Presentation Specific Guidelines

There are a few principles to follow in order to create accessible presentations that are optimized for assistive technology users.

• Avoid small text
• Avoid complex or automatic transitions and animations; keep them simple and manual
• Limit the use of visual information and background images
• Language should be clear and simple
• Avoid using color as the sole way of conveying information or emphasis
• Ensure embedded multimedia is captioned
• Include a transcript for any embedded audio

"San Serif" means "without decorative line" and is the preferred font style as Serif fonts, which contain decorative lines at the top and bottom of most letters can be distracting to some users. The smallest font size on any give slide should be 18pt. regardless of font style chosen. Consider larger fonts than you might think is necessary if your presentation will be projected in any way.

In order to preserve built-in accessibility of slides, be sure to use the provided templates/layouts.

NOTE: do not use blank slide template.

Using templates/layouts already organizes information with the correct heading structure and reading order regardless of what information you add first to a slide. Using a blank slide template that requires you to select what content place holders to put into what location does not have that same build in heading structure or reading order. It is possible to set this manually, however it would need to be done for each slide one-by-one.

If there is not a template/heading that suits your specific needs, you can create one using "Slide Master".

To create Master Slides in Microsoft PowerPoint (PC and Mac):

> View (Home Ribbon)

> Slide Master

A variety of built in Layouts will appear in the left sidebar-the first slide is the Master Layout.

Follow the instructions on the screen to edit Master Layout styles. OR Create a new slide layout by:

> Insert Layout (from Slide Master Ribbon)

> Rename

Label your new layout then > Rename

From the Slide Master Ribbon, built the template by inserting placeholders:

> Insert Placeholder

select placeholder type from the dropdown menu

Using the crosshairs, drag a shape for your placeholder on the slide

Repeat until the layout is complete and close out of the Slide Master Ribbon

From the Home Ribbon:

> Arrange

> Selection Pane

You'll see a selection box with all the slide content. Assistive technology reads from the bottom up. Determine the order in which you want the slide to be read and drag and drop the content items to the desired location.

Slide titles act like headings and provide users of assistive technology the ability to sift through the presentation to locate specific information. Each slide should have a unique title. If you do not want a title to visually appear on a slide, it can be hidden by dragging the title placeholder off the slide. This removes it from sight, but allows assistive technology to find the slide content.

Reading order for slides should correspond directly with how you wish all users to interact with the material. To set the reading order:

From the Home tab > Arrange

> Selection Pane

drag and drop content items to the desired location

NOTE: assistive technology reads slide content from the bottom to the top of the Selection Pane.