a gigantic buffet of facts to choose from)

3. 6 steps to building your own business case.

Bold Type is back

Reminder: Bold Type is back!

It’s a 12-week course in inclusive and accessible communication and I’d love to have you join us.

Ready to become a clear, confident communicator? Learn more about Bold Type.

Early bird places (with a free 1:1 coaching session) close 31 August.

We start on Tuesday 23 September.

Comment or send me a DM if you have any questions!

Join Bold Type

1. What a business case for inclusive and accessible communication is

A business case for inclusive and accessible communication is a commercial argument for investment. It shows decision-makers how inclusion drives revenue, cuts costs, and reduces risk.

2. Statistics that support the business case

This section is basically a big buffet of inspiration.

Grab what relates to you (and leave the rest).

My favourite statistics

I’ve organised the rest of the stats into themes, but my absolute favourites are:

1. 87% more likely for diverse & inclusive organisations to make better decisions than their less inclusive peers (Korn Ferry)

2. 5x more likely for employees to want to stay in their organisation long-term, when they feel they belong (Great Place to Work)

3. 56% increase in job performance when employees feel that they belong in the workplace culture (Deloitte)

4. up to 36% increase in profits where an organisation has gender and racial diversity in its senior leadership (McKinsey)

5. 71% of consumers say they’re likely to buy an inclusive alternative to a product… even if it didn't specifically apply to them (Sparks & Honey responsible marketing index)

6. 80.8% of consumers agree with the statement “brands and businesses have a role to play in addressing social issues” (Sparks & Honey responsible marketing index)

7. 73.1% of consumers think it’s important that brands create a platform for under-represented or impacted communities or relevant organisations to share their work or message (Sparks & Honey responsible marketing index)

Inclusion drives profit

You already know how I feel about inclusion for the sake of profit. But some of these statistics are amazing!

• 19% more revenue made by companies with diverse management teams (BCG)

• diverse companies are 70% more likely to capture new markets (Harvard Business Review)

• £2 billion approximately lost by businesses a month by ignoring the needs of disabled people (Purple Goat)

• Every 1% increase in gender diversity yields a 3% increase in revenue (The Female Quotient)

• Companies with more diverse management teams generated 19% higher revenues from innovation (Boston Consulting Group)

• Diverse companies enjoy up to 20% higher innovation rates and 19% higher innovation revenues (World Economic Forum)

• Inclusive workplaces report 19% higher overall revenue (Texthelp)

• Broad talent diversity correlates with 19% higher revenue from innovation (World Economic Forum).

Inclusion boosts performance

• Companies in the top quartile for racial diversity are 36% more likely to outperform financially (McKinsey)

• Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 39% more likely to financially outperform peers (McKinsey)

• Top 25% racially diverse companies are 33% more likely to outperform on EBITDA margin (McKinsey)

Inclusive teams make better decisions

• 87% of the time diverse teams make better decisions than non-diverse teams (Forbes)

• Companies with inclusive cultures are up to 1.7 times more likely to be market innovation leaders (TalentLMS)

• Inclusive teams make decisions twice as fast with 60-87% better outcomes (various sources)

• Cognitive diversity enhances team innovation by up to 20% (Gartner)

• Inclusive teams perform 30% better, especially in highly diverse environments (Gartner)

• Decisions made and executed by diverse teams delivered 60% better results (Forbes)

• Inclusive teams are 6 times more likely to be innovative

• Inclusive teams are 2 times more likely to meet or exceed financial targets

• Cognitively diverse teams solve problems faster than homogeneous groups (Harvard)

For more on how diverse teams think better and solve problems more effectively, check out Matthew Syed’s great book Rebel ideas: the power of diverse thinking.

