Section 3: Inclusive communication – Reviewing and developing your communications

How to develop an inclusive communications policy

An organisation’s policies are the framework upon which corporate culture and best practice are based. When it comes to communications, many organisations rely mainly on their brand guidelines to set out how customers, service-users or employees are engaged and kept up to date on the latest products, services, campaigns and events.

The strong business case for making your communications more inclusive means that many organisations are looking to go beyond their brand guidelines and develop a more comprehensive inclusive communications policy.

If you have recently conducted a review of your communications, you will have identified what changes will make your organisation’s communications more inclusive to disabled people. Having documented those changes, you are now in a strong position to set out what inclusive communication looks like for your organisation.

Communicating more inclusively means you will routinely anticipate and remove the barriers disabled people can experience and you will minimise the need for delivering alternative formats.

By developing and implementing an inclusive communications policy you are demonstrating your organisation’s commitment to becoming more disability inclusive.

About this resource

This resource is for:

• Anyone responsible for setting or implementing organisational policy
• Communication, marketing and digital teams.
• Designers
• Those responsible for commissioning external creative agencies
• Those responsible for organisational development.

You may also find it useful to share this resource with your:

• HR teams
• IT teams
• Customer service teams
• Members of your disability network
• Senior disability champions

This resource provides step-by-step advice on how to create and implement an inclusive communications policy.

Getting started

Organisations usually have their own processes for developing new policies, so a good starting point is to check with the team that leads on this to discuss your plans for a new policy. You also need to find out at what level your new policy needs to be approved and who should be involved, this could include your HR, IT or Organisational Development colleagues.

Next, identify who in your wider communications team will participate in the policy development and include any teams, departments or agencies you work with that support the delivery of your organisation’s communications. This could include your designers, digital or creative agencies, and your colleagues in marketing, internal communications or customer service.

If you have a disabled employee network or a disabled customer or service-user group, it is a good idea to get them involved in the inclusive communications policy development from the beginning, as their experiences and feedback on your communications will be invaluable.

What to include in your policy

Your inclusive communications policy should cover all of the organisation’s communications, with specific reference to:

• Brand identity and values
• Inclusive language guidance
• Use of imagery
• Content including video and audio
• Social media channels
• Marketing communications
• Website and digital apps
• Use of email
• Intranet and internal communications
• Producing documents such as reports and presentations
• Face-to-face meetings and events
• Providing alternative formats and making reasonable adjustments
• Organisation or industry specific information, guidelines or regulations

A step by step approach

Developing and embedding a new area of policy can be daunting. It is a good idea to take a step-by-step approach, ensuring you are getting the right information, input, feedback and buy-in from colleagues along the way.

With the input from your policy team, create a project plan and timeline, to include the following seven steps.

Step one: Reviewing your communications

Conducting a review of your communications will highlight your organisation’s areas of strength and weakness and will identify any barriers that disabled people might encounter in your communications.

A review will help you plan how to improve your communications, document areas of good practice, and identify what needs to be changed to become more inclusive.

Go to our resource ‘Reviewing your communications’ (below) for help with step one. We have also created a resource on ‘How to review your brand guidelines’ (below).

Step two: Existing policies and guidelines

Communications is a broad field with many related disciplines. There may be some existing policies or guidelines that cover or overlap with certain aspects of communications, for example brand guidelines, social media usage, website accessibility statements, plain English policies or codes of conducts at events.

Developing a new policy on inclusive communications is a good opportunity to review and align all relevant policies, or to bring them under one roof.

Step three: Leadership support

Getting leadership support on a new area of policy development is an important step to getting the policy approved and embedded across your organisation.

Your organisation may have a senior disability champion or sponsor. This person is well-placed to support the development of a new disability inclusion policy. Depending on the hierarchy and structure of your organisation, and how your policy approval process works, you may need to canvas other senior leaders for support.

Sharing the results and recommendations from your inclusive communications review will help to build the case for the new policy.

