Presentations
- When planning for a presentation, find out the specific needs of the audience in advance, so that you can prepare accessible materials.
- When using a PowerPoint or overhead presentation, keep sentences short and easy to read. Limit key ideas to 4 per slide.
- View your presentation from the back of the venue to make sure it is legible and readable, and the text/background colours you have chosen don't make it difficult to read.
- Read presentations in full, and describe images, diagrams, graphs and tables. Do not tell the whole room that this is for the benefit of people who are blind or have a vision impairment. See Using images, diagrams, graphs and tables accessibly.
- If possible, prior to the meeting, provide a copy of PowerPoint presentations or Word documents electronically and/or in large font to anyone with a vision impairment, and to meeting assistants. For more information on meeting assistants, see Engaging with people with learning/intellectual disabilities.
- Provide a copy of your presentation to New Zealand Sign Language interpreters in advance, so that they can familiarise themselves with the content.
- Consider providing information in advance to people with learning/intellectual disabilities, to allow them time to read and understand your material.
- If you are engaging New Zealand Sign Language interpreters, discuss with them the speed at which presenters should speak, and whether they will need to pause to allow interpreters to swap over.
- If you are going to use videos in presentations, consider inserting captions or video clips of New Zealand Sign Language interpreters.
- Where possible, do not have presenters stand in front of windows or with a lot of light behind them. Lighting may obstruct some people’s ability to pick up on visual cues and other no
[1] A hearing loop is a system that enhances sound sources such as a microphone or PA system, and is transmitted directly to hearing aids that have a telecoil attachment. With a telecoil, hearing aids do not have to use their microphone, and ambient noise is decreased. Hearing loops can be permanently set up in a venue, or portable varieties can be used.