Presenting Accessibly In-Person Handout for the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Events
Why an Accessible Presentation Style?
Presenting your work in an accessible manner ensures that your important research is available to a larger group of potential audience members, including audience members with a variety of access needs, whether because of disability or other life circumstances. By presenting accessibly, you remove barriers and as a result welcome and connect with more people who may otherwise have been excluded from possible discussions.
Preparing Your Accessible Presentation
1. Create the presentation materials you plan to share with your audience.
2. Use sans serif fonts, such as Arial, Calibri, etc., for all text in your materials.
3. Confirm all presentation material text is high contrast using Contrast Checker.
4. When using videos, provide videos with accurate captions and audio description. ○ When audio description is not available, prepare and provide in person a brief visual description of the video prior to sharing with your audience.
5. Review your digital files for accessibility using your program’s native “Accessibility Check” function, often found via the search feature of your program
6. Upload digital access copies to a publicly available folder to share via QR code and short links, such as those provided by tinyurl.com or bit.ly.
7. Print physical access copies to bring to your session and hand out at the beginning of your presentation or as requested. ○ Up to 10 standard-print copies (font size being 12-point+) ○ Up to 5 large-print copies (font size being 18-point+ with wider spacing)
8. Practice all visual descriptions of your presentation, including of yourself, in advance.
Providing Accessibility During Your Session
1. Ensure your physical environment has enough space for assistive mobility device users to navigate, including to enter and leave mid-presentation.
2. Provide an accessible introduction of yourself, including your name, pronouns (as comfortable), visual description (to the detail of your own comfort), your title and affiliation, the title of your presentation, content warnings for sensitive materials, and instructions related to accessible features provided, including access copies.
3. Present at a reasonable speaking pace (100-150 words per minute).
4. Define all jargon and acronyms as they come up in your presentation.
5. Always describe any visuals provided in your presentation and read text from content shared on a screen.
6. When switching between speakers, announce your name prior to speaking.
7. Repeat any questions asked by the audience into the microphone.