Step four: Getting to know your audience

Get to know and understand what specific communications needs and requirements your audience has, as this is an essential part of developing an informed inclusive communications policy that you can actually deliver.

Surveying customers and employees is something many organisations do routinely. If you are not currently capturing data on communications needs and preferences as part of these surveys, you should introduce this as soon as possible.

Employee and customer communications data creates a strong evidence base for the need to change how you communicate and to develop and implement an inclusive communications policy. It will also help you to measure the impact your new policy is having further down the line as you can include satisfaction elements to future surveys.

Step five: Writing your inclusive communications policy

Your inclusive communications policy should cover all of your organisation’s communications (see the list at the start of this resource for suggestions on what to include). While writing the inclusive communications policy it is important to build in plenty of time for your colleagues and stakeholders to review and feedback on drafts.

Your organisation is on a journey to becoming more inclusive and your policy needs to be able to reflect that. The input and feedback from your disabled employee network, customers and stakeholders is a vital for producing a successful inclusive communications policy.

Step six: Launching your policy

Think carefully about how you are going to launch your new inclusive communications policy internally and externally, on which channels – and in what formats it is going to be available.

As communications professionals, your team is well placed to develop a compelling launch campaign for your new policy. The more engaging the roll out, the quicker the policy will be embraced and adopted by your employees and customers.

Some ideas include using key calendar events such as Global Accessibility Awareness Day or International Day of Persons with Disabilities and bringing inclusive communications to life with employee and customer stories.

Take inspiration from what some major brands have been doing to make their consumer advertising more inclusive, why not make your next big product launch the vehicle for showcasing how to communicate more inclusively?

Step seven: Measurement and evaluation

Having successfully launched the policy does not mean that the work stops there! You need to use your internal measurement and evaluation tools to monitor the impact the policy is having, look for any key indicators that the policy is having a positive impact – and address any areas of concern.

Your measurement and evaluation data will help to inform future investment in new communications tools and campaigns or training and, will put your organisation in the best position to keep the policy active and up to date.

Delivering more inclusive communications

Depending on the size of your communications team and who was or wasn’t involved with the development of the policy, you may need to roll out some inclusive communications training sessions and workshops on how to deliver inclusive communications products, tools and campaigns for your organisation’s employees and customers.

Once you are up and running, consider showcasing and sharing positive case studies with your employees, customers and industry peers. Everyone benefits when your communications are more inclusive.

Reviewing your brand guidelines

Your brand needs to represent the people you employ, the customers you serve and the communities you are based in, this includes disabled people. Known by a variety of terms, such as ‘brand book’, ‘brand identity’ your ‘brand guidelines’ usually include instructions on everything from your logo, strapline and use of language, fonts and imagery. Some brand guidelines are longer and more complicated than others – but they all set out how an organisation or brand wishes to be seen.

If you want to be a brand that actively represents and includes disabled people, it is important that your brand guidelines are inclusive – in terms of their content and format. Reviewing your existing guidelines will help you to understand which elements of your brand may be unintentionally excluding disabled people from engaging with your organisation.

About this resource

This resource is for:

• Communication, marketing and digital teams.
• Designers
• Those responsible for commissioning external creative agencies

You may also find it useful to share this resource with your:

• Customer service teams
• Members of your disability network or customer groups
• Senior disability champions

In this resource, you will find advice on how to review your brand guidelines to make sure they work for disabled people. There is information on the common barriers that people with different disabilities experience. There is also a brand review checklist to help you think about the accessibility of the different elements of your brand.

Getting started

Plan your brand guidelines review with your communications team and include any teams, departments or agencies you work with that support the delivery of your organisation’s communications. This could include your designers, digital or creative agencies, and your colleagues in marketing, internal communications or customer service.

If you have a disabled employee network or a disabled customer or service-user group, it is a good idea to get them involved in the review as their experiences and feedback on your brand will be invaluable.

