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According to the World Health Organisation nearly 16% of the population suffers from some form of disability. People with disabilities face many barriers, such as education and employment challenges, but there are ways to change this through individual and organisational efforts. The presentation field is no exception.
Let us introduce you to the go-to person when it comes to accessibility and inclusiveness in presentations, accessible design advocate Stephy Hogan. She joined us at Present to Succeed 2022 to talk about how we can design presentations that give everyone an equally awesome experience.
So, what is accessible presentation design?
Accessible design is one that allows for all users, including those with disabilities, to engage in a presentation and understand (and/or interact with) its content. Even though we normally design with the audience in mind, Stephy says that very often people can feel excluded from a presentation due to Sight, Cognition, Hearing, Interaction or Technology-related reasons, or S.C.H.I.T. as she calls them. Accessible design removes those barriers and makes it possible for everyone to experience a presentation in the same way.
Why design accessibly?
“We simply need to design with our future self in mind” Stephy adds. That’s right. Each one of us has experienced some kind of temporary disability caused by super noisy environment, ADHD, sleep deprivation, cataract, a broken arm, glaring screens and even hangover (yeah, that too!). We’re also not immune to future disabilities, so Stephy suggests we start paying more attention to certain factors that make presentations work equally well for everyone in the audience.
How to create accessible presentations?
You should definitely hear Stephy Hogan talk about inclusiveness in presentation design, that’s why we’re not giving away all her tips (watch the whole session from the Present to Succeed Design Track). But we know you care about the topic as much as we do, so here are some of them:
1. Be mindful of colours. So many people are colour blind. Stephy runs her colour templates through contrast-grid.eightshapes.com to check for potential issues. You could also use the Adobe Color Blind Safe tool.
2. Make text both legible and readable. Legible fonts are traditional, and the letters are distinguishable from one another (you don’t mistake g for q for instance). With readable fonts there’s enough spacing between the characters and the reader can skim through text with ease. If you don’t have to comply with corporate typeface, use safe fonts because they’re universally used and highly readable.

3. Put descriptive link text instead of just inserting the full URL. The latter is just combinations of characters and putting them in your presentation as they are contributes to nothing. Instead, type in a description and insert a hyperlink.
4. Don’t forget about Alt text. Give images specific alternative text captions because those who have struggles reading use devices called screen readers. During the presentation this device reads the actual ALT text. In this way the visually challenged audience member can understand the image even without seeing it. Watch the entire session recording to see Sophy’s full checklist of alt text best practices.
5. Don’t turn your back on the audience when you present. Simply because people who are hard of hearing or don’t get your accent need to constantly lip-read what you’re saying.
The list goes on with Stephy’s tips on the importance of having an agenda sent out to the audience before the presentation and how to cover what’s visualised on your slides. Don’t miss this one as there’s so much to explore when it comes to inclusive design.
We hope this short article really sparked your interest in accessible design. Unfortunately, we all have some unconscious biases which prevent us from seeing what it’s like to walk in other people’s shoes. Luckily, we can count on accessibility evangelists like Stephy to help us navigate through the do’s and don’ts of inclusive presentations.
Now that you know the likes of the brilliant presentation experts that we bring to the Present to Succeed conference, why don’t you get your ticket for the next one, coming up 28 April, 2023. See you then!
Join Present to Succeed - the biggest presentation skills conference in the world
Whether you are part of an organization or running a business, how your slides look will always factor in your success. Learn how to become an influential speaker by joining our 20+ industry-leading speakers’ sessions.
Start engaging your audience better and influencing them to embrace your concepts, hire you, or buy your products. Now is the best moment to get your ticket!
Join Present to Succeed - the biggest presentation skills conference in the world
Whether you are part of an organisation or running a business, how your slides look will always factor in your success. Learn how to become an influential speaker by joining our 20+ industry-leading speakers’ sessions.
Start engaging your audience better and learn how to influence them to embrace your concepts, hire you, or buy your products. Get your ticket now!