Inclusion helps you attract and retain talent

• 22% lower turnover rate for companies with diverse workforces (Forbes)

• 80% of candidates say inclusion is important when choosing an employer (Deloitte)

• 39% of employees would consider leaving their organisation for one that is more inclusive (Deloitte)

• 72% of UK managers who quit said they would have stayed if they'd had adequate support

• 67% of job seekers state that a diverse workforce is important when considering job offers (Glassdoor)

• 75% of job seekers prefer inclusive employers

• 83% of Gen Z candidates state that a company's commitment to inclusion and diversity is important when choosing an employer

• Diverse and inclusive workplaces have 5.4 times higher workforce retention (Great Place to Work)

Inclusive teams are happier teams

• Diverse-led organisations are 12 times more likely to engage and retain employees (“diverse”-led organisations? I think a more accurate description would be “not led by white men” but OK)

• Nearly 8.5 times more likely to inspire a sense of belonging (diverse-led organisations)

• 83% of millennials are more engaged at inclusive companies

• 72% of employees would prefer to stay at a job where they feel valued and heard, even if it meant earning 30% less (Achievers Workforce Institute)

• Disengaged employees cost companies globally £8.8 trillion in lost productivity annually (Gallup)

• 72% of employees believe their performance would improve if managers provided corrective feedback (Harvard Business Review). I mention this because learning how to give factual feedback, free from weird unhelpful stereotypes, is a core inclusive communication skill.

• In the UK, only 25% of employees report full trust in their leadership (CIPD)

• 1 in 3 employees leave due to toxic cultures and management that fail to act (CIPD)

• 63% of millennials say they would leave an employer lacking inclusive values.

• 48% of UK businesses say retaining talent is their top priority.

• It is very, very hard to retain your talent if you can’t clearly communicate requests, deadlines and feedback in a way that works well for our diverse brains.

Inclusion and accessibility make your customers happy

• 8.5 times more likely to satisfy and retain customers (diverse-led organisations)

• 75% of consumers report that a brand's DEI reputation influences their purchase decisions (Brand Inclusion Index)

• 91% of companies with more workplace diversity report higher customer satisfaction (Harvard Business School)

• 59% of consumers say inclusion influences their purchasing decisions

• 70% of Gen Z are more trusting of brands that represent diversity

• 44% of global consumers say DEI has become more important to them recently (Amazon and Environics Research)

• 70% consider DEI an important factor when choosing a brand (Amazon and Environics Research)

• 45% are willing to pay more for brands that authentically promote DEI (Amazon and Environics Research)

Anyone else find it hilarious that Amazon conducted this research? Imagine taking inclusion advice from Jeff Bezos.

Customers are loyal to inclusive brands

• 64% of consumers took action after seeing a diverse, inclusive ad (The Female Quotient/Google/Ipsos)

• 69% of Black consumers were more likely to purchase from brands with representations that reflect their race or ethnicity (The Female Quotient/Google/Ipsos)

• 71% of LGBTQ consumers were more likely to engage with ads authentically representing their sexual orientation (The Female Quotient/Google/Ipsos)

• 3.5% uplift in immediate sales from progressive advertising (The Unstereotype Alliance)

• 16.3% long-term sales impact from progressive advertising (The Unstereotype Alliance)

• 29% consumer loyalty increase from progressive advertising (The Unstereotype Alliance)

• Ads perceived as progressive are rated 9.8% more meaningful and 11.8% more differentiated (The Unstereotype Alliance)

• Brand loyalty can increase by 42%, with 52% gain in pricing power (The Unstereotype Alliance)

• 20% increase in customer satisfaction from multicultural influencer marketing (Stallion Express case study)

• 15% boost in campaign effectiveness from multicultural influencer marketing (Stallion Express case study)

Inaccessibility is costing you money

• Accessibility barriers still prevent 1 in 5 people from using the internet effectively. (Does this make anyone else furious? I had to pause and let myself feel pure rage about this. OK, I’ve done some deep breathing and I’m a bit calmer. But how outrageous is this?)

• Inaccessible websites cost UK businesses £11.75 billion annually in lost revenue

• 97.8% of website homepages contain errors like missing alt text and poor colour contrast

• 83% of users with access needs limit their shopping to websites they know are barrier-free (The Click-Away Pound)

• 39% of disabled applicants have withdrawn from a recruitment process because of poor accessibility

• A 2023 study found over 70% of websites saw a traffic increase after implementing accessibility fixes, with some seeing increases over 50%.