The next step is to decide the scope and timing of the review. You may want to focus on your customer brand and employer brand separately (if you differentiate between them), although, a comprehensive review will provide a clearer picture of what needs to change for your brand to become more inclusive. Timing your review to coincide with a brand refresh will mean you can implement any changes that the review highlights.

What to look for

The purpose of the brand guidelines review is to help you to look for any barriers that disabled people might experience in engaging with your organisation.

It is important to include disabled people’s experiences of your brand in the review. You can ask your disabled employee network or customer group if you have one, or you can look to set up a review group with the support of a specialist organisation.

Common barriers in brands

Here are some of the common barriers that people with different disabilities may experience when engaging with your brand.

Blind, partially sighted or sight loss

Logo and straplines, print publications such as magazines, flyers and reports, inaccessible websites, use of images, PowerPoint presentations, PDF documents, colour contrast, colour palette, posters, displays, banner stands, videos without audio commentary.

D/deaf/hearing loss

Face-to-face communications such as speeches, presentations, awards ceremonies, announcements via loudspeakers and coaching sessions, videos without captioning or British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation, musical accompaniment (events, ceremonies on videos) and podcasts.

Learning disability

Complex use of language, data visualisation, layout of websites and documents, colour contrast, use of images, lengthy communications.

Mobility and physical disabilities

Website layout and accessibility (for example, too many clicks), positioning of signage, posters and flyers, weight of printed publications, face-to-face meetings or events.

Mental health condition

Layout, use of colour, tone and style of language, frequency of communications.

Colour blindness

Colour-palette, colour contrast, colour-based labelling, packaging, instructions such as ‘click on the red button’.

Brand review checklist

Here is a checklist to help you review the different elements of your brand guidelines. The resources in the ‘practical resources’ section of this toolkit cover these points in more detail.

1.    Logo and strapline

• Is their sufficient colour contrast?
• Are they readable when used across different channels? Think about size.
• Is the message in the strapline inclusive?
• Is alternative text (alt text) required for digital usage?

2.    Brand imagery

• Is the style of imagery you are using accessible?
• Does your image library include positive images of disabled people?
• Are image headings required in print?
• Is alternative text (alt text) required for digital usage?

3.    Language guide

• Are you using an appropriate tone of voice?
• Are you using plain English
• Is there an inclusive language policy?
• How often is the language guide reviewed?

4.    House fonts and styles

• Which fonts are used for internal and external communications?
• Is a minimum font size specified for different channels?
• Are the fonts accessible, sans-serif fonts like Arial, Calibri or Helvetica?
• Do you offer specialist fonts such as Dyslexie?

5.    Colour palette

• Does your colour palette provide sufficient colour contrast between fore- and background colours?
• Do you specify how colour can and can’t be used?
• Is your colour palette accessible to people with colour blindness?

6.    Brand values and key messages

• Do your brand values and key messages reflect your organisation’s commitment to disability inclusion?

7.    Accessibility and inclusion

• Is there a specific section on accessibility and inclusion in your brand guidelines?

8.    Brand guidelines document

• What format is this produced in? Is the format accessible?
• Do you provide the document in alternative formats?
• Where is the document available, is this channel accessible?

A more inclusive brand

After reviewing your brand guidelines with disability inclusion in mind, you will have a clear understanding of what you need to change, and the timescales involved in order to make your brand more inclusive to disabled people.

Some parts of your brand guidelines will be easier to change than others. If you need to make changes to your tone of voice, or font sizes, this could be rolled out more easily than changing an inaccessible colour palette or logo, for example. Anything that’s flagged as part of the review can be incorporated the next time you update your brand guidelines.

Reviewing your communications

Communications are central to the success of any organisation. Keeping your customers, service-users or employees up to date on your latest products, services, campaigns and events, as well as creating genuine engagement with your audience, is how your organisation flourishes. To be successful, your communications need to reach as many people as possible – including disabled people.

