Exploring the deadly sins of inclusive speaking – part 2
Welcome to part two of a four-part series started last week on the many (20) “deadly sins” of inclusive speaking, all these terrible things that professional speakers inadvertently do that can ruin the experience of audience members who have disabilities, are getting older, or might be marginalized by our use of technology!
Throughout this series, my goal is to point out some of the most obvious gaps to you, so you can hopefully check your own biases and self-assess just how “guilty” you might be of doing these things yourself… and hopefully, discovering gaps you didn’t know you had in your delivery, so you can become more inclusive as a speaking professional.
You should feel free to check out last week’s post for some context and details about this series, as well as the first five deadly sins that were covered, and which related to 1) inaccessible venues, 2) insufficient captioning, 3) poor audio quality, 4) lack of visual aids, and 5) inaccessible digital content.
Reading through last week’s post will also give you an understanding of what I’m planning to do over the course of the next few weeks with this series as well. Now that you understand the context and where we’re coming from with this, let’s jump into a quick little story about some of the ways in which a presentation or an event can go wrong, and ways in which that experience can soon prove to be inaccessible and exclusive of people with various disabilities.
Ways in which speakers can fail their audience
The day has finally arrived for an important all-hands virtual company meeting at XYZ Corporate Inc., and excitement is in the air. As Uma, Sanjay, Izumi, and hundreds of other employees from various departments of the company gather online, the anticipation for the latest updates and ground-breaking research to be shared by the CEO, a renowned speaker, is palpable, and given the importance of the announcement, everyone is looking forward to a valuable and engaging experience.
However, while everyone else is having a great and insightful time, the personal expectations of Uma, Sanjay, and Izumi, three employees who have disabilities are finding themselves challenged by a series of unfortunate obstacles.
As the meeting and presentation kicks off, Uma, who happens to be deaf, immediately encounters a barrier to full participation because there is only one sign language interpreter available, who is clearly struggling just to keep up with the CEO’s rapid pace. Consequently, Uma misses a lot of the key information, which makes the announcements feel disjointed and incoherent. Furthermore, because the marketing team has failed to hire more than one interpreter, the poor interpreter has no way of getting much-deserved breaks during the presentation, which only impacts their ability to reliably keep up with the CEO’s rapid-fire presentation style. Consequently, Uma’s experience is largely faced with frustration and exclusion, as she misses even more of the crucial information shared throughout this important meeting.
Meanwhile, Sanjay, who is diagnosed with severe ADHD, is facing a very different set of personal challenges! Not only does the CEO’s presentation style features the use of bright, flashy colours, which make Sanjay’s mind wander in a bunch of random directions, but his use of flashing visuals throughout the slides also keep taking Sanjay’s attention away from the ideas that are being shared. The many distracting animations that are presented in between data points greatly contribute to taking Sanjay’s focus away from the CEO’s core message. Sanjay, whose anxiety is starting spike up as he takes stock of his own challenges, struggles to stay focused on the information shared from the company’s virtual stage… Not only are the flashy images and colours creating an overstimulating environment that hinders Sanjay’s ability to focus, but the way in which the CEO delivers his announcements has Sanjay completely shut out. As a result, Sanjay, much like Uma, can only get so much out of the highly anticipated meeting.
As all of this is happening, Izumi, who is dyslexic, grapples with the inflexible presentation format. The CEO’s complex charts and graphs are quite hard to process, and no alternative formats are made available to aid Izumi in their understanding of the data. The CEO is quickly going from one text-heavy slide to the next, makes all sorts of assumptions about how familiar the audience is with the company jargon, and the font – oh my god, the font – is so difficult to decipher that Izumi keeps misreading the words because the letters all blend into one another and seem to jump around the slide. As Izumi chooses to focus only on what the CEO is saying, voluntarily ignoring the slides, inevitably, some of the content flies right over their head as the CEO keeps making biased assumptions about everyone’s ability to just read through all the data as he’s talking. As the presentation progresses, Izumi feels increasingly defeated, overwhelmed, and disheartened by the inaccessibility of the information. So much of it simply just didn’t come through, and another opportunity for inclusion was lost.