Accessibility boosts SEO

• It’s wild how often people separate accessibility from basic UX.

• Disabled humans are…humans! And so fixing accessibility issues makes your content work for your users. UX is not seen as a niche add-on, yet accessibility often is. Weird.

• Making your website more accessible will improve UX, which benefits SEO by decreasing bounce rates, boosting session durations and generally getting people the information they need so they can take action. You know, like buying your stuff!

• Logical heading structures, semantic HTML, alt text on your meaningful images, a great mobile experience (that works well for folks with tremors, vision impairment, limb differences and so on) are accessibility features and UX features.

• And they all boost SEO.

• Some more examples of how UX matters:

• 39% will stop engaging with content when loading time takes too long.

• 85% think that a company’s mobile site should be as good or better than a desktop site.

• 88% of users are less likely to return after a bad user experience.

• Mobile users are 5 times more likely to abandon a task if a site isn’t mobile-optimised.

• 83% of consumers believe that a seamless user experience across all devices is essential.

• 80% of people are willing to pay more for a better user experience

Simple messages grab people’s attention

• 2 statistics you will often hear when talking about communication effectiveness are:

  • People take 18 seconds or 55 to 75 words to decide whether information is important (so they should pay attention to it) or irrelevant (so they will ignore it or immediately forget it).

  • People have between 3 and 7 seconds before they decide whether to engage (for example, with a social media post).

  • One of the only things I have in common with the LinkedIn hustle bros: I really want you to get straight to the point. Hustle! But only in service of accessibility, please.

• A 2006 study found that people rate us as less intelligent when we use needlessly complex language

• The average reading age of adults in the UK is at or below level 3 (most of us are familiar with the idea of reading ages, so in terms of “reading ages” then that’s around 9 to 11 years old. Personally not a fan of describing people by a reading age.)

• Even experts prefer simple language (Nielsen Norman Group).

Communication is key to project success

These statistics talk about communication in general. But I would say that failed communication is usually a case of inaccessible communication (too complex, too wordy, not clear, literal or actionable enough for neurodivergent folks).

• 44% of respondents identified poor communication as the main reason for failed projects (Economist Intelligence Unit)

• Low morale (31%), missed performance goals (25%), and lost sales (18%) can be attributed to communication breakdowns (Economist Intelligence Unit)

• 85% of respondents believe eye contact is critical in business communication (Journal of Management). *Sighs in autistic*

• 70% said that facial expressions significantly impact workplace dynamics (Journal of Management)

• Only 55% felt confident in interpreting nonverbal signals accurately (Journal of Management)

• Just a few examples of the neuronormative communication expectations that harm all of us. Businesses miss out on amazing talent, and sincere, engaged colleagues get misunderstood, left behind, underemployed and fired. I’ve seen varied statistic son the autistic unemployment rate, but it’s often put between 50 and 85%.

Overwhelm is an accessibility issue

• Almost 1 in 5 workers see the sheer volume of communication as a barrier to success (State of the Sector).

• You know how we solve overwhelm? Accessible communication, my friend. Because it means we say less, and format what we write/speak in a way that is super easy to scan or skim.

Global teams need clear communication

• 89% of employees are part of at least one global team (Harvard Business Review)

• 62% work with colleagues from three or more cultures (Harvard Business Review)

• 92% of organisations still use email as a primary communication channel (Grammarly).

• If you’re writing a ton of emails to neurodiverse, culturally diverse (and just generally varied - because humans are different) teams, accessible writing is essential.

Neuro-inclusive communication needs to be the new normal

• Neurodivergent people are everywhere. Wherever you look, we’re here. (Surprise!)

• If you think there’s nobody neurodivergent in your team at work? I’m so sorry but they just don’t feel safe sharing with you (and they shouldn’t have to).

