<aside> <img src="/icons/error_red.svg" alt="/icons/error_red.svg" width="40px" /> Consider updating the redlined text below with guidance and links specific to your brand.

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We write the same way we build apps: with a person-first perspective. Whether you’re writing for an internal or external audience, it's important to write for and about other people in a way that’s compassionate, inclusive, and respectful. Being aware of the impact of your language will help make [your company name] a better place to work and a better steward of our values in the world. In this section, we'll lay out some guidelines for writing about people with compassion, and share some resources for further learning.

As part of an audience

• Don’t capitalize “audience” unless it’s grammatically necessary.
• Don’t refer to an audience as “it.” Audiences are made up of real people, so always use “they.”
• This goes for contacts, too. Contacts are real people, never pieces of data.
• There’s a feature in our app called “lookalike audiences,” which is a way for our customers to market to people who are similar to their existing contacts. Always use the “lookalike” qualifier when referring to this feature to avoid confusion.

Age

Don’t reference a person’s age unless it’s relevant to what you’re writing. If it is relevant, include the person’s specific age, offset by commas.

• The CEO, 16, just got her driver’s license.

Don’t refer to people using age-related descriptors like “young,” “old,” or “elderly.”

Disability

Avoid disability-related idioms like “lame” or “falling on deaf ears.” Don’t refer to a person’s disability unless it’s relevant to what you’re writing. If you need to mention it, ask whether your subject prefers person-first language (“they have a disability”) or identity-first language (“they are disabled”).

When writing about a person with disabilities, don’t use the words “suffer,” “victim,” or “handicapped.” “Handicapped parking” is OK.

Gender and sexuality

Don’t call groups of people “guys.” Don’t call women “girls.”

Avoid gendered terms in favor of neutral alternatives, like “server” instead of “waitress” and “businessperson” instead of “businessman.”

It’s OK to use “they” as a singular pronoun.

Use the following words as modifiers, but never as nouns:

• lesbian