There have always been pitfalls in corporate communications that you shouldn't step into. And diverse and inclusive communication in particular offers some pitfalls. But gendering and the representation of different perspectives reflect society. And companies that close their minds to this can expect a s***storm. Diverse and inclusive communication promotes creativity and can catapult a company into the media spotlight. We have collected three tips for inclusive communication for you.
1. storytelling made easy: let people who often don't get a hearing have their say
A core element of good storytelling are extraordinary stories and sometimes a story comes from the mouth of a person you wouldn't expect at first glance. If you have a message to get across these days, you can make it "simply diverse" by letting people have their say who are often not heard in this context. This automatically encourages our creativity, as we have to think ourselves into completely new roles. You can ask children when it comes to adult topics, have Buddhists evaluate events in Christianity or have employees evaluate the new Board of Directors.
2. linguistic innovation: opportunities in change
Our language is constantly evolving - it is a mirror of our society. As a company, you should use new language elements to address individual groups directly or no longer exclude them. With a few simple adaptations, you can send a positive signal in speech and writing:
- Gender: Avoid using the masculine form for all genders (generic masculine) and use the masculine and feminine form equally. Who you name first is of secondary importance. Sometimes a gender-neutral formulation also helps.
- Disability: Generally formulated in a positive way: inclusive language highlights opportunities and does not focus on limitations. This puts the person, their role and their needs in the foreground. So instead of talking about "care cases" or "accessible", you should talk about "people with assistance needs" and "barrier-free".
- Sexual orientation and national origin: Always consider how important sexual orientation, nationality or skin color is in the context of your message and avoid stereotypes and generalizations.
3. expressing diversity in images
In a world full of images, our subconscious decides in a matter of seconds how much we feel picked up by an image - and are accordingly willing to buy. Consumers want to feel represented by companies more than ever. Diversity must therefore also find its place in a company's visual language. And nowadays, it is no longer enough to simply depict a woman in a management position. It is best to banish all forms of stereotypes from visual communication. It must reflect diversity (gender, skin color, age, etc.). It is important to consider not only who is shown in pictures, but also how the people are depicted (Which person is in the foreground of the picture? Is a typical distribution of roles depicted?)
With more diverse and inclusive communication, companies can proactively project a positive image to the outside world and win over new customer groups. However, it is important to remember that diversity and inclusion must be authentic and permeate all channels - internal and external. Consumers today notice more quickly than ever when communication is not meant seriously.
Our mission for more diversity in communication
Swiss Diversity is committed to more diversity and better inclusion in Switzerland. We are also committed to this goal and are working with the platform to make the organization's messages and measures known to the general public. To kick off the collaboration, Ferris signed the "Declaration of Diversity and Inclusion in Switzerland", which was drawn up in a workshop in Bern on Monday, March 21, with around thirty participants. We are excited to see how we can continue to shape Switzerland as a place of diversity within the framework of this cooperation!