Language is one of our most powerful tools.

It shifts and adapts, and is often reflective of our society's values at any given time - or perhaps those of the societies that came before.

From a very early age, we learn and normalise terms and phrases that exclude marginalised people and reinforce the power structures that govern us unequally. Often we don't learn about the damaging impact of these words until we are much older, and sometimes we don't learn about it at all.

Consequently, harmful language is often prevalent in the work place, where it can be particularly difficult to identify and challenge.

This talk will identify some of the ways in which our language can impact others. It will also encourage listeners to work towards being more inclusive in their own language use and feel empowered to call out harmful language when they encounter it.