As the virtual event concluded and the chat is blowing up with employees saying how amazing all of this is, Uma, Sanjay, and Izumi log off with a sense of disappointment and exclusion. The CEO’s disregard for inclusive practices significantly impacted their ability to participate and engage with the content and as a result, they feel more isolated and invisible than ever.
In an era where virtual events are increasingly common, it’s essential to ensure that everyone can access and enjoy the content being shared. By addressing the needs of individuals with disabilities, speakers and event organizers can do so much better to create more inclusive and welcoming experiences for everyone.
For Uma, providing adequate sign language interpreters would have enabled her to follow the presentation more effectively. Sanjay would have benefited from a simplified or less visually overwhelming version of the presentation, allowing him to focus better and absorb the information. And for Izumi, alternative formats and accessible visuals, along with avoiding complex language and jargon, would have made the content so much more comprehensible.
What it comes down to is this: the more you’re willing to acknowledge the diversity of needs and expectations of your audience members, and the more you actively work towards inclusion, the more you’ll discover that you have an incredible amount of power over ensuring that your events are enjoyable for everyone, regardless of people’s abilities or disabilities.
And that brings us to this week’s five deadly sins, which relate to inadequate sign language interpretation, overstimulating environments, lack of proper accommodations, inflexible presentation formats, and complex language and jargon.
So buckle up, Buttercup!
Week two – Deadly sins 6 to 10
And so, we get started.
Inadequate sign language interpretation (deafness)
A lack of qualified sign language interpretation, or providing insufficient numbers of interpreters routinely creates barriers for those who are deaf during live, in-person or virtual events. Barriers that prevent people from fully engaging with the content, and with their peers! Without the presence of skilled interpreters, audience members who have hearing disabilities inevitably face immense challenges in following presentations, comprehending discussions, or actively participating in group activities. This leads to yet, even more feelings of isolation, frustration, and disengagement, as a hearing-impaired person’s ability to contribute meaningfully to discussions or collaborate with their colleagues is therefore severely limited… Furthermore, missing out on adequate interpreters’ support reinforces all sorts of negative perceptions about the perceived value of accommodation for people who are deaf, perpetuating a cycle of underrepresentation that contributes to maintaining these people in a cycle of systemic exclusion. It’s essential for event organizers and companies alike to prioritize and invest in skilled sign language interpretation in order to foster an inclusive environment that can empower every individual, regardless of their hearing abilities, to participate fully and effectively in professional settings.
Overstimulating environments (sensory processing, autism)
Overstimulating environments are ones that are characterized by aspects such as loud noises, bright lights, or large crowds. These environments raise significant challenges for autistic individuals, or those who deal with sensory processing disorders. Navigating overstimulating environments can be a very difficult task for some, as overstimulation makes it increasingly difficult for neurodivergent individuals and those with various cognitive disabilities to focus, communicate, or engage. Event organizers and speakers alike can offer more welcoming spaces for everyone, assuming that they are willing to account for the specific needs of individuals with sensory processing sensitivities! Such needs include planning for quiet spaces, minimizing visual clutter, making noise-cancelling headphones available, or providing various sensory-friendly accommodations that make it easier for individuals with various sensory processing disorders to participate fully and comfortably in live, in-person or virtual events.
Lack of proper accommodations (various disabilities)
A lack of proper accommodations, encompassing assistive devices, seating options, flexible scheduling, and other similar measures creates barriers for different people living with disabilities. When accommodations are lacking, audience members face considerable challenges in participating fully, affecting their ability to successfully engage and contribute their unique perspectives to the conversations. This quickly feeds into renewed feelings of exclusion, frustration, and disengagement from the audience members living with those disabilities. Accommodations are crucial for a more inclusive environment where equal participation and engagement for all attendees is ensured. Whether it’s about offering real-time captioning, providing documents in alternative formats, ensuring wheelchair accessibility, or implementing sensory-friendly environments, actively addressing the diverse needs of all participants helps create welcoming spaces where individuals are empowered to contribute meaningfully and make the most of their experience.
