Helping Audience Members with Low Vision Better Engage in a Presentation

Denis Boudreau
6 min readFeb 27
Photo credit — Shutterstock.

As a professional speaker, it’s important to not only convey information to your audience, but also to do this in a way that ensures every audience member feels acknowledged, valued, and cared for. This is especially important when it comes to audience members with low vision, as they may face unique challenges in engaging with a presentation. Providing accommodations for individuals with low vision is a crucial aspect of this, as it demonstrates a genuine commitment to inclusivity and respect for all members of your audience. By acknowledging the needs of those with low vision, you can create an environment where everyone feels welcome and able to fully participate in the presentation or event.

In this post, we’ll explore several strategies that you can use to help audience members with low vision better engage with you and your content. From reserving front-row seats and using high-contrast colours, to providing written materials and more readable fonts, there are many ways to ensure that all members of your audience can participate and benefit from your presentation. After all, what are inclusion and access about, if not equal opportunities for all? Let’s explore five such ideas you can implement to create a more inclusive and engaging experience for audience members who are visually impaired.

5 Tips for helping audience members with low vision better engage

In this section, we’ll explore five specific strategies you can use to help audience members with low vision better engage in your presentations. From offering accommodations in advance to encouraging questions, these tips will help you create a more inclusive environment that allows all members of your audience to engage with your content.

01. Proactively ask for accommodations: The first step in making your presentation accessible to audience members with low vision is to begin by asking them what accommodations they might need. This could include providing printed materials with a larger font size, a digital format that can be magnified, or describing any visual aids as they are brought up. By asking in advance, you can ensure that the necessary accommodations are in place and that your audience members with low vision have…

Denis Boudreau

Founder - InklusivComm. Director of training - Deque Systems. National Director, DEI & Marketing - CAPS. Speaker. CPWA. #antiracist #antifascist #BLM