Interview with Jason Boychuk

QUESTION 01 Can you tell us a bit about yourself, and how your disability might impact your experience, as someone who attends live in-person and virtual events?

My name is Jason, and I’m a senior web developer, working for CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). I have Tourette Syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by sudden, repetitive, rapid, and unwanted movements or vocal sounds called tics. I also have OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and ADHD (attention deficit disorder).

The ways my disabilities affect my experience attending presentations and conferences vary, but they often have to do with Tourette taking away at my energy and ability to focus, as controlling my tics can be quite demanding sometimes.

Being overly focused on controlling my tics sometimes trigger my OCD because the tics become all I can focus on. Oftentimes, my OCD will also be triggered by something the speaker might say. If, for any reason, a particular thought stays with me, then it can be very hard for me to let go of it, and it will just stick in my brain. And as I obsess over that, it can easily cause me to miss other important information that might be shared in the presentation.

And then, my ADHD deals with various symptoms, which impact my overall experience. My mind tends to wander if I don’t feel engaged enough, which causes me to lose track. Having to constantly control my symptoms takes significant bandwidth away from me, but I find myself being less triggered when I really engage in the presentation. Engagement is key. Multimedia presentations, where it’s not just a long lecture, really helps me with focus and engagement.

QUESTION 02 Thinking back on some of your experiences attending in-person or virtual events, what are some of the worst things speakers, trainers, and other communication experts can do to ruin your experience as an attendee?

Some of the worst things include when speakers are not speaking clearly, are speaking under their voice, or don’t enunciate properly. Thicker English accents can affect my ability to understand what is being said, which also makes it harder for me to concentrate. I like to have captions turned on for pretty much everything, so this is particularly problematic when presentations are not supported with live transcripts or similar services. Certain details are better recognized through captions.

Lack of structure in the presentation can also be triggering in its own way. Not clearly communicating the ideas, having text-heavy PowerPoint presentation decks… Too much text on a slide draws my attention away from the speaker. It can be a lot to ask, balancing a text-heavy slide with synchronized captions appearing on top of it on a screen.

Finally, conference rooms with poor lighting, speakers who don’t pause often enough, don’t provide enough context, or have poor pacing, speakers who don’t explain the visuals or graphs they show on the screen. The list could go on and on!

QUESTION 03 Can you share some of the great things speakers, trainers, and other communication experts sometimes do that make a positive impact on your ability to fully enjoy your in-person or virtual event experiences?

Having the information broken down into meaningful visuals that support the presentation really helps me. I enjoy Ted Talks for that very reason. Usually, Ted Talk slides are well-designed, have very little text, and are supported by strong visuals and good contrasts. Keeping a good balance between lectures and more interactive aspects makes presentations more engaging.

Speakers can be quite academic, but that approach is best kept for textbooks, not live presentations. Being very structured in what you’re going to talk about, speaking simply and clearly, using plain language, explaining acronyms as they’re being used, are all things that will contribute to a more inclusive experience.

QUESTION 04 If you had one piece of advice to give speakers, trainers, and other communication experts, so their content became more inclusive of people who have disabilities, what would it be?

Go all-in when it comes to creating multi-visual engagement for the audience. Audible cues, like synchronized captions, auto recordings and other similar accommodations also go a long way.

QUESTION 05 Thank you for sharing some of your insights with us today. As we wrap up our conversation, is there anything that you’d like to add, such as another thought, another piece of advice, another perspective, etc.?

Providing a recording at the end of the presentation, or a transcript that I can get back to after the presentation to check out what I may have missed and validate my understanding or my notes can really make a big difference for me, too.