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 second of three in its series:
- Choosing a Physical Space
- Planning for Accessible Presentations (this article)
- Delivering Accessible Presentations
Template Slides
I have created template slides for educators to use and adapt for their contexts. These template slides guide the user through accessibility considerations and were designed to be accessible.
Planning for Accessible Presentations
In addition to the template, there are additional considerations for access with presentations.
Access Copies and Handouts
Access copies, also known as scripts, are a way for your participants to follow along. It is also helpful for Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) captioners or sign language interpreters. There are many ways to create access copies, such as providing a transcript of the talk, providing an outline of the talk per slide, and/or providing a list of important terminology (e.g., quotations, proper names, acronyms, jargon).
In addition, access copies can be circulated electronically or in print. For print copies, it is generally recommended to bring a third of the prints compared to your total audience attendance. About 30% of these prints should also be in large print of 20-point font.
Captioning
Have a plan for captioning the presentation and plan ahead for any CART captioners in attendance to sit near the presenter. Recorded presentations and any videos/audio within them should have captions. To caption real-time presentations, there are many options:
Content Warnings
Certain topics of discussion or multimedia depictions can trigger trauma reactions. For these, consider if they are necessary to the presentation, and if they are, give content warnings for the information.
Inclusive Language
There are many considerations for presentation delivery:
- The work should avoid jargon and idioms that are not understandable for a wide audience.
- Acronyms should not be used without first defining them.
- Avoid using language that excludes and/or harms participants, such as ableist language or genderist language (e.g., “ladies and gentlemen,” assuming the gender of a participant).
Practice
In the practice for the presentation, you should be thinking about a final accessibility check. This includes making sure your speaking speed is conversational as well as practicing verbal multimedia descriptions and aural indicators. Multimedia descriptions are the alternative text that is integrated into the presentation aloud. Aural indicators are to announce a new name when switching speakers (e.g., “Bethany here”).
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”
Continue to the next article in this series, Delivering Accessible Presentations.
This article, Accessible Presentations Guide: Planning for Accessible Presentations © 2024 by Bethany Meadows, is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.