Experiencing barriers to communications are sadly everyday occurrences for many disabled people. People with differing disabilities and long-term health conditions will encounter a range of common and easily fixable barriers that stop them from engaging with your organisation.

Some examples of barriers include inaccessible websites, apps and documents, single channel campaigns, confusing and complex documents and videos without captions or voiceover options. By removing the barriers to communications that disabled people can experience, you can deliver more inclusive communications that reach a broader and diverse audience.

An important step in being able to deliver more inclusive communications is first to review how your organisation currently communicates. Conducting a review of your communications will highlight your organisation’s areas of strengths and weaknesses and will identify any barriers you have in your communications. A review will help you plan how to improve your communications and become more inclusive.

Getting started

Plan your review with your communications team and include any teams, departments or agencies you work with that support the delivery of your organisation’s communications. This could include your designers, digital or creative agencies, and your colleagues in marketing, internal communications or customer service.

If you have a disabled employee network or a disabled customer or service-user group, it is a good idea to get them involved in the planning for the review as their experiences and feedback on your communications will be invaluable.

The next step is to decide the scope of the review. You may want to focus on certain types of communications and channels to break the review down into more manageable chunks.  Larger organisations may find it easier to review employee communications and customer communications or the corporate website separately. Although, a comprehensive review will provide a clearer picture of what needs to change for your communications to become more inclusive.

What to include in your review

Your inclusive communications review should cover typical samples of each type of communication your organisation sends, as agreed in the scope of your project. Given that a lot of communications are template based, for example weekly newsletters, monthly magazines, or web pages, reviewing a small sample of your regular communications will highlight your common strengths and weaknesses and identify any barriers – and make your review more manageable.

Your review should cover samples of each type of communication your audience receives – and if you have different audiences, you should repeat the process for each one.

Draw up a list of which communications products you are including in the review and which samples you are including – and agree who is going to review it and by when.

For example:

• Employee newsletter – Last three editions
• Employee survey – Questions, format
• Stakeholder conference or event – Delegate journey from invitation to event survey
• Annual report – Previous year
• Social media campaign – Each channel used and all content.

What you are looking for

The purpose of the inclusive communications review is to take stock of your current communications outputs to understand how inclusive they are for disabled people in your audience. The review is to help you to look for any barriers that disabled people might experience in your communications.

It is important to include disabled people’s experiences of your communications in the review. You can ask your disabled employee network or customer group if you have one, or you can look to set up a review group with the support of a specialist organisation.

Common communications barriers

Communications barriers are what get in the way of a disabled person engaging with the information you are sharing with them.

Some types of communication can present barriers that are common to groups of disabled people, but it is important to remember that individual access requirements and preferences must always be taken into consideration:

Blind, visual impairment

• Print publications such as magazines, flyers and reports, inaccessible websites, use of images, PowerPoint presentations, PDF documents, colour contrast, posters, displays, banner stands, videos without audio commentary.

D/deaf/hearing loss

• Face-to-face communications such as speeches, presentations, awards ceremonies, announcements via loudspeakers and coaching sessions, videos without captioning or BSL interpretation, musical accompaniment (events, ceremonies on videos) and podcasts.

Learning disability

• Complex use of language, data visualisation, layout of websites and documents, colour contrast, use of images, lengthy communications.

Mobility impairment

• Website layout and accessibility (for example, too many clicks), positioning of signage, posters and flyers, weight of printed publications, face-to-face meetings or events.

Mental health condition

• Layout, use of colour, tone and style of language, frequency of communications.

Other communication barriers

There are many different types of communication barrier, and what one disabled person experiences may not be the same for another disabled person, but they fall broadly into the following categories for you to review:

• Language and content – lengthy texts and complex vocabulary can be barriers for people with learning disabilities. Content types such as videos or forms can also exclude certain people.
• Imagery and design – images can be a barrier for anyone that is vision impaired or if your imagery does not also include disabled people. Design elements such as layout, the use of fonts and colour can be barriers.

