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Learn how to create accessible and engaging presentations with tips on design, fonts, alt text, and color contrast. Meet Kristina England, a digital accessibility expert.
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Meet the Presenter • Kristina England is the Digital Accessibility Coordinator for the UMass President’s Office. • She is a proud aunt, photographer, and adventurer. • She was born in central Massachusetts so she drops r’s and g’s. • Her mother is a retired teaching assistant, clean freak, dedicated wife of 40 years, and was born with low vision. 2
Agenda • The Nuts and Bolts: Making PowerPoint Accessible • Pre-Presentation Activities • Speaking Out Loud: What to Consider • Questions
Use the plain language guidelines • Do not assume your audience knows acronyms (WCAG, ADA, etc.). • Avoid fancy, overcomplicated words. • Keep content short and to the point. • Left align – please and thank you. • Write like you speak. It’s completely acceptable to use don’t, won’t, can’t. • See full guidelines for more information. Only Mary Poppins can get away with complex words, because she’s practically perfect in every way.
Consider all learning modes • Remember there are three types of learning modes – auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. • Include images throughout your presentation that help convey the meaning of your content. • Don’t forget to get hands on, when applicable, for your kinesthetic learners.
Provide a clear structure • Provide an agenda up front. • Use a consistent layout for your slides. • Use built-in bullets and numbering to create lists. • Provide unique slide names. • Provide clear section breaks for visible transitions.
Use readable fonts • Ensure the font size is large enough to read (standard font size for emails and documents is 12 pt, while it is 24 pt for a PowerPoint presentation. • Use a font that is inclusive to all, including people who have dyslexia – stick to sans serifs such as Arial, Myriad Pro, and Verdana. • Emphasize text when you want to have important content standout – don’t overdo it though.
Say “no” to Gifs and Animations • If you are thinking of using a flashing, dancing Gif, think again. • Flashing content can cause seizures, migraines, and dizziness. • PowerPoint animations, though fun to use for slide in content, actually will cause issues for assistive technology. • Funny cartoons are totally acceptable – in small doses!
Use alternative text for images • Select the Image > Picture Format tab > Alt Text. • Describe what is happening. • Keep the alt text short and succinct. • If you already have a caption that describes what’s happening in the image, set the alt text to decorative • If the image serves no purpose other than to break up content, set to decorative as well. Example of well written alt text: Star of the show, Adam Lee, looking strained outside in the rain. Source: AxessLab
Provide concise descriptions for graphs • Example description (provided above the graph): • UMass conducts 17 percent of all research in Massachusetts, with research funding now approaching the $700 million mark, a testament to the university's stature as a world-class institution. • Provides the key information a person would want to get out of the graph.
Use descriptive links • Just like sighted users scan the page for linked text, users who utilize screen readers can use screen readers to scan for links. • Imagine closing your eyes and listening to every link on the page without the content around them. All of the links say “click here” or “go here.” Not that informative, right? • Always provide a descriptive link that matches the location the user is being sent. For example, “UMass Accessibility Conference.” • Make sure the link is visually indicated as well – links should always be underlined (avoid underlining other content on the page).
Use sufficient color contrast and other ways to deliver meaning • If you have a graph where all of the colors are the same contrast, someone who is color blind will be unable to distinguish between those colors. • In addition, if you have a dark background and a dark font, someone who is color blind or low vision may not be able to read the text on the slide. • Tips for meeting color contrast guidelines: • Ensure that color contrast meets the 4:5:1 rule. You can check if two colors have enough contrast by running either WebAim’s Checker or the Paciello Group’s Colour Contrast Analyser. You can also switch your computer display to grayscale as a good gut check. • Use other ways to convey meaning – select two different pattern schemes for a graph, or use an exclamation mark for a warning and a checkmark for a pass. You do not need to avoid color – you just need to think more broadly about your audience’s needs.
Give Your Presentation a Clear File Title • This is done in two places! • When you “Save As,” provide a clean title without an underscores. • Then, go to File > Properties and provide the same title in the “Title” field. This title will be used by assistive technology and search engines.
Confirm the Reading Order of Your Slides • On the Home tab, navigate to the Arrange menu option and select the Selection Pane option from the Arrange dropdown. • The Selection Pane will open. Confirm each slide has the content reading in the appropriate order. • Here’s the fun part, you’ll want the first item at the bottom of the Selection Pane and the last item at the top. • Give the Selection Pane items descriptive names.
Double check the accessibility of your PowerPoint • Run spell check – this is a good practice in general but spelling especially matters for assistive technology, such as text to speech and screen readers! • Run the Microsoft Accessibility Checker (Review tab > Check Accessibility). • Tab through your slides. Tabbing order should follow the order you selected when arranging your slides.
Post Your Slides Ahead of Time • Provide your presentation ahead of time so: • Any participants who need to print the presentation or follow along can do so. • If you have a Communication Access Real Time (CART) provider for live captioning, the CART interpreter will need the presentation ahead of time for preparation.
Caption or transcribe any supplemental media • If you are using a video or an audio clip at any point in your presentation, ensure you have the video captioned and transcribed or the audio clip transcribed. • If the video has captions already, confirm the captions are accurate!
Consider the accessibility of any built-in activities • If you have any collaborative activities for the session, remember to confirm that those activities are inclusively designed, such as (but not limited to): • Written exercises • Group activities • Live polling
Provide presentation guidelines up front • Take two minutes in the beginning to let people know: • When and how to ask questions. • To silence their phones. • To respect each other’s opinions and not to speak over each other. • Whether there will be live captioning or a recording of the session. • Any pertinent facilities information, such as the wireless password or the location of bathrooms.
Use the Microphone • Use the presenter microphone and pass around a microphone for audience questions. • If there is not a dedicated audience microphone, make sure to repeat audience questions. • This will improve: • Audio quality for in-person attendees and remote participants. • Live captioning accuracy. • Audio quality of session recordings.
Describe images, complex graphs, and other visuals out loud • Describe images and graphs to the extent needed to understand the presentation. • You do not need to describe decorative images. • Describe actions happening in the room – if you ask folks to raise their hand as part of an exercise, tell the audience “about 70% of the group raised their hand.”
Give people time to process information • Give people time to read the slides and pause between topics. • Give people time to think about the questions they might have – giving them a minute between topics doesn’t give everyone enough time to process questions.
