Welcome back to Ability Central’s “Accessibility 101” series, where the team at Ability Central identifies and offers solutions to the most common accessibility pitfalls we’ve seen in the workplace.
Virtual Meetings: Opportunities and Pitfalls
Have you ever accidentally turned yourself into a talking potato during a Zoom call? Maybe a kitten? Or have you faded into your digital background because you’re wearing the wrong color shirt?
We’ve all been there. While moments like this can be entertaining (not to mention, great inside joke fodder for your team), they can also wreak havoc on communication.
People with sensory sensitivities, cognitive disabilities, or low vision or hearing often struggle the most when things go wrong in virtual meetings. However, there are simple ways to avoid difficulties and practice basic digital accessibility etiquette during video calls.
In our last article, we discussed steps you can take and settings you can change before a virtual meeting to improve the event’s accessibility. In this article, we take a look at settings and suggestions that impact accessibility during a virtual meeting.
Let’s dive in with these virtual meeting accessibility best practices!
Ask non-speakers to turn off their cameras.
This reduces visual clutter and removes distractions for everyone on the call, not just team members who are Deaf or hard of hearing. You can also “pin” presenters, interpreters, and meeting facilitators so they are always present on screen.
How to pin a video or speaker on Zoom
At the top of your meeting window, hover over the video of the participant you want to pin and click the ellipses (“…”) symbol in the top right corner.
From the dropdown menu, click “Pin.”
To cancel the pin, hover over the video of any currently-pinned participant and click “Remove Pin.”
How to pin a video or speaker on Google Meet
If the speaker or video is currently visible in your meeting layout:
Hover over the person’s video or speaker view.
Click the “Pin” icon (shaped like a vertical push pin or thumbtack).
To remove the pin, click the “Pin” icon again.
If the speaker or video is not visible on your meeting layout:
Click the “People” panel at the bottom right of your screen.
Next to the name of the person or presentation you want to pin, click the “Pin” icon.
How to pin a video or speaker on Microsoft Teams
If the speaker or video is visible on your meeting layout:
Next to the speaker’s image (by their name), click the “…” button.
This opens two options: “Mute” or “Pin participant.” Click “Pin participant.”
Once the proper speaker is pinned, you can open the “…” settings again and select “fit to frame” to view the pinned speaker’s full video screen, rather than a smaller preview.
You can use the same settings menu to “unpin” someone when they’re finished speaking or if interpreters are trading off.
Use a headset and microphone to improve sound quality.
This tip is helpful for both speakers and attendees. Using a headset microphone—rather than your computer or webcam’s built-in microphone—limits background noise and improves sound quality. In addition, some headphones can also block out distracting environmental noises.
Remind participants to keep themselves muted when they are not speaking. Participants should use the “raise hand” option or message in the chat when they’d like to speak. It’s important to wait until called on before speaking to reduce interruptions, talking over each other, or breaks in the flow of the conversation.
Prioritize interpreters on-screen.
Be sure to pin or highlight the interpreter(s) in your videoconferencing software to ensure they are always on screen. Make sure the video feed is pinned somewhere it will not be blocked by live captioning, graphics, or slides. If someone switches to sharing their screen, make sure the interpreter’s video feed is still pinned and clearly visible.
Speak slower, not louder.
To make meetings more accessible for everyone, speak at an easy pace, enunciate your words, and take natural pauses. Slower, clearer speech is easier for autogenerated captions and all your participants to understand. If you speak too fast, interpreters and CART transcribers may ask you to slow down or repeat something for clarity.
Allow people time to think about and draft responses.
Be sure to leave time in your meeting for AAC users to draft their contributions to the meeting. It’s also helpful to send out any meeting materials in advance. This allows neurodivergent team members and people who type to communicate to prepare their questions and comments ahead of the meeting.
During the meeting, neurodiverse people and people with processing disorders (particularly central auditory processing disorders) may need extra time to parse questions asked and word their answers. The same is true for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Be prepared to wait 30-45 seconds or up to a full minute before you get a response. While the instinct might be to prompt them by repeating the question, try not to—asking the question again might interrupt their thought process and force them to start all over.
Utilize chat features efficiently.
Chat features can be a useful tool for people who are neurodivergent, use alternate augmentative communication (AAC) devices like voice-to-text, or rely on typing to talk. However, too much action in the chat can be distracting for speakers and participants, especially those who use screen readers. Encourage participants to use the chat area for relevant contributions only.
Enable Q&A for moderated or anonymous contributions.
The Q&A feature, available in Google Meet and Zoom, allows participants to submit questions or comments without cluttering the meeting chat. The meeting host(s) can then answer the questions in order.
How to enable Q&A in Google Meet
Conveniently, the Q&A feature is automatically enabled in most Google Workspace accounts. If it hasn’t been enabled:
Launch your meeting.
Click the “Activities” button.
Select “Q&A” from the pop-up menu.
Click “Turn on Q&A” to allow all participants to access and use the feature. Participants will receive a notification that “Q&A is now open.”
To ask a question, click “Ask a question” at the bottom of your screen. This option can also be found under “Activities” > “Q&A” > “Ask a question.” Participants can also delete their own questions by clicking the “trashcan” icon, followed by “Remove.”
To moderate questions, the meeting host or facilitator can:
1. “Upvote” the question to highlight it.
2. Delete the question by clicking the “trashcan” icon, followed by “Remove.”
3. “Hide” or “unhide” the question by clicking the “eye” icon.
4. “Mark a question as answered” by clicking the “mark” icon.
How to enable Q&A in Microsoft Teams
There are three ways to enable Q&A in Microsoft teams: from Outlook, from the Teams calendar, or during the Teams meeting.
From Outlook, before the meeting:
Open a new calendar event.
Select “Meeting Options” at the top of the window.
