Accessibility.

Ever considered your content being a problem for people who have disabilities? Also bear in mind that speakers might have accessibility requirements too. Did you know Powerpoint has an Accessibility Checker which verifies your file against a set of rules that identify possible issues for people who have disabilities?

Rather than just making your slides styled to suit your brand guidelines I’ve also been using the accessibility checker for a recent project to ensure alt text, slide titles and reading orders are set.

Accessible PowerPoint documents will:

• make your presentations smaller and faster to upload/download

• ensure the audience engage more with the presentation and gain the most information

• make your presentations easier to convert into alternative formats and retain readability

• reduce the time required to convert existing presentations into specific accessible formats

The way slides look is also very important to their accessibility:

• Use standard slide layouts and check order of information to ensure accessibility for those reading slides using screen readers

• Ensure writing is in a dark font and that the background is light enough to provide clear contrast. A cream background is often more accessible than pure white because of glare. Avoid backgrounds which are overly complicated with graphics

• Use a sans serif typeface (Arial is best) and a readable font size

• Bullet points assist in making slides easier to follow

• Avoid adding text boxes