Accessibility Tips for Presenters and Facilitators

Debbie Krahmer of the Council on Library & Information Resources (CLIR) Digital Library Federation (DLF) gave a one-hour webinar in July 2022 on Creating Accessible Presentations. If you don't have time to watch the recording or read the transcript, there is also a Wiki page, from which the LD4 Accessibility Committee has extracted some important points below:

Your slides

Have the slides available to attendees beforehand
- Slides can be uploaded to your session description on Sched (instructions here)
- Share a link to slides at the beginning of your presentation
- Attendees can "pre-process" your presentation before you deliver it
- Attendees can follow along and take notes while you deliver it
Use built-in templates from your preferred slideshow application (PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc)
- Designed for accessibility
- Provide outline structure that screen readers can follow
Use contrasting colors and large font sizes
Limit text/bullets on slides
Test slides for accessibility before submitting
- PowerPoint has a built-in checker (“Check Accessibility”)
- Google Slides plug-ins Accessibility Checker for Slides or Grackle Slides

Your delivery

Speak clearly and face the camera
- Some attendees may find it helpful to read your lips as you're speaking
Add in pauses to allow processing time
- for attendees with neurodivergence
- for attendees for whom English is not their first language
- for attendees who take notes
Avoid jargon and acronyms
- Spell out and define abbreviations and acronyms at least once
- Define domain-specific terms that attendees may not be familiar with
Briefly describe any non-decorative images

References

Digital Library Federation. (2022, August 17). Creating accessible presentations 2022. DLF Wiki. https://wiki.diglib.org/Creating_Accessible_Presentations_2022

Digital Library Federation. (2023, February 13). Creating accessible in-person presentations. DLF Wiki. https://wiki.diglib.org/Creating_Accessible_In-Person_Presentations