When planning an event with a speaker, try to ensure that the speaker has–and helps create–the most accessible experience possible.
- Ask the speaker if there any accessibility needs you can meet for the speaker.
- Find out if the speaker would like you to communicate to the people who will be meeting you, including pre-and post-event meetings: private 1:1 meetings, group settings, over Zoom, or in your talk.
- Share with the speaker your group’s access norms. Examples:
A How To Guide for Accessible Documents and Presentations
How can you make your presentation accessible?
Guidelines for speakers
Presentation materials
- Make sure there is sufficient color contrast between font and background color.
- Include meaningful alt-text for every image.
- Link text should provide context. Link on the words that convey meaning, not “click here.”
- Include descriptions of tables, graphs and charts that provide some interpretation of the visual information.
- Use highly readable font sizes and styles.
- Make sure videos have captions.
- Is color used to convey meaning? (If so, please add at least one other modality. That’s why web links should be a different color and underlined.)
PowerPoint/Google Slides Specific Guidelines
- Is each slide title unique?
- If a slide is going to be presented– is it generally text light?
- Are animations non-distracting? (E.g., fade in and fade out, NOT fly in or out). Do they minimize scrolling/panning?
- If in Microsoft– use the accessibility checker!
- Use large clear fonts in slides
- Read about adding captions for Google Slides
- Show captions for any videos
When Presenting
- Verbally describe anything you would like the audience to take away from visuals on slides
- Use non-distracting slide transitions (e.g., appear and disappear, not “fly in”)
- Make sure there is sufficient color contrast between font and background color
- Follow best practices for accessible speaking
PDFs
- Accessible PDF Author Guide | SIGACCESS
- More thorough walk through of making a PDF accessible in Acrobat Pro DC: Link to youtube video
- Instructions for using a screen reader so you can check your pdf yourself.
Guidelines for Word and Google Docs
- Are titles and section headers using styles (e.g., header 1, header 2)?
- Structure: Are headers properly nested? (h2 comes after an h1)
- If in Microsoft– use the accessibility checker!