Baldwin Audio/Visual Solutions’ language and accessibility options and on-site facilities make it easy to incorporate technologies and tools that enliven your virtual event to be more inclusive. That said, there are many ways to help make your virtual events accessible to everyone. We’ve decided to put together some tips on how you can make your online events more accessible at the planning stage, during the event, as well as afterward — here they are!
Planning for an accessible virtual event:
When in the planning stages of your virtual event, it’s important to include an accommodation statement in the invitation or any of the available material (in different languages when possible). As an extension of this understanding, you’ll also want to offer different format options for participants to join and interact in the event so they can choose their best-suited one. For any materials or content that will be presented or disseminated, try to follow Inclusive Design Principles as much as possible. You’ll also want to factor in sensory accessibility considerations surrounding the volume of videos for example and making sure to plan in break times.
Helpful Hint: Have an accessibility point person who acts as the go-to contact for any related issues as it’s easier for someone with this type of need to reach out to an individual than a generic and anonymous info@emailaddress.
Accommodations during the live event:
We mentioned it during the planning stage but make sure to build in break times to your event’s agenda. Even within dedicated presentation or workshop time blocks, make sure to give enough time for processing, clarifications, and asking questions. Try to have your presenters use concise language, avoid jargon, and be patient in repeating information if and when necessary. These actions allow translators and interpreters to provide better context, descriptions, and more effective communication ultimately. When it comes to interactive parts of your virtual event, ask people to say their name so this can be captured and communicated. You can also offer the option for participants using chat to have their messages read aloud if they’d prefer.
After your virtual event has finished:
Just like with any virtual conference, meeting, or webcast, you’ll want to share the relevant materials from your event for download, sharing, etc. The only additional element here is that you want the materials to be available in more accessible formats. You’ll also want to offer attendees the opportunity to provide feedback on your event — make sure to include accessibility as part of this engagement. The insights you gather from this feedback effort will improve your future virtual events and help make accessibility a continuing and comprehensive conversation.
In addition to the technology and tools for better accessibility, we all need to start from a place of empathy for varying experiences to make virtual events as inclusive and successful as possible. Contact Baldwin Audio/Visual Solutions today to discuss your event’s accessibility needs and the virtual solutions we can provide you with!