How to write accessible professional services content

22 Sept

One in four people in the UK reports having a disability. That means accessible writing isn’t a niche requirement, or a box to tick. It needs to be part of your writing toolkit from the start, alongside good grammar and a confident voice.

Here are some of the ways to make your writing work for the broadest possible range of readers. You’ll be doing the right thing by people living with disabilities – and senior decision-makers will thank you for it too.

1. Understand who you’re writing for

Professional services content is often written for senior business leaders with no particular access needs. That reader is rarer than you think.

Around 10% of the UK population has dyslexia. Between 15% and 20% of people are neurodivergent in some way: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and other conditions all affect how people process written information. Two million people live with sight loss severe enough to affect their everyday life. And for many British Sign Language users, written English is a second language.

These readers are not on the margins of your audience. They are partners, directors and function leads. The British Dyslexia Association notes that around 20% of UK entrepreneurs are dyslexic. Complex sentences and dense prose don’t serve any of them.

So before you write, ask: who am I writing for, and what might get in the way of them understanding it?

2. Write in plain language

Using plain language is not dumbing down. It’s the discipline of saying what you mean, clearly, without making the reader work harder than necessary. For dyslexic people, and those with cognitive differences, it’s often the difference between understanding something and not. It’s also simply better writing.

Years ago, we turned down a contract at Stet Copywriting because the client wanted long, convoluted sentences. The project owner was convinced that academic-sounding prose would make the firm seem credible. We still see it creep into professional services writing.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the internationally recognised standard for accessible digital content. Plain language and readability are both accessibility requirements. Not only is complex language is hard to read, but it excludes people.

Plain language in practice

· Everyday words. ‘Use’ not ‘utilise’; ‘help’ not ‘facilitate’; ‘show’ not ‘demonstrate’. Familiar words reduce cognitive load and are easier to process.

· Short sentences. Aim for an average of 15 to 20 words. Vary the length for rhythm, but consider trimming any sentence longer than 25 words.

· Active voice. ‘We identified three risks’ is clearer than ‘Three risks were identified’. It’s more direct and easier to understand.

· Specific language. Avoid phrases like ‘moving the dial’ and ‘above and beyond’. They can confuse – especially for autistic people and non-native English speakers.

· Defined abbreviations and acronyms. Write them out in full on first use; it’s not just good practice, but also helpful to non-specialist readers.

3. Structure your content for the reader

Good structure is not a cosmetic decision. It affects whether your content will be understood. A logical, predictable structure reduces cognitive load for autistic readers. Headings and chunked content improve retention for people who have ADHD. And strong signposting helps dyslexic people decode text more accurately.

Good structure in practice

· Leading with the point. Put your main finding first, then the evidence and context. Readers with limited time or capacity should come away knowing what matters with a quick read.

· Headings that do real work. A reader should understand the shape of your argument from the headings alone. ‘AI in the workplace’ is less helpful than ‘How AI is reshaping the workforce’. For digital content, clear headings also matter for screen readers, which navigate by heading structure.

· One idea per paragraph. Short paragraphs are easier to navigate for readers who easily lose their place, have to re-read several times, or are reading in a second language.

· Signposting. Brief introductory sentences at the start of sections help readers who have ADHD and cognitive differences stay oriented. For example, ‘There are three things to consider here’.

· Bullet points. Break up long paragraphs and lists into bullet points. It makes information easier to scan for readers who struggle with dense blocks of text – including dyslexic people and those with ADHD and cognitive differences.

3. Be aware of culture and habits

Even when you understand the principles of accessible writing, cultural habits can get in the way. These can be so ingrained that nobody notices the accessibility barriers they create.

What to watch out for

· Committee writing. Content that passes through partners, legal and compliance for sign-off often loses its voice in the process. The final piece can be harder to read than the original draft. Someone needs to own the writing – and the review process needs to be clear about who improves content, and who simply authorises it.

· Writing for the approver, not the reader. Professional services content is often written to satisfy the partner or director who has final sign-off; not the reader it’s meant for. Ask yourself: would someone with dyslexia, limited time, or English as a second language get what they need from this?

· Undefined jargon. Technical language is sometimes necessary. The problem is assuming the reader already knows what it means. WCAG flags undefined abbreviations as an accessibility failure. For readers with cognitive or memory differences, an unexplained acronym mid-paragraph is a blocker.

· Headings marked up incorrectly. Screen readers navigate by heading structure, from H1, H2, H3 and so on. Mark up your text correctly (bold text is not a header), and never skip a level. Also, use sentence case for ease of reading.

· Inaccessible link text. Generic link text causes real navigation problems for screen reader users, as they scan through links to navigate a page. 'Read our latest financial services outlook' is accessible. 'Click here' and 'read more' are not.

Why accessible writing is better for everyone

The discipline of accessible writing is the same discipline that makes content worth reading. Short sentences, plain language, clear structure and descriptive headings are not accommodations. They are the hallmarks of good writing.