Creating accessible presentations ensures that everyone, regardless of ability, can understand and engage with your content. This guide outlines essential best practices for making your PowerPoint presentations accessible, covering everything from visual elements to content structure.
Understanding Accessibility in Presentations
Accessibility in presentations means designing your content so that people with disabilities, including visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments, can perceive, understand, and interact with it. This involves more than just visual design; it encompasses the logical structure, alternative text for visuals, and clear navigation.
Why Accessibility Matters
- Inclusivity: Ensures all audience members can access your information.
- Legal Compliance: Many regions have legal requirements for digital accessibility.
- Enhanced User Experience: Accessible design often leads to clearer, more understandable content for everyone.
- Wider Reach: Makes your content accessible to a broader audience.
Key Accessibility Best Practices
The following are crucial steps to take when creating your PowerPoint presentations:
1. Alternative Text for Visuals
All visuals, including images, SmartArt graphics, shapes, charts, and videos, must have descriptive alternative text (alt text). Alt text is read aloud by screen readers, allowing visually impaired users to understand the content and purpose of the visual element.
- How to find missing alt text: Use the Accessibility Checker.
- Why fix it: Alt text helps people who cannot see the screen understand important visual information.
- How to fix it: Add alt text to visuals.
Tips for effective alt text:
- Be concise and descriptive.
- Convey the content and purpose of the image.
- Avoid phrases like “image of” or “graphic of.”
- For complex visuals like charts, summarize the key takeaway.
- PowerPoint can auto-generate alt text for some images, but always review and edit for accuracy.
2. Logical Reading Order
Ensure that the content on your slides can be read in the intended order by screen readers. The reading order typically follows the order in which objects were added to the slide.
- How to find reading order issues: Use the Accessibility Checker or test navigation with a screen reader.
- Why fix it: A logical reading order is crucial for screen reader users to comprehend the slide’s information sequentially.
- How to fix it: Set the reading order of slide contents and Use built-in slide designs for inclusive reading order, colors, and more.
3. Meaningful Hyperlink Text
Hyperlinks should be descriptive and make sense when read out of context by a screen reader. Avoid generic phrases like “Click here” or “Learn more.”
- How to find issues: Visually scan slides for standalone hyperlink text.
- Why fix it: Users scanning a list of links need to understand the destination without reading the surrounding text.
- How to fix it: Create accessible hyperlink text and add ScreenTips. Consider adding ScreenTips for additional context.
4. Color Contrast and Usage
Color should not be the sole means of conveying information. Ensure sufficient contrast between text and background colors.
- How to find issues: Use the Accessibility Checker or test by applying grayscale.
- Why fix it: People with low vision or color blindness may miss information conveyed solely through color.
- How to fix it: Use an accessible presentation template and Use accessible font color. Aim for high contrast between text and background.
5. Unique Slide Titles
Each slide should have a unique and descriptive title. This helps users, especially those using screen readers, navigate and identify slides easily.
- How to find issues: Use the Accessibility Checker.
- Why fix it: Slide titles aid navigation for users who rely on screen readers or skim through presentations.
- How to fix it: Give every slide a title. You can also choose to hide a slide title if space is limited, while still maintaining accessibility: Hide a slide title.
6. Accessible Tables
If you must use tables, keep their structure simple and specify header information.
- How to find issues: Use the Accessibility Checker to check for split, merged, or nested cells.
- Why fix it: Screen readers use header information to identify rows and columns, making tables understandable. Complex table structures can confuse screen readers.
- How to fix it: Avoid using tables if possible. If used, Use table headers and ensure a simple, flat structure.
7. Font Choice and Size
Use readable fonts and maintain a sufficient font size.
- How to find issues: Visually inspect slides for illegible text or crowded layouts.
- Why fix it: Large, clear fonts and adequate white space improve readability for people with visual impairments or dyslexia.
- How to fix it: Use larger font sizes (18pt or larger), sans-serif fonts (like Arial or Calibri), and avoid excessive italics or all-caps text. Use accessible font format and color.
8. Accessible Videos
Ensure videos are accessible by including captions, subtitles, or alternative audio tracks.
- How to find issues: Check if videos have embedded captions or subtitles.
- Why fix it: Captions and subtitles benefit users who are deaf or hard of hearing, while video descriptions help users who are blind or have low vision.
- How to fix it: Use captions, subtitles, and alternative audio tracks in videos. Ensure captions are encoded or embedded correctly.
9. Save in Accessible Formats
Consider saving your presentation in alternative formats that are accessible to a wider range of assistive technologies.
- How to find issues: N/A
- Why fix it: Different formats can be better suited for screen readers or Braille readers.
- How to fix it: Before converting, run the Accessibility Checker and fix any reported issues. Then, Save your presentation in a different format, such as PDF with accessibility tags.
Checking and Testing Accessibility
Use the Accessibility Checker
The built-in Accessibility Checker in PowerPoint automatically scans your presentation for potential accessibility issues and provides suggestions for correction.
- How to use: Go to the Review tab and select Check Accessibility. The Accessibility pane will open, listing issues and offering solutions.
Test with a Screen Reader
For a true test of your presentation’s accessibility, navigate it using a screen reader. Narrator is included with Windows and can be activated by pressing Ctrl + Windows logo key + Enter.
- How to test:
- Start Narrator.
- Press
F6until the focus is on the slide content. - Use the
Tabkey to navigate through elements and check the reading order. - Press
EscorF6to move focus away from the slide content. - Exit Narrator by pressing
Ctrl + Windows logo key + Enter.
Conclusion
By implementing these best practices, you can create PowerPoint presentations that are inclusive and accessible to all. Regularly using the Accessibility Checker and testing with a screen reader will help ensure your content is understandable and engaging for every member of your audience. Start making your presentations accessible today!