ThemePurpose & people
CardCard 24 of 60
Questions5 to explore

Language

What type of language will you use? Is it inclusive?

The words you use in a workshop signal who belongs and who does not, often before you have said anything of substance.

Language in a workshop is not just the words in the slides or the instructions you give. It is the vocabulary you assume everyone shares, the jargon you use without translating, the examples you reach for, the names you use, and the jokes that land differently depending on who is in the room. Language choices are design choices, and they happen constantly throughout the day.

Inclusive language means being deliberate about who your language includes and who it inadvertently excludes. This matters in multilingual groups, in groups with different levels of professional vocabulary, when participants come from different cultural backgrounds, and whenever the topic itself carries loaded or contested terminology. It is not about being careful to the point of vagueness; it is about choosing words that let everyone participate fully.

The practical version of this is concrete: use plain language for instructions, check whether your examples are recognizable to everyone in the room, and decide in advance how you will handle technical terms (translate them, avoid them, or give people permission to ask when they are lost).

Easy to missRead through your instructions, slides and exercise prompts from the point of view of someone who does not share your professional background or first language, and mark anything that assumes knowledge they might not have.

How experienced facilitators handle it

The same building block, handled by people who have run a lot of workshops. Patterns and illustrations to react to, not rules to follow.

Assume mixed literacy

Experienced facilitators write instructions as if some participants will find them hard to follow, not because they assume low ability but because clarity never hurts and exclusion does.

Create permission to ask

They explicitly invite participants to ask when they do not understand a word or concept, and model it themselves by defining terms rather than assuming.

Watch the examples you reach for

The examples that feel universal to you (sports analogies, references to a shared cultural moment, business jargon) may leave people out. Experienced facilitators have a few alternatives ready.

Name the working language

In multilingual groups, be explicit about which language the workshop is in, whether translation or code-switching is acceptable, and how written outputs should be handled.

Questions to plan around

Use these on your own or in a group. There are no right answers, only better conversations.

Who is in the room, and do they all share the vocabulary and cultural references you are planning to use?
Is there jargon or technical language in your materials that some participants may not understand?
If some participants are working in a second or third language, how does that affect your instructions and timing?
Are your examples and analogies accessible to everyone, or do they assume a shared background not everyone has?
Have you made it easy for people to ask when they do not understand something without feeling embarrassed?

Watch for

Professional jargon makes people who know it feel included and people who do not feel excluded. In a mixed group, default to plain language and define the terms that matter.
The assumption that everyone in the room is working in their first language is easy to make and often wrong. People who are not slip through unnoticed because they do not ask.
Inclusive language is not only about protected characteristics. It also covers expertise gaps, industry vocabulary, and cultural references that are less universal than they feel to the person using them.