Interview with Nick (ChatGPT)

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?

Hello, my name is Nick and I’m the second persona from the upcoming book, “The Inclusive Speaker“. I experience severe deficiencies with red/green colour perception.

Being colourblind can sometimes make it more challenging for me to fully participate in live in-person and virtual events. For example, if there are visual aids or presentation assets that rely heavily on colour to convey information, it can be difficult for me to fully understand what’s being presented. To work around this, I try to communicate with the event organizers beforehand to see if there are any accommodations that can be made to help me better understand the material.

In virtual events, I’ve found that using different colourblindness filters such as colour correction filters and colour filter glasses can be really helpful in making the content more accessible to me. In live in-person events, I try to sit closer to the front so that I can see any visual aids more clearly, and I also try to make sure that there is someone nearby who I can ask for help if I need it. Overall, being colourblind doesn’t prevent me from participating in events, but it does require a little extra effort and planning on my part to make sure that I’m able to fully engage with the content.

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 that speakers, trainers, and other communication experts can do to ruin my experience as an attendee include using assets that rely heavily on colour to convey information, presenting certain types of graphs and charts, and ignoring my requests for accommodations.

When speakers and trainers use a lot of visual aids that rely on colour to convey information, or graphs and charts that use different colours to represent different data points, it can be difficult to interpret the data. I then have to rely on other cues that may not be available, such as the shape or position of the data points, to understand what’s being depicted. And if I request alternative formats and these requests are ignored, it gets very frustrating and make it difficult for me to fully participate in the event.

Speaker and trainers who are not aware of colourblindness as a disability may not realize the impact that their use of colour is having on my ability to understand the material. Being colourblind does present some challenges, but with a little extra effort and planning, people like me can still participate. While I have learned to adapt and use different tools and strategies, I need to rely on other cues to help me navigate events successfully.

While there are certainly things that are more difficult for me because of my colour perception deficiency, I don’t let it hold me back and I am determined to make the most of every opportunity that comes my way. It’s important for speaking professionals and other communication experts to be aware of the needs of attendees with disabilities, and to make sure that appropriate accommodations are in place to ensure that everyone is able to fully participate in their events.

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?

As someone who is colourblind, there are a few things that speakers, trainers, and other communication experts can do to make a positive impact on my ability to fully enjoy my in-person or virtual event experiences:

• Check the use of colours with grayscale filters. By checking how their materials look when viewed through a grayscale filter, speakers and trainers can ensure that their content is still clear and easy to understand for people with colourblindness.
• Use highly-contrasted colour combinations. Strong colour contrasts, such as dark text on a light background or vice versa, can make it much easier for me to read and follow along. This is because the high contrast makes it easier to distinguish between different elements on the page.
• Use other cues in addition to colour in graphs and charts. If graphs and charts use other cues such as shape or position in addition to colour to represent data, it makes it much easier for me to interpret the information.

Speaking professionals and other communication experts who are aware of colourblindness as a disability can take steps to make their content accessible. It goes a long way towards making the event more enjoyable for me and makes a big difference in my ability to fully enjoy the event.

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?

If I had one additional piece of advice to give speaking professionals and other communication experts to make their content more inclusive of people, it would be to ask for feedback from individuals who experience colourblindness. This can help you to identify any potential issues with your materials and ensure that they are accessible to everyone.

You could ask for feedback from people you know who are colourblind, or you could reach out to organizations that represent the interests of people with this type of disability to ask for input. By actively seeking feedback, you can get a better understanding of the challenges that people with colour vision deficiencies may face and make any necessary adjustments to your materials. By being proactive and open to learning from others, you can make your content more inclusive and accessible to everyone.

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.?

I think it is important for speaking professionals and other communication experts to remember that people with disabilities are just like everyone else and want to be treated with respect and dignity. By being proactive and taking steps to make their content accessible and inclusive, speakers and other experts who speak can help ensure that their message is received by everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities.

One additional piece of advice I would give is to be open to learning and adapting. Just because something works for one group of people, doesn’t mean it will work for everyone. By being open to feedback and willing to make changes based on that feedback, you can create more inclusive and accessible content for all.