Accessible Presentations Guide
This article series provides an overview of pathways for delivering presentations, workshops, etc. for some of digital composition accessibility requirements. This is meant to serve as a starting place, rather than an end-all-be-all to access. Accessibility should be considered throughout all parts of the presentation design process, and designing accessible compositions benefits all people, not just those with disabilities. This article is the final of three in its series:
- Choosing a Physical Space
- Planning for Accessible Presentations
- Delivering Accessible Presentations (this article)
Delivering Accessible Presentations
Multimedia includes any design that pairs text, visuals, and/or sound, such as videos, audio recordings, and graphics.
- Access Throughout: There are two main ways of doing access throughout the presentation. The first is a holistic overview at the beginning, usually through an access statement (sometimes also called an invitation or invocation). The second are ongoing access checks. This includes asking the audience about adjustments to sounds, visuals, the space, etc. (e.g., “How’s the microphone volume? Anything we need to adjust about things right now?”).
- Audio: Always use the microphone whenever it’s available, even if you have a loud voice. For participants who may not have a microphone, repeat their question or comment into the microphone before moving on. As discussed in the previous article in this series, you will also want to have a conversational speaking speed, inclusive speech, and aural indicators.
- Introductions: At the beginning of the presentation, it is best practice to introduce yourself and give a brief visual description of yourself. For example, I usually say, “Hi, I’m Bethany Meadows, and I use she/they pronouns in tandem to refer to me. Visually, I am a white femme person with glasses and dark hair, and I’m wearing [specific outfit].” That said, there can be many embodied implications and consequences for certain disclosures of identity, and your safety is also important so only share what you feel comfortable doing.
- Pathways for Engagement: Consider access before requiring certain forms of engagement from participants. This includes reflection before asking them to stand up, look at visuals/listen, walk around, talk with others, etc. These pathways may be exclusionary from some who don’t have the ability to move or be in a place to communicate with others. In general, it’s recommended to have alternative pathways for engagement that will not exclude participants.
Gratitudes and Resources for Accessible Presentations
The first iteration of this series came from the work of Raven Baugh and Bethany Meadows for the East Center Writing Center Association’s 2022 conference, sponsored by the Writing Center at Michigan State University.
- Ada Hubrig’s 2021 “Conference on Community Writing Presentation Accessibility Guide”
- Conference on College Composition and Communication’s 2024 “Conference Accessibility Guide”
- Composing Access’ “Preparing Your Presentation”
This article, Accessible Presentations Guide: Delivering Accessible Presentations © 2024 by Bethany Meadows, is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.