• Channel and functionality – the type of channels you communicate through can be a barrier for disabled people. Podcasts or videos without captions can exclude the D/deaf community and inaccessible websites can exclude people with visual impairments. Completing forms, sign-up or payment procedures online can be inaccessible to disabled people.
• Assumptions & stereotypes – making assumptions about disability and disabled people’s communications requirements, or assuming that disabled people are not part of the audience and stereotyping disabled and non-disabled people.

You can find out more on these topics in the practical resources section of this toolkit.

Identifying communications barriers

With the scope of your review agreed, and your review team in place, the next step is to identify the communications barriers that can exist for disabled people in your organisation’s communications.

Ask each reviewer to document the potential barriers they encounter or the actual barriers they experience and to document them with a much detail as possible. Where there is no evidence of any barriers to communication, it is helpful to capture evidence of good practice, as this makes it easier to build up a picture of your strengths and where best practice can be shared across teams.

Communicating more inclusively

With a better understanding of how your organisation communicates and where the barriers to communication are, the next step is to develop an inclusive communications policy and to embed best practice in your communications team.

Find out how to do this in the ‘Developing an inclusive communication policy’ resource on this page.

Potential barriers

Language and content

Staff newsletter:

• Average reading age score 18.
• Plain English not being used – lots of jargon.
• Video included with no captions or voiceover.

Annual report:

• Average reading age score 18.
• Plain English not being used – lots of jargon.

Imagery and design

Staff newsletter (good practice):

• Images of real employees.
• One column of text.
• Responsive design optimised for mobile.
• Barriers:
• No heading/title on images.
• Images not labelled with alternative text.
• Plain text version not available.
• Font size 10 pt. used.

Annual report (good practice):

• Clear, simple layout.
• Minimum font size 12 pt.
• Text over 2 columns.
• Graphs and images clearly labelled.
• Minimal use of decorative imagery.

Annual report (barriers):

• 30 images in total, none of disabled employees or customers.
• No summary/shorter version.
• PDF version not accessible to screen readers.

Channel and functionality

Staff newsletter (good practice):

• Shared on email, intranet and Facebook Workplace.

Staff newsletter (barriers):

• Hyperlinks not labelled.
• Click through to content on intranet that is inaccessible to screen readers.

Annual report (good practice):

• Shared on website, intranet, social media and print at shareholder event.

Annual report (barriers):

• PDF version not accessible to screen readers.
• No offer of alternative formats.

Stereotypes and assumptions

Staff newsletters:

• N/A

Annual report:

• This will only be read by senior executives and that this group don’t have disabilities.

Communicating more inclusively

With a better understanding of how your organisation communicates and where the barriers to communication are, the next step is to develop an inclusive communications policy and to embed best practice in your communications team.

Find out how to do this in the ‘Developing an inclusive communication policy’ resource on this page.

Further information

Good sources of further reading include:

• Gov.uk, Accessible communication formats [gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-communication/accessible-communication-formats]
• WEB Aim, Alternative Text [org/techniques/alttext]
• British Dyslexia Association, Dyslexia Style Guide [bdadyslexia.org.uk/documents/Advice/style-guide/Dyslexia_Style_Guide_2018-final-1.pdf?mtime=20190409173949&focal=none]
• British Dyslexia Association, Creating a dyslexia friendly workplace [org.uk/advice/employers/creating-a-dyslexia-friendly-workplace/dyslexia-friendly-style-guide]
• Gov.uk, Inclusive Communications [gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-communication]
• CDS, Inclusivity? A must have, or a nice to have? [cds.co.uk/inclusivity-2019]

Accessible and inclusive online events

Think about accessibility and inclusion from the beginning

As with in person events, it is best to plan your online event with accessibility and inclusion in mind from the beginning. This will give out a positive message about your event and allow you to promote your event as accessible. It is also easier and more cost effective than trying to add in accessibility features later. That said, it’s also important to ask delegates if they have any additional requirements or needs and to offer plenty of opportunities for delegates to share this information with you.

