How to Make Presentations Accessible for All Clients

What would you do if your audience couldn't see you or your slides? This past weekend, I had the honor to work with the Florida Business Enterprise Program (BEP), The mission of the BEP is to provide people who are legally blind with rewarding and profitable entrepreneurial ventures, broaden their economic opportunities, and invigorate all blind people to be self-supporting, while dispelling misconceptions about blind people by showcasing their abilities. The BEP administers one of the largest vending and food service programs operated by people who are legally blind in the United States. The BEP prides itself in allowing visually impaired entrepreneurs independence in their day-to-day operations, while at the same time providing continual support through professional business consultants and educational workshops. I was invited to speak because one of their members heard me speak at their National Conference. As a professional speaker I pride myself in making all of my programs an engaging interactive learning experience. Here are few ways I work to make my programs impactful for people with a visual impairment: 1. Paint pictures with your words. Slow down and be very descriptive during your presentation. Let people hear the images you want them to "see." Let people know where you are in the room or where people are who ask questions. Describe in detail what you look like or how you are moving. The people you work with appreciate when you make time to "set the table" before you "serve the meal." 2. Make content accessible before you step on stage. Provide notes or slides in screen-reader friendly formats so everyone can fully participate. 3. Prioritize clarity over flash. Meet with the organization ahead of time to understand participants wants and needs. This will help you establish clear structure, strong pacing, and intentional pauses. 4. Connect through voice and presence. Your tone, energy, and authenticity become your “visuals.” People feel your passion before they see your slides. This experience reminded me: when you strip away distractions, the heart of speaking is human connection. And that’s something everyone can see. 5. Let them participate. Your program can't be engaging if you don't allow the audience to engage. I made time for attendees to share their experiences with me, so I could understand what it was like to be a visually impaired or blind business owner. Participation leads to understanding and as attendees shared with me...a program that isn't boring. Bonus - Be sure to add alt text to all images you post on social media and your website. This allows for people who lack vision to "see" your photograph or image because you can describe the image to them. Thank you Deia Starr Rank and Speaker Exchange for making my experience possible. #keynotespeaker #speakingtips #publicspeakingadvice #workingwiththeblind #mindset

You don’t need an overhaul. You don’t need a task force. Just start. Here’s how to get started today… 1. Fix Your Deck Take 15 seconds and add alt text to each image. Describe what’s important, that’s it. “Person smiling.” that’s weird. And not that helpful or contextual. Colleague laughing during a team meeting with a coffee mug in hand.” That’s way, way better. Alt text not your thing? Build your deck to make sense without images. AccessAbility Pro Tip. Check your contrast. Black text on a grayish background is less edgy and more exclusionary. 2. Stop Breaking PDFs Before sending PDFs you drafted into the wild… Make sure they’re accessible. Can you highlight the text? Can a screen reader navigate it without crying? Go ahead. I dare you. I double dog dare you! Control + Alt + Enter key turns on Narrator for Windows machines. See how long it takes you to read that pdf… Before you start crying… BTW… Accessibility checkers in Adobe Pro don’t catch all violations. Not even close. Digital equity is about meeting people where they are, online! Ask yourself. Is this content better on the world wide web or within the enterprise grip of Adobe? 3. Create Links That Don’t Suck You know what’s cool? A website with a bunch of repeated links… Click here, Click here, Click here, and  Read more, Read more, Read more… #Riveting Why not… Just tell people where the link is taking them? Download our accessibility checklist Register for the webinar Watch Tanner spill coffee during a live presentation 4. Lose Your Mouse Ever lost your mouse? Let’s pretend. Try navigating your website or app only using your keyboard. Keep tabbing like your life depends on it. If you can’t get to the end without rage-quitting, guess what? Neither can someone using a screen reader. 5. Caption Everything Videos… Zoom meetings… Instagram Reels… Everything. Auto-captions are okay, but don’t trust them. What’s the point of putting them there if your beautiful voice can’t clearly be read? You don’t want your big point to get missed in the dust cloud of automation… That’s the point of accurate captions. You don’t need to be perfect… You just need to start. So start. People you include will notice… And so will everyone else. #ThingsTannerSays #Daily #Journaling #Accessibility #A11yTips #Inclusion #JustDoIt

