Five things you can do to be more inclusive (October 2022 edition)
The month of October is well under way (can you believe it?), so it’s time for another edition of “things you can do to be more inclusive”. In this monthly series of posts, I want to expand on a few ideas you can explore to radically change the way you approach the creation of your materials and the assets you produce, as you prepare your next presentation, your next piece of content, or your next workshop activity.
With today’s post, I’d like to share yet another 5 simple ideas you can start implementing today, to make your content and the experience you create for your audience from the platform that much more inclusive of everyone, especially those who have disabilities or can easily be left out.
Let’s dive right in, shall we?
Shield audience members who can easily be distracted from potential unwanted distractions, by minimizing all external stimulations that could get in the way of learning (ADHD & neurodiversity)
You should always do your best to shield audience members who have ADHD from potential unwanted distractions coming from the surroundings. By minimizing all external stimulations that could get in the way of learning, you can help your audience be more successful with retaining the juicy nuggets of information that you’re sharing from the platform.
Some of the ways in which you can achieve this include, but are not limited to, turning your screen to black so the audience’s focus defaults to you when you’re presenting slides, turn off any distracting audio when participants are focused on an activity that requires their full attention, or close the door to your meeting room, if it’s noisy outside, or if there’s a lot of back and forth in the hallway.
Prefer non-triggering, simple colours – as opposed to bright contrasting colour combinations – when laying out information on slides, handouts, or other documents (Autism & neurodiversity)
Studies reveal that about 85% of people on the autism spectrum will tend to perceive colours more intensely compared to those displaying a neurotypical development. To a lot of people who are autistic, duller colors with white and grey undertones have a calming, soothing effect, while brighter, more vibrant colours can easily become the cause of overstimulation. For audience members on the spectrum, friendlier colours will include shades of pinks or lilacs, muted tones of greens, blues, and oranges, as well as other neutral colours, such as beige, greys, creams or tans.
This is because softer colours have much shorter wavelengths than brighter ones, resulting in a lot less brain stimulation. Inversely, colours to avoid will include reds and yellows, especially brighter hues, due to how overstimulating those can be.
Always use a microphone when addressing the audience, because regardless of how loud you might think you are, some will still struggle to properly hear you (Ageing & hearing disabilities)
As the person providing the content, you control one thing, and one thing only; how you deliver your message to your audience. How that message is received is something you have very little control over. You might believe that your voice carries, you might think that everyone can hear you properly, be convinced that a microphone is pointless in such a small room, feel like using a mic is overkill in a particular context, but please, hear me when I say this. It doesn’t matter what you think. All that matters is what the audience experiences.
If someone has any kind hearing impairment due to a disability or ageing and they can’t hear you, they will fade out from your conversation. So unabashedly use that microphone. Rock that mic.
Avoid ableist language, using words like ‘crazy’, ‘dumb’, ‘stupid’ or others that use disability as an insult, and cause micro-aggressions to people who have disabilities (General considerations)
Most of us are guilty of ableist language daily, but don’t realize it. Thankfully, society is changing, and more people are waking up to the unacceptable, discriminating, and prejudicial nature of micro-aggressions caused by ableism. Ableist language relates to everyday verbal or behavioural expressions that communicate a negative slight or insult in relation to someone’s characteristics, and as such, ableist language can be one of the most obvious reasons to fade out from a conversation.
Ableist language can be just as offensive to someone with a disability or their allies as the “N” word can be to the Black community, or the “F” word to the gay community. Out of respect for your audience, it’s best to avoid the use of such discriminatory or offensive language.
Stay away from large blocks, columns, or lines of text that run excessively long on the screen, and left-align your content to optimize its overall readability (Dyslexia & learning disabilities)
Research has shown over the years that centered, ragged left, or fully justified text potentially slows down the speed at which audience members can read through content. This is particularly true when it comes to reading information from a distance or on a screen, in an in-person or virtual setting. Likewise, content presented over multiple columns, or that runs excessively long is likely to cause someone with dyslexia to just start skimming, instead of actually reading, and therefore, running the risk of misinterpreting the content, or missing valuable information.
In order to maximize the experience and allow audience members with learning disabilities to truly thrive, stick to left-aligned text in your design, keep your paragraphs short, and provide sufficient whitespace around them to help with legibility.
These five additional considerations to create and provide a more inclusive experience to all of your audience members without discarding or dismissing those who may have disabilities are still nothing but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to inclusive speaking. We hope you’ll give some, or all of them a try in your next presentation! If you do, be sure to reach out to us to let us know how that went!
And as usual, if you are looking for even more tips and tricks to add to your arsenal, then head over to the Inclusive Speaking Tips section of our Info-Hub pages. You’ll find a lot more over there!
About Denis Boudreau
Denis Boudreau is a consultant, trainer, coach, and speaker specializing in inclusive leadership and inclusive communication. He works with leaders and executives who are no longer willing to overlook disability inclusion and want to transform their leadership approach from “inclusive-ish” to truly inclusive by championing accessibility. A Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA), Denis has trained thousands of professionals over the past two decades and has delivered hundreds of workshops worldwide in both English and French. He has helped leading brands like Netflix, Salesforce, Victoria’s Secret, and many more embed disability inclusion into their business strategies, empowering them to break down barriers and create deeper, more meaningful connections with their target audiences while also meeting legal obligations.