Interlude: Language, Inclusion, and Stories
Language is powerful. It has the power to influence, persuade, and motivate.
And inclusive language has the power to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to create a more equitable society.
But a major challenge in our using inclusive language is our unawareness.
I have worked with many researchers and clinicians who are unaware of the language they use in their writing and clinical practice. And they may not realize how their language could unintentionally—even unconsciously—fuel bias.
And I, admittedly, was once among them.
But I've prioritized learning about inclusive language so that I could do better. And now I want to help you do better too.
So, I created an Inclusive Language Course that will help you enhance your awareness of the language you use and learn current recommendations for using bias-free language in your writing, clinical practice, and daily lives.
And if you enroll, 10% of your payment will be donated to the Health Equity Initiative.
I hope you'll check it out. And if you do, let me know what you think. I'm always grateful for your feedback, because it helps me to create better resources for you.
And now onto the weekly round-up...
💌 Round-up
👓 Reading
‘Nature’: Free Open-Access Publishing for 70+ Nations’ Research
"‘Nature’ and the Nature Research journals offer free open-access publication to researchers from lower income world markets."
🎧 Listening
Nurture Connection: Tell Them a Story
I had the pleasure of meeting Ben Riggs at the AMWA conference last year, and we had one of those conversations where you wonder how the past few hours just flew by. He's a brilliant storyteller. In this podcast, he shares his thoughts on the importance of context, simplicity, and humanity in writing; that accuracy does not mean exhaustiveness; and rewriting is about selection and not compression. This episode does not disappoint.
🧰 Tools
Squarespace
I've been making some much-needed updates to my website this year. I'll continue to refine the site over time, but Squarespace has made the development process a breeze. Their user-friendly platform, thorough support, and beautiful templates are impressive. If you need to create a website for your lab or business, I highly recommend you check out Squarespace.
💬 Quote
"Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes." —Desmond Tutu, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1984)
📝 Challenge
Open up the latest draft of the project you've been writing and review the text to ensure you used inclusive language.
Thank you so much for reading.
Warmly,
Crystal
