Connecting with those who have hearing or cognitive issues

You’ve crafted a fantastic presentation and you’re thinking “I’m all set”. But are you, really? Sure, you’ve thought about your average audience members, but have you given any thought to how the people in your audience with disabilities will receive that message? Remember, if you don’t reach everyone in the crowd, then you’re missing out on potential clients and income. Might not be your best move.

Becoming an inclusive speaker isn’t something that will happen overnight, but we all have to start somewhere. Reading this post is a great first step on what will probably be a long journey that you’re embarking on… good for you for taking that initial step!

The best way for you to get started with an inclusive approach to speaking and communication is to take an in-depth look at how you’re currently presenting your material and question what you take for granted. And I really do mean everything. Based on what comes out, you can make better-informed decisions as to what’s really working for everyone, and what you should (or can) improve upon.

Let’s take hearing and cognitive disabilities for example. How many of your audience members might have issues with hearing you properly? What strategies have you planned, to make sure that these folks are not left out? And what about people in the audience dealing with a diversity of cognitive challenges, such as dyslexia, ADHD, traumatic brain injuries, memorization issues, autism, etc.?

What about those who are just older than the average, and might deal with similar age-related issues that affect their hearing or cognitive functions? Ever planned anything to make sure those folks are not easily discarded from your experience?

Let’s take a look at some of the most common disability types, and what we can do to make the experience of those who live in these conditions more inclusive.

Helping people who have auditory issues

According to the Canadian Hearing Society, almost 25% of adult Canadians report having some hearing loss, although closer to 10% of people actually identify themselves as culturally Deaf, oral deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing. Beyond disability, ageing also happens to be the number one cause of hearing loss, so depending on the average age of your audience, that number may be even higher.

Don’t ever assume that you don’t need to use a microphone when speaking from the podium. Even if you think the group is small and that your voice carries well, there will almost always be someone who can’t hear you as clearly as you think. Speak with that person in mind.

Imagine just how annoying and frustrating it can be to miss part of a conversation. If someone in your audience relies on lip-reading and you constantly turn your back to the audience to face your screen, you completely disconnect them from your experience. You’re essentially taking them by the hand and leading them down the ramp to Fadeout Town.

Some great and easy tactics you can practice to be more inclusive of audience members who are deaf or hard of hearing include:

• using a microphone, no matter how small your audience happens to be,
• ensuring that your speech is captured through text in real-time on the screen,
• making it a point to always repeat questions from the audience before answering them,
• providing text transcripts of your materials whenever possible or relevant,
• using synchronized closed captions or your video content.

Make it a point to do these 5 things systematically when you speak in front of an audience, and I guarantee you that audience members dealing with auditory impairments will appreciate it.

Helping people who have cognitive challenges

Likewise, cognitive impairments cover a very broad spectrum of conditions and can include many different issues including Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, ADHD, dyslexia, and autism just to name a few. Again, memory problems can also be caused by ageing, so keep in mind that at least 4 to 7% of your audience may be affected. Likely a lot more.

When you take steps towards ensuring accommodations for each of these conditions, you invite more people to fully absorb your information and create the space for them to want to do business with you. When you’re creating your slides, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• some people will have trouble reading them due to dyslexia, so go easy on text,
• using simple, non-triggering colours when laying out information on slides, and handouts,
• facilitating understanding by using plain language techniques over complex verbiage,
• minimizing distractions by reducing all external stimulations that could get in the way,
• choosing simple fonts that are clear and legible, such as evenly spaced sans serif fonts.

Again, make sure to keep ideas such as these top of mind when planning and delivering your materials, and you will make a huge difference in how successful audience members will be, learning from you and your content.

These are just a few ideas that you can implement on your path to becoming a more inclusive speaker. If you feel like you’ve barely started, this blog is here to help!

Are you just starting out thinking about these considerations, and learning how much you have to change in your own practice or delivery? Have you been going at it for a while now, and are improving as you go, one detail at a time? Are you most of the way there, and think you have a pretty good handle on making everyone feel included?

Where are you on your own path to becoming a more inclusive speaker?

We all fit in somewhere on this spectrum for inclusion. Do you know where you are on that spectrum? In future posts we will talk about the different stages of speaking, and how each one relates to inclusion. If the place you’re at doesn’t seem good enough, do you have a plan on how you’re going to get to where you want to be?