The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced City of Los Angeles employees to adapt to a new remote-work model as quickly and effectively as possible.  Many of you may have been evaluating the use of remote technology and are in the process of transitioning the in-person meeting structure to video conferencing.  In addition, many of you have reached out to the Department on Disability for guidance and technical assistance on how to host an inclusive virtual public meeting such as City Council, Commission, and Committee meetings that are covered by the Brown Act.  

We have gathered information and resources based on the questions received and what our department has had to learn about ensuring our virtual public meetings run as effectively and accessible as possible.  New information and resources are updated on a regular basis.  Be sure to visit the Intranet often for further updates.

Department on Disability

• • Zoom Platform Instructions Web Page 

  • Requesting Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) and Video Interpreting Services

Information Technology Agency

• • Procedure for Virtual Public Meetings (Google Doc)

  • Recommended Zoom Settings for Brown Act Meetings (Google Sheet)

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/do31A9ES3zw

Recorded Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Presenters: Jay Wyant, Chief Information Accessibility Officer for State of Minnesota, housed at Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) and Josh Christianson, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)

Overview: When planning a virtual event, following accessibility best practices helps ensure that everyone can participate equally in the meeting.  Participants will gain knowledge around best practices (that apply to ALL virtual meeting platforms) for conducting effective and inclusive remote meetings, from speaker guidelines to captioning logistics.

Accessible PDF presentation of Making Virtual Meetings Accessible

Planning and Setup

• Don’t fly solo. Assign others to take notes, help with tech troubleshooting, and manage the chat features.

• Include necessary information in the meeting invitation. When sending out the email announcement or invitation of the meeting, explain the purpose of the meeting and provide materials that will be discussed such as an attachment or link. You should also note if you are providing a separate caption option and provide a link for that capability. For larger meetings, webinars, and formal presentations, include a statement for people who may want to request accommodations, along with contact information.

• Get set up. Before you sign into the meeting, ensure you are using a high-quality webcam, microphone, or headset.

Meeting Introduction/Kickoff

• Start with the ground rules. If there is a large group, explain how a person will “get the floor” to be able to comment or ask a question. Make sure to account for people who are only using the phone, or don’t have audio capabilities. (See more ideas in the Explanations/Clarifications section.)

• Introductions. Remind everyone to say their name before speaking. If you are going to have people introduce themselves, let them know before it happens.

• Add important information in a chat feature. If you are holding your meeting on a platform that includes chat, include information that you will also explain verbally. This information can include: 

  • A separate call in number.

  • A separate captioning link.

  • Attachments or links that are discussed during the call.

• Share recordings. If you will be recording, let everyone know that and announce when and where the recording will be available in an accessible format.

If You’re Presenting/Facilitating

• Remove distractions. Turn off or mute email and other notifications and set your presence to “Do Not Disturb.” Close applications and content that you aren't going to be sharing in the meeting.

• Describe visuals or what's being shared on the screen.

• Have a side channel with the chat monitor. When appropriate, have the chat monitor read aloud the items/questions in the chat before answering. When multiple people have asked to speak, announce the order so they can plan ahead.

• Make sure everyone has a chance to contribute. Recognize that there are many reasons people may not be quick to jump in. Allow time for participants to add notes in the chat or ask to speak. Provide multiple ways to collect feedback and avoid letting any one person dominate the audio.

Everyone

• Introduce yourself. Start off by saying "This is Kris, and...". Introduce yourself every time when you speak.

• Mute your microphone when not speaking.

• If you are not speaking, consider turning your camera off. Upload a picture or avatar: seeing faces rather than initials creates a positive feeling of interaction among colleagues, rather than strangers.

• Look directly into the camera when speaking. If you don’t like to see yourself while speaking, look at the layout options for a way to hide your self-view window.

• Consider your background. Clear out your laundry and remove distractions. Avoid speaking from a dark room or with light behind you.

• Avoid speaking too quickly after the previous speaker. Give the person time to finish.

Explanations/Clarifications

• Options for enabling people to “get the floor”. Ask attendees to use the chat to request to speak. They can use a code, such as q+, to indicate that they would like a turn speaking. For those on the phone, they can interrupt with “Please put me on the queue” and someone managing the queue will add their name into the chat.

• Respect this queue. Announce when it is the next person’s turn, and let them speak. Give them a moment to unmute themselves. If you have a long queue, announce the next 3 or so in order to help people predict when their turn is coming up.

• The need to say your name every time you talk. Some people do not distinguish voices well. Some people are reading the audio through captions or other methods. If you don’t say your name, it is not clear that a new person is speaking or who that person is.

• Meeting recordings. If the meeting is recorded, viewers can more effectively identify the speaker. Post-meeting transcripts can accurately track positions and decisions.

• Introductions. Having a large group of attendees self-introduce can be unwieldy if not well-managed. Some strategies include: 

  • “I’m going to have everyone on the call take a turn to introduce themselves” or “I’m going to have today’s presenters introduce themselves.”

  • “I’m going to go in alphabetical order by first name” – use whatever method the remote meeting interface uses to order those in the meeting in the participant list. This helps people prepare to unmute, and for those that get nervous, helps then know when it will be their turn. 

    • For those reading captions or using an American Sign Language interpreter, it may take them a moment to get the end of the last sentence spoken by the previous speaker, before being ready to take their turn. For those using screen readers or other types of assistive technologies, it may take them a moment to navigate to the unmute button.

  • State “if you prefer to have me introduce you, please type your information into the chat” and then when that person’s turn comes up, have the chat monitor read what they have written. Sometimes people are having issues with their microphone, have lots of background noise, or find this method easier.

• Ensure inclusion in the conversation. At key points of conversation, pause the conversation, and ask if anyone else has something to add. Don’t just take silence as agreement. 

  • You can ask all those who agree to put something in the chat like a +1; a -1 if they disagree.

  • You can go through each person, and ask them if they have any concerns. By going through by name, if they got distracted or had audio issues, you can confirm that their response.

  • Because you cannot see facial expressions when everyone has their camera off, it is more important to use these alternative methods so you can be sure that the group has come to consensus.

• Proactively ask if others have something to share. If you have a group member who is taking up a lot of the speaking time, it can be helpful to purposefully see if others have thoughts to share. 

  • “I see X on the queue but I would like to be sure that others have had a chance to weigh in. I’m going to pause for a moment to see if others are ready to contribute.”

  • “X has been doing a great job asking questions, helping us think this through. I want to be sure that others have the same opportunity. I’m going to go through each person’s name, and just do a quick check in before getting back to X.”