A Guide to Planning Accessible Meetings

Presentation Materials / Slides and Video

Provide guidance for presenters well in advance of your event (also see the section entitled Tips for Presenters).

Slides: These guidelines for PowerPoint or other projected presentation materials are from the Training and Advocacy Support Center (TASC)(link is external), a division of the National Disability Rights Network:

• Use a sans serif font (e.g., Arial)

• Use a large font size -- at least 22 point

• Use a dark text font and a light-colored background

• Text on a slide should have nothing behind it (no watermarks or images)

• Provide “alternative text” descriptions for all images, pictures, graphics, tables, etc.

Videos: Videos should be captioned.

YouTube: YouTube Help provides a list of professional captioning vendors, as well as instructions to add subtitles and closed captions to your own video, either manually or automatically. Be sure to review and edit automatically generated captions. A number of common issues, such as poor sound quality, can cause inaccurate captions.

If there is no way to have a video captioned, it is best not to use it. If a video without captions must be used, a sign language interpreter or speech-to-text service provider may be able to convey the audible content. In such cases, give the service provider ample time to watch the video prior to the meeting.

Handouts and printed materials: Printed materials may need to be converted to accessible formats for people who are blind or have low vision. Since it can take up to 30 days to create these accessible formats, make sure you require presenters to send you their materials far enough in advance to make this possible.