Effective communication is ALL about centering audiences. Why even create content that only works some of the time for some of the people? Here are some topics and questions we think about when creating content.

1. Co-design WITH your audience

• How do people with lived experience or who will be directly affected take part in developing processes or content?

• Are the needs of audiences centered over systems, whenever possible?

• Are the next action steps clear for the readers? Do the processes match the instructions?
  

Examples

• A food pantry has an advisory council of community members who use the food pantry consulting on improvements

• A team creates a new data tracking tool WITH the staff using it

2. Work against the curse of knowledge

• How can we think like a beginner when we are writing to audiences new to a topic?

• How do we use jargon? Casually or with intent only when necessary?

• Do we anticipate what our readers want to know?

Examples

• A presentation on housing rights uses familiar language and avoids legal jargon

• A facilitator finds out what an audience knows about a health issue before a presentation

3. Incorporate a lens of cultural humility

• How do we anticipate and account for unconscious bias when communicating?

• How do we challenge language exhibiting racism, sexism, or other forms of oppression?

• How are different people, families, disabilities, life experiences, and cultures represented?

  
  

Examples

• An organization reviews website images often to make sure they are representative of their community while avoiding stereotypes

• A health educator reviews the recipe suggestions in a healthier eating presentation to include food from a wide variety of cultures

 4. Take a trauma-informed approach

• What is the tone of your content? How does it make people feel?

• How do we make our spaces feel safer?

• Are we transparent and respectful with how we share information?

Examples

• An adult education program tells potential students before they begin exactly how long the intake process lasts and what happens at each step

• A hospital reviews its signage to make it easier for patients to navigate

5. Design with justice + liberation at the forefront

• How do we frame issues you talk about in your work? Who is centered?

• How do we reduce barriers to services and increase accessibility?

• Are processes overly complex or unclear for our audience?

Examples

• A community center makes consent forms strength-based and actionable

• A housing program changes the deficit-based language used to talk about the different neighborhoods in their communities

Clear Language Lab Cheat Sheets are brief summaries of foundational topics we talk about often at the Clear Language Lab. Questions or errors you want to report? Contact Tiara Whitlock, Program Manager, at tiara@litworks.org.

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