• I move in circles where it feels like 100% of us are neurodivergent (for example: ADHD, autism, dyslexia, OCD, generalised anxiety, PTSD, CPTSD) so I find these statistics bafflingly low, but some studies estimate that around 20% of us are neurodivergent.

• In some sectors, like creative industries that’s even higher. Around 20% to 50% (Creative Equals, Creative Review)

Your competitors are committed to inclusion: don’t get left. behind

If you want to remind your bosses that actually, not everybody is rolling back DEI?

• According to the Institute of Directors, 71% of UK business leaders say they are maintaining or expanding DEI efforts in 2025.

• Only 1% reported a significant decrease in DEI efforts.

Reach diverse new customers

• The argument here is essentially “be less racist, because you could unlock lucrative new customers by not being racist to them!” I think you can guess how I feel about that.

• But here you go: racially minoritised consumers in the UK have disposable income projected to reach £252 billion by 2023, rising to £3.06 trillion by 2031 and £16.7 trillion by 2061 (WPP)

• Engaging just 1% more of this audience could unlock £2.34 billion in short-term growth (WPP report). Anyone else find this language very dehumanising?

Phew.

What have I missed? Let me know!

2. Create your own business case for inclusion

Feeling inspired by that smorgasbord of statistics?

Now it’s time to build your own business case!

I suggest you:

1. Understand your organisation's priorities

Ask yourself:

• What problems do leaders in my organisation have?

• What is senior leadership worried about?

• What risks are they trying to manage?

• What opportunities are leaders excited about?

• What values do we live and work by?

2. Pick a problem to solve

Now zoom in on the problem. Maybe it’s:

• Losing revenue or missing market opportunities

• Struggling with recruitment or retention

• Facing legal or reputational risks

• Missing innovation targets

Identify the actual problem (or problems) that leaders want to solve.

3. Use relevant evidence

Gather some evidence from the buffet of facts and statistics I’ve shared with you (or elsewhere! I’d love to know what you find).

Pick statistics that match your organisation's pain points:

• Revenue stats if they're focused on growth

• Retention stats if turnover is high

• Legal compliance stats if risk management is a priority

• Customer satisfaction stats if reputation is a top concern.

4. Show the ROI

• Explain the benefits:

  • revenue growth,

  • cost savings,

  • risk reduction.

• And don’t forget the cost of doing nothing! Can you calculate it?

• Link investment to measurable outcomes

5. Make it personal

A load of random stats are meh.

How does this relate to you as an individual, in your team, at your workplace?

Maybe you can:

• Add employee stories or customer feedback

• Show how this affects your specific team or role

• Explain what activities you perform and what risks exist if you don't do them inclusively

• Tailor it to your audience. Like really tailor it…

Do they love Beyoncé? Are they all over Taylor Swift engagement announcements? Make it relevant to them.

• Even Beyoncé can be (well, has been) sued for inaccessibility.

• Taylor Swift’s latest website is an accessibility nightmare.

6. Position your solution

Explain why your approach (for example: hey please send me on a training programme like Bold Type!) is worth investing in:

• What specific outcomes will you deliver?

• What's your track record? (To show what a firm foundation you are building on, why you’re a great investment for more training or support).

• What are the future benefits?

• How does this differ from cheaper alternatives?

Your business case needs to speak the language leaders listen to.

If they care about profit, lead with profit. If they worry about risk, start with risk. If they value innovation, open with innovation stats.

Get my template

Want to make your own business case for inclusive and accessible communication?

I made a Google Doc template business case for you!

Hit reply or comment “template” below and I’ll share it with you. 😊

Bold Type is back

Reminder: Bold Type is back!

• It’s a 12-week course in inclusive and accessible communication and I’d love to have you join us.

• Ready to become a clear, confident communicator? Learn more about Bold Type.

• Early bird places (with a free 1:1 coaching session) close 31 August.

• We start on Tuesday 23 September.

Hit reply if you have any questions!

Join Bold Type