It's all well and good using clear language, but you still have to get the right tone and choose the right words. It's even more important when writing about difficult or sensitive topics.

The Co-op team do lots of great work and this piece by lead content designer, Helen Lawson, includes some fine examples. It covers the principles that help funeral directors write and work with content.

This paragraph resonated with me:

We reduce the chances of misinterpretation by being very deliberate with the language we choose. For example, we say “he died” not “he passed away” because euphemisms can be misunderstood – especially when English is not someone’s first language. Defined by Collins Dictionary as “a polite expression used to refer to things which people may find upsetting to talk about”, euphemisms about death do not soften the blow but they can lead to confusion.

I have spent the last 18 months working on content where I have needed to tackle this exact challenge. How can we write clearly and directly, while also showing empathy, understanding, even warmth? It is not easy. Often, I have felt like there were no right words available to me at all.

Luckily, I have been working alongside a team of other experienced content designers. We've had the most success when we have worked openly and improved content based on insights from user research. In practice, that means making changes to language and tone in response to feedback from the audience. And by sharing with and learning from each other.

Sometimes, that work has led to a change in terminology – a simple update to the style guide. But there have also been fundamental shifts in how the entire organisation talks and writes about the service and its users. It has had a material effect on both internal culture and the user experience.

Of course, this is how you should approach all projects. Listen to your audience. Write or make a thing. Test it and be willing to change. But I'd argue it is even more important to have these conversations and work iteratively when the content you're working on has potential to cause harm or traumatise.