Inclusive Presentation Guides

Please consider the following suggestions Designing and Facilitating your Session at DDNRC 2023

Designing an Inclusive Session 

1. Keep Slides Simple

   1. Use keywords and short phrases instead of whole sentences and paragraphs when possible

   2. When using case studies or scenarios, ensure information is accessible rather than just reading it
      aloud.

2. Provide an Agenda slide

   1. Sets intention and expectations for the flow of information

3. Make Content Large and Visible

   1. This can help the audience take in the information easier

   2. Be generous with spacing (between letters, words, and lines)

   3. Use bold for emphasis (underlines and italics are less identifiable)

   4. Avoid color coding

   5. Use mixed case, not all caps

   6. Be mindful of fonts

      1. Sans Serif fonts such as Arial, Calibri, Century Gothic, Helvetica Tahoma, Verdana, Times New Roman, and Georgia are accessible fonts to use

4. Avoid unnecessary slide transitions

   1. Use built-in slide layouts that you will be able to apply to all of your slides (Please note that if you are using PowerPoint, you can access the slide layouts that will automatically ensure that the reading order works for everyone)

   2. Transitions and animations can trigger nausea, headaches, and dizziness for some, particularly those with inner ear disorders

5. Captions and describe media

   1. If you are embedding a video, use captions, subtitles, and audio tracks in the videos

   2. Audio: if audio does not have a visual component, display equivalent text while the audio is playing

   3. Images: when using images, caption and describe the picture/chart

      1. Avoid saying phrases such as: “ As you can see here..”“This data shows an increase of student referrals” versus “This chart shows the amount of students referred each month.” or “ this, that, these, and those” without indicating what “this” is.

6. Check color contrast  (for more information, check this article out; for additional detailed information, read here)

   1. Use accessible text and background color. It is crucial that you work to use strong contrast between your text and background colors. This will allow individuals with low vision to see and read your content. Dark text and white (off white) background is very accessible!

7. Position information to not interfere with captions

   1. To avoid captions getting cut off, determine where captions will show up and place important content accordingly (closed captions may appear on the bottom of the PowerPoint slides)

   2. Consider the impact of using stereotypical GIFS or Emojis *For more information, please visit this link **For more information, please visit this link *

   3. Use Zoom’s live transcript setting to allow the audience to see as you speak.  

Facilitating an Inclusive Presentation 

1. Provide a land and labor acknowledgement

   1. Share a land and labor acknowledgement about the land you reside on.

      1. Land acknowledgements focus on the indigenous people of the land where your institution is

      2. Labor acknowledgements focus on the sociopolitical and socioeconomic disparities for the groups of people who labored the land where your institution is

      3. Understanding Land and Labor Acknowledgements

   2. Share Indigenous lessons or learning for conference attendees to further their learning.

   3. Land acknowledgement resources:

      1. SJSU's Land acknowledgment and related resources (including pronunciation)

      2.  Indigenous Ally Tool

   4. Labor Acknowledgement Resources:

      1. On Labor Acknowledgements and Honoring the Sacrifice of Black Americans

      2. Labor Acknowledgements Examples

2. Include definitions for jargon and acronyms

   1. Be mindful of jargon and acronyms 

   2. If using specialized language, be sure to define them

3. Use varied examples

   1. Provide examples that most people can relate to.

   2. Please provide examples that will reflect diverse cultural perspectives

   3. Consider more than one example to appeal to a wider audience.

4. Avoid phrases that suggest victimhood

   1. When discussing experiences relating to disability or trauma, avoid phrases that suggest victimhood (i.e., “victim” or “survivor”).

   2. Consider using “They use a wheelchair,” instead of “they are confined to a wheelchair.”

5. Do not use mental illnesses as metaphors

   1. Using terms like “bipolar,” “OCD” and ADD as a metaphor can undermine their impact on people

6. Use gender neutral terms

   1. Try using terms such as: people, folks, y’all, teammates – terms that do not imply gender. 

7. Plan time between topics

   1. Pause between topics to give people time to process information and allow time for responses, questions, and give room for technology lags.

8. Model inclusive behaviors

   1. Be sure to repeat participants' questions and comments to engage everyone.

   2. Don’t ask participants to represent their entire identity group.

9. Speech and movement

   1. Be mindful of where you are standing and speaking from.

   2. Ensure that all participants are able to engage with activities

10. Share pronouns

    1. Consider sharing pronouns to help alleviate potential misgendering and help to normalize the sharing gender identities.

    2. Try adding pronouns to screen names and presentation platforms.

11.  When there's a mistake...

    1. Take a breath and gather your thoughts (sometimes you just need a break). It's OK to pause

    2. Acknowledge the mistake and move forward

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Dr. Patience Bryant, Past President of ASCA, for allowing DDNRC to share their wisdom, included on this page