Describe Important Visuals
Verbalizing aloud what can be seen in slides, videos, and on whiteboards is a foundational accessibility practice to use in presentations, meetings, and when creating videos. Describing your visual content improves access for people who are blind, low vision, or have reading disabilities. In today’s world of virtual meetings and classrooms, there are even more applications for this practice. Participants in Zoom meetings may not be able to see your visual presentation materials because they are joining the meeting by phone, have a poor internet connection, or are using a device with a small screen. By describing visual content, you're helping to make sure your entire audience can understand the content of your presentation.
How Do You Describe Your Visuals?
- Summarize any text that can be read in your slides or presentation materials. It’s usually not necessary to read it all word-for-word, but make sure all important information is conveyed.
- Give special attention to verbalizing written instructions, contact information, and links to resources. Make sure to spell out any links for which the URL is written out.
- Describe images, diagrams, and graphs.
- Focus on describing important aspects of the image that communicate meaningful content. Avoid providing extraneous detail. For example, you don't need to spend 10 minutes describing every color and style of line used in a diagram; instead, focus on summarizing the process and relationships that the diagram represents.
- For graphs, make sure to also describe the axes labels and any relevant trends or specific data points of interest.
- If you respond verbally to a question or comment in a chat window, read the question or comment aloud before answering.
- Mention any important environmental contexts or actions that are taking place in the room or Zoom session so that all attendees can follow along with the conversation or presentation. For example, if you ask attendees to respond to a question by raising their hands, describe verbally how many people raised their hands.
- Ask all speakers to introduce themselves when they start speaking.
When Should You Verbalize Your Visual Content?
All the time! Assume that there is always someone in your audience who cannot follow along with the visuals in your presentation, regardless of whether you are presenting online or in person. Verbalizing what can be seen is an art, not a science, and it takes practice. Be patient with yourself and others as you develop this new skill.
November Challenges
- The next time you are sitting in a class or meeting, try (discreetly!) closing your eyes. Can you follow what is happening?
- The next time you prepare to give a presentation, try giving your presentation to a friend or family member without showing them the slides. Can they understand all the content without seeing the visuals?
Learn More
For more information on this topic, check out our guide to Providing Spoken Descriptions of Visual Content.