Since events went virtual during Covid, there has been much more focus on ensuring that they are accessible for all attendees, including those with hearing and visual disabilities.
Make sure you follow these 10 tips:
1. Enable “Always Show Meeting Controls”
This will ensure the control toolbar is always visible to facilitate access to meeting features and keyboard shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts enable users to interact with applications and websites without relying solely on a mouse or touch screen, and accessibility keyboard shortcuts are specifically designed for users with disabilities.
2. Enable Closed Captioning
Captioning is essential for people with hearing impairments (as well as those for whom the language being used on the call is not their primary one). You can enable closed captioning (“CC”) at either the top or bottom of the screen on the three major platforms (Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet).
3. Coach Your Speakers to Take It Slow
Remind speakers that there are audience members relying on assistive technologies, and that they need to speak slowly for participants to be able to process the information.
4. Share Materials Ahead of Time
Screen sharing is not always ideal for people with disabilities. Send them the presentation or documents ahead of time so they can have them open when they participate.
5. Follow Accessible Guidelines for Text
Headings and titles are invaluable for people using screen readers. Use the styles panel to apply headings, keeping them in hierarchical order with only one H1 per page.
Choose a text color that provides a high level of contrast against the background. The standard for web accessibility is a ratio between the two colors of 4.5:1. Avoid light text on a light background or dark text on a dark background.
6. Use Alt-text
Add alt-text to images, charts, and graphs on the PowerPoints. Alt-text is read by screen readers (or other assistive tech) to provide information about the image. It should not just describe the image, but provide context on how the image relates to the page content. See these best practices.
7. Add Description to Video
Provide accurate captions for video, and either add descriptive audio in the video or provide an audio description track.
8. Call Out Important Chats
Share important points from the chat with participants, so that those with assistive technology (or who are calling in) are aware of the discussion.
9. Do an Accessibility Dry Run
Try out the accessibility settings, such as the screen reader and high- contrast mode, before the event starts to avoid any issues. Even better, do it with someone who will use the features.
10. Use Accessibility Icons in Your Marketing
The two common icons representing accessibility support are the American Sign Language (ASL) icon, which indicates the presence of sign language services; and the Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) icon for real-time captioning services, which are available from a variety of sources.
Sources: Zoom, Harvard University, Disability:IN
