Presenter Accessibility Checklist

McGill’s Commitment to Accessibility

The University is committed to a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible experience for all staff, faculty, students, and visitors. When developing presentations, workshops, and other training, all presenters and facilitators are encouraged to review the following information and take the steps necessary to make all programming accessible to their respective audiences.

Presentations with Slides

When using slides, presenters should consider the following:

• Describe images and the content of graphic slides orally during your presentation. Avoid saying, “as you can see on the slides” or “I will let you read it on your own”.

• Limit the information on each slide so it is easily read from the back of the room.

• Have sufficient text descriptions (alt text) of images/figures/visuals for presentations posted online or sent digitally.

• Use of multimedia video should be captioned.

• Use the default font of 44-point bold font for headings.

• Use 32-point font or higher for short, simple bullets.

• Include no more than six lines of text on each slide.

• The outline view should contain all the text.

• Consider contrast: dark font, light background or light font, dark background

• Consider not using color to highlight key words or important text; instead use bold

• Digital formats of documents should be accessible to those using adaptive technology.

• When possible, facilitators are asked to share their slides in an accessible format with participants ahead of time. At the very latest, it is recommended to share the slides after the presentation and participants should be informed of this.

Using Microphones

• Use microphones even when you are in smaller meeting spaces.

• When audience members have questions, and do not have access to a microphone, repeat the question(s) for the audience rather than asking, “Did everyone hear that?”

• Keep your hands away from your mouth for those who use speech reading.

• Be sure to face the audience as much as possible when reading material from presentation slides.

• Remember to speak slowly if there are interpreters or captioners in the room

Handouts

Presenters who bring hard copies of material should provide at least two to three copies of their handouts in an accessible/large print format. Presenters should consider the following:

• Print all text visuals in as large a font size as possible (20- to 24-point).

• Make text and important visuals big enough to be read from the back of the room. This includes graphics on slides, multimedia, posters, and other non-electronic material.

• Use an easy-to-read font face that does not have serifs. The following are options for accessible fonts (all are “sans serif” fonts): Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Tahoma, and Verdana. For reference, an example of a “serif” font is Times New Roman.

• Simplify by using key words, brief and concise phrases or bullets, and avoiding complete sentences.

Activities and Ice Breakers

• Ensure that all participants can participate in activities and consider providing options when designing activities: 

  • Individuals with mobility impairments may have difficulty grasping or holding pens, pencils, crayons, or other materials, as well as difficulty moving around a room stacked with chairs and tables.

  • Individuals with executive functioning or cognitive impairments may need instructions provided to them in multiple formats, as well as extra time to complete activities under timed constraints. Provide clear expectations and instructions, and examples, as well as build in check-ins. Allow opportunities for addressing questions.

  • Be mindful that some participants may be visually impaired or colorblind. As such consider activities that don’t solely rely on vision or the ability to decipher between colors to be able to actively participate. 

  • Similarly, for those with hearing impairments, ensure that instructions are provided in text format, as well as orally (through use of a microphone), and that there are options to participate in the activity through other measures. 

  • As some individuals have difficulty joining groups, provide options for individual participation or support individuals in connecting with other participants.