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Accessible Presentation Toolkit

Speaker/Presenter Information, tips and best practices for successful Whole Community Inclusion Presentation

Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Access & Functional Needs Program last updated September 2024

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Presentation Information

Planning Section (Slides 3-27)

Participants Resources (Slides 28-33)

Speaker’s instructions (Slides 34-40)

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Presentation Information

Planning Section

Planning Your Session

Inclusive Meeting/Conference Practices Sample

General Presentation Expectations
Presentation Format
Presentation Formatting and Best Practices

Graphic Design and Layout Considerations
Slide/PowerPoint Best Practices

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Planning Your Session

Inclusive Conference/Meeting Practices Samples

Practicing inclusion is worth the time it may take, even if it delays other objectives.

Please exist in this space in ways that are most comfortable for you. You can stand up, sit down, lay down, stretch, walk around, leave the room, stim, use your electronics as needed. Feel free to have your video on or off, and to speak as much or as little as you like. Understand that everyone exists in spaces in different ways, and how someone can best engage and listen might look different than how you do.
Participation Best Practices.pdf

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General Presentation Expectations

Presentations shall:

Reflect innovation and “ALL IN = whole community” thinking
Stimulate and provoke discussions
Deliver best practices using different types of learning for people of varied backgrounds and experiences
Present evidence-based material, supported by research
Adult learning styles
Be mindful of language you are using and who may be in your audience e.g. humor, images, and labels

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Planning Your Session

Make sessions interactive, inclusive, and accessible – avoid straight lectures

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Planning Your Session

Encourage attendee interaction

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Planning Your Session

Use practical, actionable applications

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Planning Your Session

Consider live polling tools, breakout groups or simulations

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Planning Your Session

Use of games or quizzes encourage audience participation and engagement

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Presentation Format

Clearly define the presentation format and strategy, especially when using a co-presenter or panel
Find tools to engage the audience

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Presentation Format

Have a moderator for panel discussions
Set times for individual speakers and keep to those times
Time the overall presentation to allow for Q&A

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Presentation Formatting and Best Practices

Graphic Design and Layout Considerations
Slide/PowerPoint Best Practices
How to do ALT text

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Graphic Design and Layout Considerations

Text limited to 50% of the page

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Graphic Design and Layout Considerations

Use Sans Serif for titles and headers

Arial,
Calibri,
Century Gothic,
Tahoma,
Helvetica.

Avoid Serif Fonts (i.e. Times New Roman.)

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Graphic Design and Layout Considerations

Large print minimum 18 point font.

PowerPoint minimum 20 point font

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Graphic Design and Layout Considerations Continued

Emphasizing key points- eliminating unnecessary fillers
30-50 characters per line
Color to create interest and draw attention

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Graphic Design and Layout Considerations Continued

Headings, simple, clear and near their text

The Heading

Subheadings

Bullets
bullets

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Color Contrast

Provide contrast when it comes to text, especially when it is over an image.
You want to make sure that there is light vs. dark contrast.
Use WebAIM to test the color and see if it is passing the accessibility requirements.

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Color Contrast

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Slide/PowerPoint Best Practices

Keep slide number to a minimum; use HALF the number of slides as minutes

40 minute presentation = 20 slides

Paraphrase/describe what is on your slide

Avoid certain language

“as you can all see/read…”

some people may NOT be able to

SEE or READ it.

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Slide/PowerPoint Best Practices

Limit the use animations and transitions, as they are often distracting, or difficult to see.

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Slide/PowerPoint Best Practices cont.

Keep text to a minimum – 6 lines or less.

Use 44-pt font for headings and 32-pt font the body.

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Slide/PowerPoint Best Practices cont.

Describe the content of slides with photographs, graphs or other images.

Add text to images, if the presentation will be viewed digitally.

If video is used, make sure it is captioned.

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Videos: Include Captioning

No matter where posted, videos should contain captioning/ subtitles

Captioning enables deaf or hard of hearing to understand content

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Videos: Open and Closed Captioning

Open Captioning is always visible
Closed captioning can be turned on or off

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How to do ALT text

ALT TEXT: (Example) Infographic of CMIST rings Communication, Maintaining Health, Independence, Support Services, Safety and Transportation

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Presentation Information

2. Participants’ Resources

For ALL sessions (in person & Hybrid)
When Providing Handouts
Recording Sessions

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For ALL Sessions (In Person & Hybrid):

Use the microphone provided
Be sure your microphone is ON
Be sure you can be heard in all parts of the room
Verbally describe any images, icons, visuals on a slide or whiteboard.
Use captioning - Voice Recognition Captioning is on all virtual meeting room technology in multiple languages.

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When Providing Handouts

Make sure handouts are available in multiple formats
Bring a few in large print
For guidance on accessible print material, visit

Accessible Print Materials from Mass.gov

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When Recording Sessions

Sessions may be recorded/live-streamed.
Consider signing an agreement which gives permission to record and use the session in the future.
For recorded/live-streamed sessions:

Use captioning.

Voice Recognition Captioning is available on all virtual meeting room technology in multiple languages.

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Recorded Sessions cont.

Avoid side conversations if your microphone is ON
To avoid audio feedback stand away from projectors or overhead speakers
Understand how movement around the room may impact camera recording, lighting, glare or shadows

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Recorded Sessions cont.

Repeat audience questions so they can be captured in the recording

Audience should use microphone to ask questions
Use “Thank you for your question” vs “That is a really great question”
Acknowledge and engage remote audiences if session is live-streamed

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Presentation Information

3. Speaker’s instructions

Be Prepared!
Upon Arrival to the Venue

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Be Prepared!

Make sure you allow enough time for Questions and Answers
Repeat questions from attendees if a microphone is not being used so that everyone knows what the question is
Bring a backup copy of your presentation on a thumb/flash drive, including any video clips
Load and test your presentation and equipment prior to the session

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Upon Arrival to the Venue

Upon arrival,

Presenters check in at the Speaker Registration Desk with

[POC] or call [PHONE NUMBER].
Get alternative directions/information as necessary

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Slide Set Up Samples

Slides 37-40

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[Conference/meeting title]

[Subtitle information]

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�----GOAL---�[Conference/meeting title] Goal�[Use these or write your own]

Create safer and more resilient Whole Communities by:

Use of Inclusive Planning that has a “Plan-With” approach
Supporting partnership with state and local emergency managers and stakeholders
Finding methods to identify resource needs of individuals with access and functional needs before, during and after disasters

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---OBJECTIVE---�[Conference/meeting title] Objectives�[Use these or write your own]

Attendees of the conference/meeting will increase their knowledge base with presentations that:

Provide current, researched and practical information
Promote learning and skill development for whole community planning
Incorporate CMIST resource principles into emergency planning
Provide potential solutions and strategies that challenge the emergency management life cycle

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