Create Accessible Presentations

Creating accessible presentations is crucial for inclusive public outreach meetings or online presentations. Here are key tips for a more accessible presentation:

Visual Design:

1. Color Scheme: Choose a color scheme that offers high contrast (minimum 3:1 ratio) suitable for both dim and bright rooms. Use tools like the Contrast Checker to verify.

   1. Paciello Group Contrast Analyzer (desktop)

   2. WebAIM Text to Background Contrast

   3. WebAIM Link to Text Contrast

2. Color Blindness: Ensure slides are discernible for colorblind users. Avoid relying solely on color to convey information.

3. Emphasis Techniques: Besides verbal emphasis, use bold, italics, underlining, or asterisks for emphasis.

4. Tables: Use active tables instead of images.

5. Text: Keep slide text brief and ensure it's covered by the speaker. Opt for large, sans-serif fonts.

6. Graphics: Simplify graphics, diagrams, and figures. Provide text equivalents for important visuals.

7. Animations: Avoid animations unless accompanied by detailed audio descriptions.

Video and Audio Content:

1. Videos with Audio: Caption and provide descriptive audio.

2. Video-Only Content: Offer audio descriptions or transcripts.

3. Audio-Only Content: Provide transcripts, especially for embedded audio in presentations.

Presentation Techniques:

1. Speech Clarity: Speak clearly and at a moderate pace. This assists interpreters and auto-captioning systems.

2. Information Processing: Allow time for the audience to process information.

3. Pre-availability of Slides: Make slides accessible as PDFs before the presentation, ideally a week in advance.

4. In-Person Engagement: Face the audience to enhance engagement and assist those who lip-read.

5. Audio Quality: Test and use a high-quality microphone, minimizing background noise.

6. Visual Descriptions: Avoid pointers or mice for on-screen references. Verbally describe key elements of visuals like graphics, videos, charts, and graphs.

7. Language: Use simple, clear language. Explain jargon, acronyms, and idioms. Avoid slang and colloquialisms.

8. Audience Understanding: Pause between topics and give extra time for questions to accommodate those with cognitive disabilities.

9. Visual Descriptions in Person: For instance, if asking for a show of hands, verbally describe the response, like “About half raised their hands”.

These guidelines should help ensure your presentations are accessible to a wider audience, including those with visual, auditory, and cognitive disabilities.