• Think about accessibility as early as possible and book any services that you think you will need. Live captioning and signing services get very booked up.
• Make it easy for delegates to tell you about any additional adjustments they may need.
• Include space in registrations forms for delegates to share information about adjustments required. Also provide contact details for anyone who wants to discuss requirements with you.
• Include reminders in email confirmations and joining instructions.

Budgets

Consider the cost of accessibility features, such as live captioning and British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters, and plan for  them in your event budget. Do not be tempted to cut costs in this area. The accessibility of your event is as important as the content of the event. There is no point putting on the ‘perfect’ online event if some people cannot access it or participate in it.

You may also find it helpful  to create a reserve to cover the cost of any additional requirements requested by delegates

Platform and production costs also need to be factored into your budget For larger events, you may want to consider commissioning the services of a platform producer or an online events company to help you deliver your event. There are now many that specialise in services and products aimed at helping you create events with accessibility and inclusion, in mind. You can find out more about some of the services available in the Further Information section.

Live captioning and interpreting

Most platforms come with automated captioning built in. Automated captioning is advancing all the time but is not yet a replacement for live captioning. We would recommend using live captioning whenever budgets allow and particularly for larger events or for events where there is a lot of technical vocabulary. Remember that it is not just disabled people who use captioning to support their understanding of an event. It is useful for everyone.

• Using the services of a live captioner also allows you easily to create a post-event transcript.
• Transcripts can be useful for delegates to refer back to and can be helpful for anyone who was unable to attend the event on the day.
• Creating a transcript from scratch after the event can be time consuming and expensive. This also applies to captioning post-event recordings.
• Automated captions do not usually show up on post-event recording. Live captions do.

If you are using a BSL interpreter, it is important to make sure that the interpreter remains visible on the screen, throughout the event. To do this you will need to ‘spotlight’ or ‘pin’ the signer, so they do not disappear from view when there is a change of speaker.

Remember that for longer events, you will may need to budget for more than one interpreter and captioner. Consider creating some pre-recorded sessions if budgets do not allow for live captioning and interpreting throughout.

Send a list of any technical, or potentially tricky, vocabulary to your captioner and signer in advance of your event.

Platforms

Choosing the best platform to host your event is important. Microsoft Teams, Zoom, StreamYard, HopIn, Crowdcast, WebEx and Google Meet are just some of the platforms available and most come with a range of accessibility features built-in. Research different platforms to find the best fit for your event and the needs of your audience. Here are some things to consider, when choosing a platform:

• Access and security. Internal security systems and firewalls may prevent some organisations from accessing certain platforms.
• Ease of use.
• Screen reader accessibility.
• Whether the platform supports keyboard navigation.
• Picture and sound quality.
• The number of delegates that the platform will support.
• Any time limits on platform use.
• Captioning options and whether the platform supports the use of a live captioner.
• Whether the platform supports the use of live BSL signing.
• Whether delegates can choose how they join the event.
• Whether there is a chat messaging function and how this is accessed.
• Whether you can pin a BSL signer, presentations etc.
• Recording options.
• Transcript options.
• Language options, if you are hosting an international event.

Refer to our resource, ‘A user’s guide to video conferencing apps’ for more information about the accessibility features of some of the leading platforms.

Create an event that works online

Creating an online event is not as simple as just moving your in-person event online.

Having regular screen and comfort breaks scheduled into the agenda for your event is important. It is not recommended that anyone stares at a screen for hours on end, and for some people having a camera on or following an online discussion for a long period of time is particularly difficult. Schedule in breaks every hour or so, and make sure that you stick to the agenda and brief all speakers to do the same.

Consider whether you really need a longer event. If you do, then think about timings to allow as many people to participate as possible. It may be better to break down a one-day event into shorter sessions over five days.

Audience engagement and participation

Keeping your audience engaged in an online event can be a challenge. Create plenty of opportunities for delegates to ask questions and to interact.

