10 tips for the first 10' of your online session to make it instantly more inclusive and accessible

A man on a video call with a woman, smiling at his laptop

Accessibility does not have to be overly complex. Yet, many aren’t sure where to begin.

Below are my best 10 tips to transform your online meetings and workshops.

💬 Tip 1: Enable captions and provide chat instructions on how to adjust captions

Example of Zoom Captions instructions

😣 Tip 2: Reduce anxiety by reminding attendees of:

• Why you are meeting
• What this session will achieve
• How long it will take and whether there will be breaks
• Whether to expect a summary email

Simple steps like providing clear information, offering various accessible formats for materials, and considering physical and digital access can make work a lot more inclusive.

🏳️‍🌈 Tip 3: When the online meeting tool allows it, add your pronouns to your name to signal that the space is LGBTQ+ friendly

👋 Tip 4: Invite people to introduce themselves in the chat

Try a simple, non-invasive question, such as “Where are you joining us from today?”

⌨️ Tip 5: Repeat spoken instructions in the chat, preceded by an emoji.

This makes instructions easy to spot in the chat.

📊 Tip 6: If you are sharing slides or materials, do not forget to describe the main takeaway of the relevant visual elements

This applies to graphs, charts, photos, any visual element that supports the message of your presentation.

📋 Tip 7: Establish some ground rules for the session

• How we will interact with one another
• How we will ensure everyone’s effective participation

🛜 Tip 8: Give participants permission to do what they can

Acknowledge that they may not want to be on camera right now, or that their bandwidth may not allow them to.

🧑‍💻 Tip 9: Highlight how participants can get support during the session if they face a technical issue

Introduce the tech host, if you have one

🤫 Tip 10: Offer participants the option of a silent breakout room

Open an extra room where you place participants who cannot speak nor interact right now for whatever reason.

Male hands using a laptop with Braille extension

How many of these 10 tips are you already using?

Which tips would you add to this list?