Removing Barriers: Guidelines for Presenters

(Adapted from North Carolina Office on Disability and Health in collaboration with The Center for Universal Design, "Removing Barriers: Planning Meetings That Are Accessible to All Participants")

• Before answering any questions, repeat the question.
• Provide verbal descriptions of any overheads, slides, or charts, reading all text on the visual aids.
• Face the audience when speaking and keep hands or other objects away from the mouth.
• Refrain from speaking too quickly.
• Ensure all visual aids are printed in as large a font as possible and contain fewer than eight lines of text. Make large print hard copies of presentations available for persons with low vision.
• Present key points in multiple ways, including visual, auditory, and tactile approaches.
• Limit the number of visual aids and allow sufficient time to read each one.
• When possible, bring videos with captioning for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Encourage seated as well as standing activities.
• At the beginning of presentations, provide oral descriptions of meeting room layouts, emergency exits, amenities, and O/A procedures.
• If breaks are included, make sure that you allow adequate time for people with disabilities to reach the new locations and/or complete tasks.
• Make every effort to keep the meeting room free of extraneous noises.

Providing Readable Materials

• It is good practice to routinely bring five copies of written handouts and make digital copies available. Also, a PowerPoint presentation printed with one slide per page qualifies as a large print handout.
• The following are steps you can take to make materials more readable for everyone:
• Use black ink on white or off-white paper to maximize contrast.
• Avoid glossy paper.
• Use at least 12-point type, but a larger font is often better (14- or 16-point font size).
• Avoid italics, except when used as proper titles, or other script type; use a plain font like Helvetica or Verdana.
• Use margins of 1" and ragged right edge.
• Avoid using all caps.
• Make sure there is even spacing between letters.
• Make sure text is not printed over illustrations.