Go to “Enable Q&A” and select the “Yes” toggle.
From Teams, before the meeting starts:
Schedule a meeting and send it.
Open the invite from your calendar and select “Meeting options” at the top.
Go to “Enable Q&A” and select the “Yes” toggle.
From Teams, during the meeting:
Select “More actions” at the top of the meeting window.
Select “Meeting options.”
Go to “Enable Q&A” and select the “Yes” toggle.
How to enable Q&A in Zoom when scheduling the meeting
Sign into the Zoom web portal.
In the navigation portal, click “Meetings.”
Choose to edit an existing meeting or schedule a new meeting.
Under “Meeting Options, select the check box to “enable Q&A.” (Note: If this option is missing, it has been disabled at the account level and you will need to contact your Zoom administrator.)
Click “Schedule.”
How to edit Q&A options in Zoom
Sign into the Zoom web portal.
In the navigation portal, click “Meetings.”
Click the topic of your meeting.
At the top of the meeting details, click the “Q&A” tab.
Click “Edit” to adjust the following settings:
1. Allow anonymous questions: Select this option to allow participants to send questions without providing their name to the host and co-hosts.
2. Allow participants to view: Choose if you want attendees to be able to view answered questions only or view all questions. If you choose for participants to view all questions, you can then enable the following options:
1. Participants can upvote: Participants can view all submitted questions and upvote questions important to them. This can help point out to the host and co-hosts questions that more participants want the answer to.
2. Participants can comment: Participants can view all submitted questions and add additional comments.
Click “Save.” (Note: These options can also be configured by the host during the live meeting.)
How to use Q&A features during your Zoom meeting
Answer submitted questions
As the host or co-host, click “Q&A” in the meeting controls. All submitted questions will be listed, with questions submitted by attendees external to the account indicated by (Guest) next to their name.
Find the question you would like to answer:
1. Click “Answer Live” to mark the question as something that will be answered out loud during the meeting.
2. Click “Type Answer” to provide a written response for the participant. Type your answer and click Send. Note: If you allow participants to comment on questions, the questions will still appear in the Open list and can be responded to, even if a participant has commented on the question.
(Optional) Select the “Send Privately” checkbox before clicking send, if you would like to answer the participant only.
Dismiss questions
As the host or co-host, click “Q&A” in the meeting controls.
Hover over the question that you would like to dismiss and click the ellipsis icon (...).
Tap “Dismiss” or “Delete.” Dismissed questions will no longer be visible to participants and moved to the Dismissed tab for the host and co-hosts, while deleted questions will be fully deleted and cannot be reopened.
Reopen dismissed questions
As the host or co-host, click “Q&A” in the meeting controls.
Click the Dismissed tab.
Find the question you would like to reopen and click “Reopen.”
Record meetings for later review.
Recording meetings allows people who may not have been able to make it know exactly what happened. Combined with a transcript from your chosen captioning service, a meeting recording can make it much easier for people with disabilities and access needs of all kinds to find understanding and contribute.
How to enable recordings in Google Meet
In your account’s Admin console, go to Menu > Apps > Google Workspace & Google Meet.
Click “Meet video settings.”
To apply the setting to everyone, leave the top organizational unit selected. Otherwise, select a child organizational unit or a configuration group.
Click “Recording” and check or uncheck the “Let people record their meetings” box.
Click “Save.” If you configured an organizational unit or group, you might be able to either Inherit or Override a parent organizational unit, or “Unset a group.”
Wait up to 24 hours for changes to take effect, although changes typically happen more quickly.
How to enable recordings in Microsoft Teams
To allow people to record Teams meetings:
In the Microsoft Teams admin center, expand “Meetings.”
Select “Meeting policies.”
Select the policy that you want to edit.
Turn “Meeting recording” On or Off.
Select “Save.”
To start recording a Teams meeting:
When the meeting begins, click on “More” (also appears as “…”).
Hover over “Record and transcribe,” then click “Start recording.” There is a small icon of a camera lens next to the correct button.
When you’re finished recording, navigate back to “More”à “Record and transcribe” à “Stop recording.”
After the meeting ends, your meeting recording will be available in OneDrive, SharePoint, or the “Recordings and Transcripts” tab of the calendar event in Teams.
How to enable recordings in Zoom
Sign into the Zoom web portal as an administrator with the privilege to edit user groups.
In the navigation menu, click “User Management,” then “Group Management.”
Click the applicable group name from the list.
Click the “Recording” tab.
Click the “Local Recording” toggle to enable or disable it.
If a verification dialog displays, click “Enable” or “Disable” to verify the change.
(Optional) “Enable the Hosts” can give meeting participants permission to record locally option to allow the host to give permission to record locally as well.
(Optional) If you want to make this setting mandatory for all users in the group, click the “lock” icon, and then click “Lock” to confirm the setting.
Remember to stay flexible
The tips and methods above offer excellent ways to ensure everyone in your meeting can access the information they need. However, it’s important to adapt on the fly if a tool stops working or there is a disruption in your meeting schedule.
Reserve time in your meeting to take questions. Don’t forget to give ample time to AAC users to formulate and type their questions or responses.
Further Resources
For more information about online meetings, view the other articles in this Accessibility 101 collection:
How to Make Online Meetings Accessible BEFORE the Session: Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams
How to Make Online Meetings Accessible AFTER the Session: Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams
To view the other articles in our Accessibility 101 series, see:
Accessibility 101: How to Make Virtual Meetings Accessible with Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet
Accessibility 101: How to Make In-Person Meetings Accessible
Accessibility 101: How to Make Video Presentations Accessible
Additional Information
The content provided in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for legal, medical, or other professional advice. While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date resources, some information may become outdated or incomplete. Always consult with your provider about personal medical concerns.
