Interview with Justin Yarbrough
Every week, we meet with audience members with disabilities who are willing to come forward and share a little bit about their own personal journey and experiences, attending live, in-person, or virtual speaking or training events. Through their unique and generous perspectives, speakers, trainers, facilitators, and other communication professionals can hopefully learn about some of the things that they do well, but also (and maybe more importantly) about some of the things they could improve to provide an experience that is truly inclusive of everyone.
Meet Justin, an audience member who is blind
So without further ado, let’s dive right into this week’s interview with Justin Yarbrough (he/him). Justin is blind and comes to us from Arizona, USA.
Introductions
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?
I’m in my mid-30’s, blind, and have really good technical skills. For in-person events, navigating a space can be a challenge if it’s an area I’m unfamiliar with. Additionally, I’m completely reliant on what people say while in presentations.
Things that ruin the experience
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?
By far, the biggest thing that will ruin an experience is a presenter that doesn’t explain visuals or relies on their slides to make points instead of treating them as supplementary material to what they’re saying. Relying on providing slides, even if accessible, ahead of time doesn’t cut it, the last thing I want to have to do is mess with trying to navigate them with my laptop while listening to a presentation.
Things that make a positive impact
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?
By far the best thing folks can do is not rely completely on visuals. Simply explain what the visual is, the steps you’re taking in a process you’re demoing, etc. so I can follow along.
Sharing a piece of advice
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?
When you plan your talk or presentation, just remember that not everybody experiences things the way you do and plan for it.
Wrapping up
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.?
It’s ok if you’re not sure how to best include someone. When in doubt, just ask us. Trust me, we know what will best fit our needs and will almost always be glad to tell you how to best help us.
Connect with our guest on social
Interested in knowing more about our guest this week? You can follow Justin on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Would you like to be featured as one of our next guests?
Are you a person with a disability who’d like to share their experience attending live, in-person or virtual events, in order to help speaking professionals learn from their mistakes, and become more inclusive in the delivery of their content? If so, fill out our interview questionnaire, and we’ll work together to feature your experience and perspective in the near future!
About Denis Boudreau
Denis Boudreau is a consultant, trainer, and speaker specializing in digital accessibility and disability inclusion. He works with organizational leaders who want to equip their teams with the skills to create accessible websites and digital products – so no one is left behind. A Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA), Denis has trained thousands of web professionals over the past 20+ years and delivered hundreds of workshops in both English and French. He has helped leading brands like Netflix, Salesforce, and Victoria’s Secret embed accessibility into their digital strategies, empowering them to meet legal obligations, improve user experience, and connect with more people, more effectively.