Chat function

For larger events, fielding questions via a chat box is often the best option. This also makes it easier for people to participate who may not feel comfortable asking a question verbally. Have colleagues ready to collate questions and pass them to the panel, or to respond via the chat box in real-time to create discussion.

You can also use the chat box function for sharing live information about the event with your audience and responding to technical issues.

You may wish to create multiple chat channels for the same event on different topics. This allows delegates to access information which is most relevant to them and means that important information is not missed.

Screen reader users may find it difficult to skim through a long conversation. Remember to clear down or archive information in the chat box which is no longer relevant.

Live polls

Creating polls via live polling platforms, like Slido, can also be a useful way to generate audience participation and to monitor engagement in real time. Findings from the poll can be shared with the audience during the event.

Breakout rooms

Breakout rooms can help with creating virtual networking opportunities, but you need to consider delegates who use BSL and how they will communicate in a breakout room without an interpreter or live captioning. It is also important to remember that not everyone will feel comfortable participating in a breakout room. Some people may also prefer to participate with their camera off. Allow delegates to take part as they wish.

Consider your speakers

We have mentioned ways to make an online event accessible for your delegates, but what about your speakers? It is important to consider their accessibility needs too.

Remember that speakers may also need to access captioning and signing. Using a streaming service, like StreamText, means speakers can view captions on a second screen or device. Make sure you the speaker can also view the interpreter on their screen or device.

Offer your speakers an opportunity to test out the platform before the event. It is best if you can do this a few days before the event so that you have time to make any necessary adjustments.

You may also want to create a FAQ document for your speakers, which suggests checks to carry out before the event and advice on what to do if they have technical issues on the day.

Be prepared for the unexpected

All events require great planning and organisation to run smoothly. Online events are no different in that sense, but they also present additional challenges. Namely, the need to rely on technology and good internet connections.

Take the time to get to know the platform you are using in advance. You may want to consider hosting a run through of an event a few days before the real thing to help you spot and address any unforeseen issues. This will also help speakers to know what to expect on the day. Ask colleagues to act as delegates and test out all the accessibility features.

But even after the most thorough testing, things can still go wrong on the day, so always have a back-up plan.

Pre-recording some of your sessions is a good idea. This means you have content ready and available should a live speaker experience a poor internet connection or power cut. You may also want to create some short promotional videos which you can show. These can also help to visually represent key messages and themes from your event and can break up longer panel sessions.

Back-up speakers are also a sensible idea. Ask people who you know will feel comfortable speaking at short notice. Make sure you are aware of their access needs and how to meet them.

Think beyond the event itself

When thinking about accessibility, you need to think beyond the event itself. All information and resources relating to the event must also be accessible.

• Check that any presentations and slide decks are accessible.
• Share as much information as possible before the event. This includes:
  • agendas
  • platform links
  • browser information
  • slide decks
  • delegate and speaker FAQs
  • contact information
  • details of how information will be shared after the event.
• Remember to offer this information in alternative formats
• Send out links to transcripts and recordings post-event. Make sure all video content is captioned.
• Invite feedback on your event to make future events even more accessible.

You can find more information on creating accessible PowerPoints and making information available in alternative formats within the ‘Inclusive communication practical resources’ section of our Inclusive Communication Toolkit.

Further information

• AccessLoop – An online tool for adding live captions and signing to online events (accessloop.com)
• Attendable – An event management company which specialises in making events inclusive and accessible to everyone (attendable.co.uk)
• MyClearText – A live captioning company (mycleartext.com)
• StreamText – A technology platform for stream captions (streamtext.net)

Webinar – Accessible and inclusive online events

Business Disability Forum’s Events Manager Adam Casey discusses how to host accessible and inclusive online events. He’s joined by Business Disability Forum CEO Diane Lightfoot, and Bela Gor, Head of Content, Legal and Events at Business Disability Forum.