Certain language can come across harmless to some people, but exclusionary, unwelcoming, and alienating to others. Learn how to spot the biases that frequently find their way into marketing language, replace them with alternatives that lead to stronger, clearer messaging, and cultivate a wider, loyal, and enthusiastic audience.

1. HOW TO MAKE YOUR CONTENT
MORE INCLUSIVE
E M I L Y T R I P L E T T L E N T Z
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@ E M I L Y T L E N T Z

2. 2
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3. MICRO-
AGGRESSIONS
Brief and commonplace daily verbal,
behavioral, or environmental indignities,
whether intentional or unintentional, that
communicate hostile, derogatory, or
negative slights and insults toward people
in marginalized groups
Discrimination in favor of able-bodied
people
ABLEISM
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7. • bipolar
• blind
• crazy
• cripple
• deaf
• duh
• dumb
• grandfathering
• guys
• handicap
• idiot
• insane
• lame
• manning/manned
• manpower
• master/slave
• mental
• minority
• moron
• OCD/ADD
• psycho
• stupid
THE LIST
W O R D S T O L O O K O U T F O R
@EMILYTLENTZ | #INBOUND19 | BIT.LY/INCLUSIVE-INBOUND

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10. • bipolar
• blind
• crazy
• cripple
• deaf
• duh
• dumb
• grandfathering
• guys
• handicap
• idiot
• insane
• lame
• manning/manned
• manpower
• master/slave
• mental
• minority
• moron
• OCD/ADD
• psycho
• stupid
THE LIST
W O R D S T O L O O K O U T F O R
@EMILYTLENTZ | #INBOUND19 | BIT.LY/INCLUSIVE-INBOUND

11. • blind
• crazy
• cripple
• deaf
• dumb
• grandfathering
• insane
• lame
• manpower
• master/slave
• stupid
THE LIST
W O R D S W E H A D M I S U S E D
@EMILYTLENTZ | #INBOUND19 | BIT.LY/INCLUSIVE-INBOUND

12. INCLUSIVE,
GENDER-NEUTRAL
LANGUAGE
Examples: use “folks” or “people” rather than
“guys”; “staffed” or “handled” rather than
“manned”; “go-between” rather than
“middleman,” etc. Avoid ableist language (e.g.,
“crazy,” “OCD,” “blind,” “lame,” “insane,” and so
on).
@EMILYTLENTZ | #INBOUND19 | BIT.LY/INCLUSIVE-INBOUND

13. • Quoting SMEs from underrepresented
groups
• Soliciting diverse images
• Captioning videos
• Aiming for broader representation in
illustrations and testimonials
• Improving web and product accessibility in
general
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14. IDENTIFY THE WORDS
YOU WANT TO HUNT FOR
FIND WHERE YOU’VE
USED THOSE WORDS
EDIT THOSE INSTANCES
WITH MORE PRECISE,
NEUTRAL LANGUAGE
UPDATE YOUR STYLE
GUIDE
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19. WHEN WE CAN CHOOSE
BETWEEN UPSETTING SOME
PEOPLE VERSUS UPSETTING
NO ONE …
WHY WOULDN’T WE CHOOSE
TO UPSET NO ONE?
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20. 15-25% OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE
EXPERIENCE SOME FORM OF DISABILITY
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