What Does "Embedding Accessibility" Really Mean? Embedding accessibility into your environment, such as an event, presentation, or product, means proactively designing features that increase access for a larger group of people. It not only reduces the need for specialized accommodation requests but also improves the experience for everyone. Let’s break it down with a few examples: 💬 #Captions: By embedding captions into all your content (keynotes, breakout sessions, etc.), you’re supporting individuals with all stages of hearing loss. But captions also benefit attendees who process information visually, those in noisy environments, or even individuals for whom English is a second language. It’s a win for clarity and comprehension. 👀 #Visual #Descriptions: When you describe what’s on your slides during a presentation, you’re making your content accessible to people who are blind or have low vision. At the same time, you’re helping people who may be multitasking, like glancing at their phones or listening in while on the go. Here’s the big picture: While accessibility features are designed with people with disabilities in mind, they often have a ripple effect, benefiting a much wider audience. This is called the curb-cut effect (or "universal design effect"). Curb cuts, for instance, were created for wheelchair users but are now invaluable for parents with strollers, travelers with luggage, and even cyclists. When you prioritize universal design, you’re making your environment more accessible and enhancing the experience for everyone. Increased participation, better engagement, and glowing feedback is the power of accessibility done right. 🫶 #Accessibility #UniversalDesign #AccessForAll

Accessibility should be seen as necessary, mandatory, and crucial. Here are 8 tips for Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). Before I dive into these simple tips, let’s quickly learn about GAAD. The main purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking, and learning about digital access and inclusion, and the 1 Billion+ people with disabilities. GAAD is celebrated annually on the third Thursday of May, so this year it's on May 15th (today!). A disabled person should be able to experience the internet, apps, social media, and all digital spaces like anyone else, but unfortunately, many websites and digital spaces are still inaccessible. So here are 8 easy tips for digital accessibility: 1. Color Contrast Accessible content generally has high contrast between the background and text colors, which makes it easier to read. For example, using a black background with white text will be accessible for most people. There are exceptions to this guidance as those with colorblindness and conditions like Irlen Syndrome may have other needs. 2. Closed Captions When hosting virtual meetings, always provide closed captions. Also, provide captions for content that you produce online. Please provide fully accurate captions instead of relying on automatically-generated ones. 3. Image Descriptions (IDs) Write IDs to help blind and low vision people learn what an image looks like. This is especially important when an image conveys information, such as an event flyer. You can add IDs within a post or in the comments. 4. Audio Description (AD) Audio description is helpful for those with vision disabilities. AD describes visual content in enough detail so that people don't miss out on information. Include AD in videos and verbally describe images in presentations. 5. Transcripts Transcripts are wonderful for business because they allow you to improve your SEO rankings since your audio or video content has been turned into words. Transcripts also help make content accessible for the D/deaf and hard of hearing, those with other disabilities, and more. 6. Label Buttons Unlabeled buttons on apps and websites create access issues. This is very important for screen reader users. Each user needs to be able to easily determine what a button does and also find the buttons. 7. Pascal Case Hashtags Capitalize each word within a hashtag to ensure a screen reader can understand it. Example: #DisabilityAwareness 8. Include Diverse Images Many times, disabled people don't see themselves represented in the world. This is especially true for disabled people of color. Use diverse images in media representation, advertisements, images on social media, and more. Did you know about Global Accessibility Awareness Day? Will you use these tips? cc: GAAD (Global Accessibility Awareness Day) Foundation PS: For more accessibility tips, check out my free accessibility ebook (linked at the top of my profile)! #Accessibility #GAAD