How to create inclusive communications that reach everyone
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Posted: Mon 2nd Jan 2023
6 min read
For small businesses and start-ups, making sure your message reaches and resonates with a wide range of people can be the difference between building loyal audiences or missing out entirely.
In this blog, Mo Kanjilal of Watch This Sp_ce – an award-winning diversity and inclusion communications company – shares practical guidance on how to make your communications more accessible, representative and effective.
From understanding who you're addressing to crafting messaging that works for diverse audiences, Mo outlines exactly how inclusive communication can drive both impact and growth.
1. Why inclusive communication matters
Research shows that:
diverse companies enjoy 19% higher innovation
teams with greater diversity make better decisions 87% of the time
inclusive processes lead to decisions made twice as fast with fewer meetings
Beyond that, inclusive communication ensures you're reaching your future customers, attracting diverse talent and building a resilient brand.
One striking example Mo shared comes from Apple, which once launched a phone too large for most women's hands – overlooking half their customer base in the process. Inclusive thinking isn't just nice to have – it's profitable.
2. Understand who you're communicating with
The first step in inclusive communication is understanding that your audience is not a monolith. People vary by:
protected characteristics (like age, gender and disability)
neurodiversity, learning styles and communication preferences
cultural background, language and socioeconomics
personality types (think: detail-oriented vs. big-picture thinkers)
Whether you're sending an email, designing a website or running a meeting, it's crucial to consider how different people receive and process information.
3. Be mindful of how you communicate
As Mo points out, it's not just what you say – it's how you say it. According to her:
only 7% of communication is the actual words used
38% is tone of voice
a massive 55% is body language and visual cues
This means your facial expressions on video calls, your tone in emails and the visuals on your website all have a significant impact on how people experience your message.
Tip: Be cautious with acronyms, jargon or slang. What feels familiar to you may be confusing – or alienating – to someone else.
4. Tips for inclusive writing and visual content
Creating accessible and inclusive content means considering both readability and representation.
Use inclusive language
Avoid gendered phrases like "guys" or "ladies and gentlemen".
Use people-first language (for example, "person with a disability" rather than "disabled person").
Make content easy to absorb
Structure emails so readers can scan easily: headline → detail → call to action.
Use bullet points, short paragraphs and plain English.
Aim for a reading age of 14 for general content.
Add subtitles to videos
Many people consume content silently – and subtitles make it more accessible for people with hearing impairments or who are neurodiverse.
Think about your visuals
Do your images reflect your audience's diversity?
Are colour choices readable and culturally appropriate? (For example, red means warning in the UK, but represents good luck in China.)
5. Make sure there's good accessibility across platforms
Mo suggests running your website through free accessibility checkers. She also recommends avoiding white backgrounds with black text (surprisingly, one of the least accessible formats) and creating clear calls-to-action and easy navigation.
And Mo advises getting feedback from a diverse group.
Can people understand what you do?
Can they easily navigate your content?
Are you accidentally excluding anyone?
6. Avoid tokenism
Representation matters – but authenticity is everything. If you're showcasing your team's diversity in your marketing, be sure it reflects the reality.
Don't highlight someone just to tick a box. People want to feel valued for their skills, not used for optics.
7. Inclusive communication in recruitment
By 2025, 75% of the workforce will be Millennials and over half of them actively look for employers who value diversity and inclusion.
Mo emphasises that inclusive hiring practices start with inclusive job ads and websites.
Speak to a wide audience. Make your values clear. And make it easy for people from different backgrounds to see themselves in your company.
8. Stay open to feedback and keep improving
You won't get everything right the first time, and that's okay. The key is to stay curious, be open to feedback and keep evolving.
Mo calls this "getting comfortable with discomfort". You're moving from:
"I have all the answers" → "I'm open to learning".
"There are no issues" → "There's always room to improve".
"I want to be seen as the best" → "I want to keep striving to be better".
Key takeaways
Think about your audience's variety from the outset.
Communicate in different styles to reach different brains.
Review your tone, visuals and accessibility.
Invite feedback from diverse voices.
Stay open to learning.
Whether you're writing an email, designing a website or hiring your next team member, inclusivity isn't an add-on. It's the framework for everything.