Inflexible presentation formats (cognitive, neurodiversity)
Inflexible presentation formats, such as rapid speech, lack of breaks, dense visuals, or illegible font choices, cause significant barriers for neurodivergent individuals as well as those who have cognitive disabilities. Such individuals will often require additional time to process information, or will benefit from alternative formats, such as simplified visuals or audio descriptions, to fully comprehend the content and the context in which the content is presented. Inflexible formats will lead to the same feelings of frustration, exclusion, and disengagement that were raised earlier, while also limiting a person’s ability to fully and actively participate in the event. To create a more inclusive live, in-person or virtual experience, you should always consider offering various presentation formats that can accommodate different learning styles, and incorporate sufficient breaks that allow for processing and reflection. Through accessible materials and mindful presentation pacing, speakers get to facilitate better understanding and engagement for individuals with cognitive or learning disabilities. This intentional approach ensures that everyone can participate effectively and enjoy the event, regardless of their cognitive abilities or learning preferences.
Complex language and jargon (cognitive, neurodiversity)
The use of complex language or jargon creates another set of significant obstacles for individuals with cognitive disabilities or those who identify as neurodivergent. The use of such language can easily hinder people’s ability to understand and engage with the content of presentations or workshops. When presenters rely heavily on technical terms or convoluted language that feels hermetic to some, it exacerbates the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and leaves them feeling excluded and disengaged. Simplifying language, providing clear explanations, and offering context for jargon helps tremendously when it comes to making the content more accessible and inclusive for everyone, empowering individuals to fully participate and contribute to discussions or group activities in the process. Not to mention that incorporating visuals or offering written summaries further enhances comprehension for individuals with diverse learning needs! Being mindful of their language choices and striving to create more accessible environments is a fantastic way in which speaking professionals can ensure that everyone, regardless of their cognitive abilities or learning preferences, can also benefit from, and actively engage in the event.
Oh… we’re halfway there!
Thanks for sticking around for part two of my four-part series on the “20 deadly sins of inclusive speaking”! I hope that you’re finding these posts to be insightful, and that they trigger all sorts of questions and ideas in your head, as you look into the way you deliver your own content and the things that you might do yourself that can cause audience members with disabilities to feel excluded from the experience you create for your attendees.
Hopefully, reading through these sins inspires you to take action in order to avoid being guilty if committing to them yourself! I have more coming in parts three and four of this series, which will be published over the next two weeks, so stick around for that as well. As long as you remember that your role is also to create welcoming and inclusive experiences that cater to audience members with various disabilities, you are on the right path to becoming a more inclusive speaking or event-planning professional. Through the identification of some of the common barriers, you can contribute to the promotion of accessibility, help drive a more inclusive atmosphere, and improve the overall experience for all attendees, not just those who have disabilities.
So, my challenge to you for this week, should you accept it, is to take a look at the ten examples of sins I’ve shared so far, and seriously ask yourself whether you are sometimes guilty of committing any of them. Take a long, hard look, and if you find out that you do, seriously ask yourself what you can change to do better, during your next presentation, your next meeting, your next workshop!
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and similarly, becoming a truly inclusive speaker is not something that will happen overnight either. But it begins with making a series of small, conscious changes. I’m hoping that some of the ideas shared on these pages will help you see the path forward, and help you make some of these changes. Again, as usual, your audience will thank you.
See you next week for part three!
Catch up on this four-part series!
- Exploring the deadly sins of inclusive speaking – part 1
- Exploring the deadly sins of inclusive speaking – part 2
- Exploring the deadly sins of inclusive speaking – part 3
- Exploring the deadly sins of inclusive speaking – part 4
About Denis Boudreau
Founder and Chief Inclusion Officer at InklusivComm, Denis has taken his inclusive communication expertise to hundreds of organizations around the world. Through workshops, counsel, and training, Denis has, to this day, empowered tens of thousands of busy professionals with powerful tools to bridge the gaps that can potentially exclude up to 40% of their audience members, based on disabilities, ageing, and other technical challenges.