Accessible Presentations Guide

This article series provides an overview of pathways for delivering presentations, workshops, etc., for some of the digital composition accessibility requirements. This is meant to serve as a starting place, rather than an end-all, be-all to access. Accessibility should be considered throughout all parts of the presentation design process, and designing accessible compositions benefits all people, not just those with disabilities.
 

Before reserving a physical space for the presentation, consider:

• Food: If food will be provided, consider if there is a way for folks to serve themselves from a table without needing outside assistance. Additionally, avoid snacks and surface contamination from tree nuts, peanuts, gluten and seafood.
  Lighting: The lighting in the room should be adequate and flexible. You may want to ask the following questions:
  • Are the lights able to be adjusted?
  • Is there adequate lighting for those who need more to see?
  • Is there the ability to turn off the glare near projector screens?
  • Are any of the lights flickering, which may affect those with migraine or seizure disorders?
     
• Pathways into Space: The pathways to get to and around the space should be flat (or ramped) and free from obstruction. The doorways should be able to be propped or automatic, as well as large enough for mobility devices to enter.
   
• Rest, Lactation, and Health Rooms: The space should be near and able to be navigated to without obstruction to lactation rooms, personal health rooms, restrooms with disability access, and an all-gender restroom.
  Seating: The seating in the space can be moved for access to the tables. The seating should also have non-arm options to be flexible for different body types. The table heights (for both presenters and participants) should be between 28 and 34 inches from the floor.
   
• Signage: The signage to the room and its location is easily perceivable and understandable, including the use of Braille. Emergency signage is not above eye height for those in wheelchairs.
   
• Smells: Avoid a space that may have chemical or deep fragrances. Note that this may also mean that presenters should not wear scented items on days of the presentation.
   
• Travel: The space should have facilities that allow for disability parking. The elevators should be in working condition, and the path to the room should be unobstructed.
   
• Technology: There is a working microphone and speaker in the room, preferably. If using digital technology, it should be able to be reached and accessible for the presenter as well as have the functionality for assistive devices (e.g., closed caption, Job Access with Speech [JAWS]).
   

Template Slides

I have created template slides for educators to use and adapt for their contexts. These template slides guide the user through accessibility considerations and were designed to be accessible.

Planning for Accessible Presentations

In addition to the template, there are additional considerations for access with presentations.

Access Copies and Handouts

Access copies, also known as scripts, are a way for your participants to follow along. It is also helpful for Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) captioners or sign language interpreters. There are many ways to create access copies, such as providing a transcript of the talk, providing an outline of the talk per slide, and/or providing a list of important terminology (e.g., quotations, proper names, acronyms, jargon).

In addition, access copies can be circulated electronically or in print. For print copies, it is generally recommended to bring a third of the prints compared to your total audience attendance. About 30% of these prints should also be in large print of 20-point font.

Captioning

Have a plan for captioning the presentation and plan ahead for any CART captioners in attendance to sit near the presenter. Recorded presentations and any videos/audio within them should have captions. To caption real-time presentations, there are many options:

• Captioning with PowerPoint
• Captioning with Google Slides
• Captioning with Zoom

Content Warnings

Certain topics of discussion or multimedia depictions can trigger trauma reactions. For these, consider if they are necessary to the presentation, and if they are, give content warnings for the information.

Inclusive Language

There are many considerations for presentation delivery:

• The work should avoid jargon and idioms that are not understandable to a wide audience.
• Acronyms should not be used without first defining them.
• Avoid using language that excludes and/or harms participants, such as ableist language or genderist language (e.g., “ladies and gentlemen,” assuming the gender of a participant). 

Practice

In the practice for the presentation, you should be thinking about a final accessibility check. This includes making sure your speaking speed is conversational as well as practicing verbal multimedia descriptions and aural indicators. Multimedia descriptions are the alternative text that is integrated into the presentation. Aural indicators are to announce a new name when switching speakers (e.g., “Bethany here”).
 

Multimedia includes any design that pairs text, visuals, and/or sound, such as videos, audio recordings, and graphics.

• Access Throughout: There are two main ways of doing access throughout the presentation. The first is a holistic overview at the beginning, usually through an access statement (sometimes also called an invitation or invocation). The second are ongoing access checks. This includes asking the audience about adjustments to sounds, visuals, the space, etc. (e.g., “How’s the microphone volume? Anything we need to adjust about things right now?”).
   
• Audio: Always use the microphone whenever it’s available, even if you have a loud voice. For participants who may not have a microphone, repeat their question or comment into the microphone before moving on. You will also want to have a conversational speaking speed, inclusive speech, and aural indicators.
   
• Introductions: At the beginning of the presentation, it is best practice to introduce yourself and give a brief visual description of yourself. For example, I usually say, “Hi, I’m Bethany Meadows, and I use she/they pronouns in tandem to refer to me. Visually, I am a white femme person with glasses and dark hair, and I’m wearing [specific outfit].” That said, there can be many embodied implications and consequences for certain disclosures of identity, and your safety is also important so only share what you feel comfortable doing.
   
• Pathways for Engagement: Consider access before requiring certain forms of engagement from participants. This includes reflection before asking them to stand up, look at visuals/listen, walk around, talk with others, etc. These pathways may be exclusionary from some who don’t have the ability to move or be in a place to communicate with others. In general, it’s recommended to have alternative pathways for engagement that will not exclude participants.

The first iteration of this series came from the work of Raven Baugh and Bethany Meadows for the East Center Writing Center Association’s 2022 conference, sponsored by the Writing Center at Michigan State University.

• Ada Hubrig’s 2021 “Conference on Community Writing Presentation Accessibility Guide”
• Conference on College Composition and Communication’s 2024 “Conference Accessibility Guide”
• Composing Access’ “Preparing Your Presentation”