Dear Reader, Before you start - if it is easier to listen to this email and you are using Microsoft - please see instructions on Immersive Reader above. Now let's dive in! I need to be honest with you. For the last few weeks, this newsletter has remained unwritten. I have emails I need to respond to. WhatsApp messages that stay on "unread" to remind me I need to go back to them - and I still haven't. I've reached that point where you start wondering: have I left it too long? Is it now more embarrassing to send something than to stay silent? Here's the thing: my brain thinks in pictures, processes, and logical steps - neat little boxes that make sense to me. What it doesn't do well is think in words. So you can imagine the challenge I face as a business owner when my world is surrounded by words: LinkedIn posts, email inboxes, Circle groups, WhatsApp messages, and communities. It's all written word, and my brain sometimes really struggles with too many words. I find myself constantly apologising for not staying on top of things that require me to focus on writing. But this week, I'm done apologising. Instead, I want to talk about why communication preferences matter more than we realise - and why asking everyone to work the same way is exhausting people unnecessarily.

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What's the Data Telling Us?

The statistics on communication and neurodiversity reveal something significant: 41% of neurodivergent employees say workplace communication challenges affect them most days, and more than 50% have taken time off due to these issues. Perhaps most concerning, 63% of neurodivergent employees mask their true communication or thinking preferences at work, leading to anxiety and fatigue.

But this isn't just about neurodivergent employees. Research shows that around 65% of people are visual learners, meaning they process and retain information best through images, diagrams, and other visual formats. In fact, visual information is processed by the brain up to 60,000 times faster than text.

For ADHD brains specifically, visual learning aligns naturally with how we process information. Visuals act as an external "second brain", reducing the load on working memory. ADHD brains often struggle to hold multiple verbal steps in mind, but a visual process map or checklist keeps the sequence visible and stable. Many with ADHD describe their thinking as fast, non-linear, and associative—visual formats allow big-picture thinking and pattern-spotting more naturally than linear paragraphs.

Here's my reality: email inboxes, WhatsApp threads, and long documents are "high-friction" for my brain. I have to translate all those words into pictures and steps before they make sense. Talking things through, sketching on a whiteboard, using workflows, or building an infographic feels far more natural and less draining.

And I'm far from alone. When we assume everyone processes written communication the same way, we're exhausting a significant portion of our workforce whilst missing opportunities to communicate more clearly and effectively for everyone.

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Real World Example

I used to work with someone who loved words. She liked to write lots of words into PowerPoint presentations, documenting her entire thought process. We'd be working on something together, and she'd produce a 15-page PowerPoint deck with size 10 font—basically a written essay in presentation format.

Every time we sat down for a meeting, she'd ask if I'd read it. And every time, I'd say I hadn't. It wasn't going in for me. It was just too long. We clashed quite a lot over this. I think we both got incredibly frustrated with each other - she was doing all this work, and I appeared to be ignoring it. But I wasn't ignoring what she was doing. The way she was presenting the work just didn't work for my brain.

It was actually her who called it out. She said, "This isn't working. We need to find a different way." What we eventually agreed on was that she could produce her 15-page document with all her thought process, but we'd spend time together weekly talking it through. Rather than me reading it, she'd take me through what she was thinking and how she thought we should move forward.

This happened way before I knew anything about neurodiversity or started working in this space. Communication challenges aren't new - workplaces have always had to deal with them. Very often, the biggest challenges come down to communication and the ability to communicate effectively with each other.

When we built EY's Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence in 2022, one thing that stood out was how we communicated with candidates. The US team provided me with an email to send to candidates about assessment centres. It was so lengthy that I'll admit - I probably didn't read every single word. If I didn't read it, and my brain struggles with lengthy emails, what were we asking of our candidates?

The solution was beautifully simple: we gave candidates the option of how they received information about the job they were applying for. Did they want it in email format? Video format? Audio format? Infographic format? That's it. Just giving people a choice in how they consume information.

That simple change went on to win us awards for recruitment innovation. Not because it was complex or expensive, but because it recognised that people's brains work differently.

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One change for immediate action

As leaders (and I'm absolutely guilty of this), we tend to communicate in ways that work for our brains, assuming they work for everyone else, too.

This week, try this simple exercise with your team:

• How do you prefer to receive information? (written, verbal, visual, combination)
• What times of day do you work best?
• Do you prefer context and agendas before meetings, or are you comfortable responding in the moment?
• What are your non-negotiables in your working week?
• How do you prefer to give and receive feedback?
• Which communication methods drain your energy, and which give you energy?

If you would like an example template, reply to this email, and I will send it to you. What I love about the preference questionnaire is that it isn't just for neurodivergent team members - do this with everybody. Every single person has preferences, strengths, and challenges. The way we communicate can have a severe impact on how someone understands information if it's not delivered in a way that works for their brain.

Think about it: you'll have someone who loves lengthy emails with all the details. You'll have someone who tries to work through it but finds it exhausting. And you'll have someone who is dyslexic, for whom that amount of words on a page becomes jumbled and scrambled, potentially missing critical information entirely.

The most inclusive approach? Offer choice wherever possible. Provide information in multiple formats. Recognise that asking everyone to work the same way means some people are constantly translating, adapting, and exhausting themselves just to keep

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And finally, a question for you?

What communication format drains your energy? What format gives you energy? And more importantly, do you know the preferences of the people you work with most closely?

Hit reply and share your thoughts. I'm genuinely curious about how different brains prefer to receive and process information.

Tania

P.S. I know I shouldn't mention March and Neurodiversity Celebration Week yet - BUT if you are looking for a speaker, please do get in touch. It always fills up really fast at the start of the year.

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FIVE ways you can work with me: ​ Neuro-inclusive Recruitment Audit: Understand what practical steps you can take to ensure your recruitment process is inclusive for all. Training: From line managers to leaders, global HR teams to recruitment, awareness sessions to champion training. Consultancy: Policy writing, process redesign, reviewing neurodiversity materials, data, ERG launches - anything neurodiversity at work related! Coaching: One-to-one coaching to help support an individual navigate the world of work as someone who is neurodivergent Speaking: From a fireside chat to a keynote, podcast guest to panellist ​ Reply to this email to find out more!