Presenter Toolkit: Slide Design

The following is an excerpt from the Presenter Toolkit: Creating and Facilitating an Accessible Presentation by Rebecca Shortt. The Presenter Toolkit was created to support presenters in creating accessible and inclusive online and in-person presentations.

Inclusive Design Webinar Series Part 2: Presentations. This webinar on inclusive presentation provides more detailed information about the design of your slides and presentation.

Put your slide title in the heading placeholder on your slide, not in a textbox or a general text placeholder.
Every slide in your presentation should have a unique title that describes what is on the slide.
These steps help people find content quickly and individuals using screen readers navigate through a presentation easily.
For more, view 7:00-8:00 in the Inclusive Design Webinar Series video.

Slide layouts use placeholders for different content types (headings, images, and text). This supports people using screen readers and ensures slide content is read in the correct order.
Avoid using text boxes, as they are not accessible for people using screen readers.
If in PowerPoint, use the Slide Master to customize the slide layout.
For more, view 5:00-7:00 in the Inclusive Design Webinar Series video.

Use large (at least 24 point), simple, sans serif fonts (e.g., Arial, Verdana, Helvetica), which can be easily read by most individuals from the back of a large room.

Use high-contrast colours that have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1. Use a contrast checker to see if the colours meet the minimum contrast ratio.
Information should not be conveyed by colour alone. For example, avoid saying “the red bar shows sales have increased.” Instead, refer to where the information is located: “the far left bar shows sales have increased.”
Excerpt from the BCcampus Accessibility Toolkit: Colour Contrast

Alt text is descriptive text that conveys the meaning and context of a visual item, such as an image, a graph, or a chart.
A screen reader will read alt text it encounters aloud, allowing people to better understand what is on the screen if they cannot see it.
Alt text should be short, concise, less than two sentences, and reflect what is important about the image, such as symbolic or metaphorical importance.
Video: Adding Alt Text to Images in PowerPoint
Everything you need to know to write effective alt text
Beginner’s Guide to Alt Text

Captions are text versions of the spoken word presented within multimedia.
Captions are useful to those who cannot hear the audio and people who are not fluent in the language of the audio.
Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions
Captioning Your Own Video for Free

Avoid unnecessary animations and flashy slide transitions.
Animations or effects should be slow enough that you can describe what is happening to participants.
10 Simple PowerPoint Animation Tips and Tricks

Upload your presentation to the event platform one week before your presentation.
If possible, upload multiple formats of your presentation (PowerPoint, an HTML file with speaking notes, or a PDF).
You can share your Google Slides presentation in HTML view using the shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Shift + P (Windows or Chrome OS) or ⌘ + Option + Shift + P (Mac). This is helpful for people using screen readers.

Here are some more resources to help create an accessible and inclusive presentation:

The featured image for this post (viewable in the BCcampus News section at the bottom of our homepage) is by Luis Quintero from Pexels

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