Accessibility 101: Making Video Presentations Accessible DURING the Session

Welcome back to Ability Central’s “Accessibility 101” series, where our team identifies and offers solutions to the modern workplace’s most common accessibility barriers.

You’ve prepped your video presentation to perfection. You’ve sent out meeting invites and supplemental materials. Most importantly, you’ve talked your boss out of using that ancient Flash animation of the Wacky Wavy Inflatable Tube Man.

Now what?

You can prep accessibility best practices ahead of a video presentation, but it still takes work to make your content accessible during the event.

Frequent check-ins with your audience, adhering to best practices for speakers, and—most importantly—being ready to adapt are all great ways to ensure your audience engages with and understands your content.

In our last article, we broke down how to make video presentations accessible while you’re still in the planning process. In this article, we examine best practices for improving and maintaining accessibility during a video presentation. We also make recommendations for improving the accessibility of the content within your video presentation.

Let’s dive in!

How to Maintain Accessibility During a Video Presentation – General Tips

Speak slowly and clearly. A relaxed, even pace and tone is helpful for comprehension, not just for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, but for everyone in your audience.
Introduce yourself before speaking. You should always introduce yourself at the beginning of a video presentation, but it’s important to use reminders, especially if you have more than one speaker. For example, if you ask a question or change speakers, start the next segment with, “This is \[your name\] speaking…”
Speak one at a time. This is probably the best tip for video presentations out there. Be careful not to overlap audio, whether that means audio files or in-person speakers. This can be confusing for interpreters, captioning services, and people with processing disabilities.
Prepare for interruptions. For example, if you hired an ASL interpreter for your video presentation, they may need you to repeat something or ask for clarification. Don’t be upset if and when this happens; leave time in your session for unexpected moments like this.
Reserve space for questions. Most video presentations end with some kind of Q&A, but some presenters fail to reserve enough time for this, particularly if neurodiverse people, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, or people who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools are in the audience. AAC users may need extra time to type up a question or comment.

Considerations to Make for Various Disabilities During a Video Presentation

Deaf

Pin captioners and interpreters to the screen. For example, if you are presenting a video in a virtual space, “pin” the video feed of an interpreter or use methods like picture-in-picture to ensure they are always visible.
Arrange a space for Deaf participants to sit close to interpreters. If you’re presenting in-person, reserve space for Deaf attendees that is close to the front so they can read speakers’ lips, body language, and facial expressions. If you have interpreters, seat Deaf colleagues in direct line of sight.
Speak to the person, not the interpreter. When responding to a question, for example, it’s rude to speak to the interpreter instead of the person who asked the question, give the interpreter instructions, or speak about the questioner in third person. (Example: Instead of looking at the interpreter and saying, “Tell David that the graph shows a 20% increase,” look at your colleague and say, "The graph shows a 20% increase.")

Blind

Introduce yourself with a visual description. Share your name, your role in the presentation, and a short description of what you look like. (Example: “My name is Olivia and I’m the operations manager. I’m a short, light-skinned Black woman with curly hair in a ponytail. I’m wearing a red cardigan, black pants, and red shoes.”)
Repeat your name when you start speaking. If someone asks a question, say, “This is \[your name\] speaking” before you give your answer.
Describe images as they appear. Include visual descriptions of graphs, charts, or other images, especially those that contain important information. (Example: “On screen, there’s a pie chart showing how people responded to our survey. In green, 60% said they love our product. In yellow, 30% said they enjoy the product, but it needs improvement. And in red, 10% said they would not use our product again. Next to that section, there’s a drawing of an angry customer with their arms crossed.”)
Invest in or create videos with audio descriptions. If you’re using multimedia, make sure people with visual impairments have ways to connect with the content.

Neurodivergence and Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (I/DD)

Use simple visual supports and cues. The first rule of accessibility is to simplify, simplify, simplify. For example, someone who is neurodivergent or has an intellectual or developmental disability may struggle to process a large table of data presented in text. Instead, they might understand the data better compiled into a bar graph.
Address only one topic at a time. Try not to jump around between topics and speakers. Use a table of contents or provide a printout of your slides so neurodivergent participants and colleagues with I/DD can follow along and review earlier subjects on their own.
Offer ways to confirm comprehension. Many people with processing disabilities or I/DD retain information more clearly when they have multiple opportunities to make sure they understand. The same is true for neurodivergent colleagues. This might include asking questions, restating information in their own words, or asking you to repeat data or topics with different phrasing.
Give people enough time to ask questions and formulate answers. 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.

AAC Users

Be aware that it may take an AAC user a considerable amount of time to prepare a response or question.** If an AAC user is speaking, asking a question, or responding in real time, it’s rude to continue the conversation while the person is preparing their response. Instead, wait until the person indicates they are finished before you move on.
Use AAC-friendly materials.** Expect the use of screen readers and tools like personal auditory or vocal enhancers. Avoid things that might clutter up AAC, like background music that interferes with dialogue.

Be Ready to Adapt

Every video presentation comes with its roadblocks and unexpected changes. Be prepared ahead of time to adapt, depending on what people in your audience need. Be willing to make changes to your script, like repeating yourself, summarizing information, or inviting someone else to speak.

Flexibility is key to hosting a video presentation where everyone feels supported, included, and clear about the information you want to share.

For more information on video presentations, view the next article in our Accessibility 101 series: Accessibility 101: Making Video Presentations Accessible AFTER the Session.

Read on to discover:

Further Resources

To view the other articles in our Accessibility 101 series, see:

Additional Information