Inclusive Speaking Tip #127

“If you’re going to rely on printed materials during workshops, activities and other types of audience interactions, make sure to also offer alternative accessible formats.”

“Keep in mind that poor lighting conditions can impair the audience’s ability to perceive various combinations of colours and affect how they will experience your content.”

“When designing your content, stay away from complex, condensed or cursive fonts that will be harder for your audience to interpret and read from a distance.”

“Avoid the use of the word ‘normal’ when comparing different groups, as it can stigmatize the experience of marginalized audience members and make them feel excluded.”

“Make sure all relevant audio goes through the audio system, and never assume the audience can hear everything that is going on, or is being said around the room.”

“Use plain, simple language and avoid idioms or figures of speech that could be interpreted literally and cause confusion to some people with cognitive disabilities.”

“Don’t expect audience members to just sit still for extended periods of time and remain engaged, unless you plan for opportunities to get their blood flowing.”

“Ensure that statistics, demographic data or trends presented include information about racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse groups when appropriate.”

“Avoid standing in front of direct light sources to keep your face visible so that audience members can see your expressions to increase understanding and access.”

“Avoid unnecessary slide transitions and animations that can trigger nausea, headaches, and dizziness for some audience members with vestibular disorders.”

“Don’t make assumptions about what audience members can see, and avoid saying things like “as the graph shows”, or “as you can see here”… because not everyone can!”

“Steer clear of information positioned on top of cluttered or busy background images, if that background makes the text harder to perceive due to poor contrast.”

“Make materials available in advance to allow audience members with learning disabilities to familiarize themselves with the materials and ask any questions.”

“If you know the setup in advance, light-coloured text on a dark background is more audience-friendly in a darkened room, as a white background will be dazzling.”

“In order to be properly heard, make sure to project your voice as if you were talking to the audience members sitting in the back row, or standing in the back of the room.”

“Avoid the use of strobe lights, unusually loud sounds, or similar anxiety-inducing stimuli, to protect audience members from any kind of unnecessary stress.”

“Never stick to a single delivery mechanism or strategy when sharing your message with the audience, so everyone is not forced into the exact same way of learning.”

“Always write and refer to long-form handouts when the information you need to share with your audience doesn’t necessarily translate well to slides.”

“If presenting at an event that provides these services, send your materials to interpreters and captioners in advance so, they can research and practice unfamiliar terms.”

“Don’t set your videos to auto-play by default, and avoid animations, carousel sliders, and other rapid movement assets that automatically launch on the screen.”

“Quickly rehash sight gags even if feels awkward, so that some of your audience members don’t have to feel bad when everybody else laughs and they don’t understand why.”

“Always assume that your audience’s ability to perceive colours will fail them when it comes to differentiating between objects that are presented in close proximity.”

“When working with text in your materials, avoid centered, right-aligned, or fully-justified blocks of text that makes processing information that much harder for some people.”

“Be mindful to opt for more gender-neutral alternatives such as ‘folks’, ‘people’, or ‘y’all’ when addressing your audience, as opposed to using the term ‘guys’.”

“Always plan for a variety of alternate formats for those who require them, such as readily-available electronic or large print versions of your documents and handouts.”

“Instead of automatically forcing people into breakout rooms with random strangers, let them join rooms themselves, and be prepared to stay behind with those who won’t.”

“Diversify the ways in which your deliver your content, so audience members are not forced into a passive state where their only option is to passively listen to your lecture.”

“Make it a point to speak clearly, at a normal pace, and include pauses after presenting complex points or visual elements to allow sign language interpreters to catch up.”

“Use URL shorteners to make your links more memorable and maximize their readability by labeling them with one or two easy-to-remember words, rather than a random string of characters.”

“Never assume that your audience members will be able to fully rely on their hand-eye coordination to interact, pinpoint, or trigger targets on a screen.”