When creating a PowerPoint presentation, it’s important to ensure that your content is not only visually appealing but also accessible to everyone. Accessibility features and design practices help make your presentation understandable and usable for people with diverse needs, including those with disabilities. By following a few simple guidelines, you can create inclusive presentations that reach and resonate with a broader audience.

• Avoid using all capital letters, as they can be difficult to read for some users.
• Use a sans-serif font (e.g., Arial, Calibri) that is larger than 18 points for better readability.
• Ensure embedded or linked media is accessible, including captions for videos and transcripts for audio.
• Maintain a logical slide order that matches the way you want your content to be read by screen readers and assistive technologies.
• Review the article on How to change the reading order in PowerPoint to ensure proper navigation for all users.
• Add a unique title to each slide to help users understand the structure and purpose of your content.
• Include ample white space between sentences and elements to reduce visual clutter.
• Use bold text for emphasis rather than relying heavily on italics or underlining, which can be harder to read.
• Choose accessible templates. Visit the Branded Assets site and select the Southern New Hampshire University PowerPoint template.

• Run the Accessibility Checker in PowerPoint to identify and fix any accessibility issues.

   

Refer to the article on How to Apply Accessible Design (PowerPoint) for a step-by-step guide.

1. Describe all visual objects with an Alternative Text (Alt-Text).

• Explain “why” the image relates to the content. The Alt Text is read aloud by screen-reading software.
• Go to the following article for detailed step-by-step instructions: How to Create Alternative Text. 

2. Give hyperlinks meaningful display names.

• Avoid using the actual URL or “click here.”
• Go to the following article for detailed step-by-step instructions: How to Create Accessible Descriptive Links.

3. Avoid using color as the only means of representing information.

• Use sufficient contrast for text and background color.

• Go to the following articles for detailed step-by-step instructions: 

  How to Create Accessible Content for Color Vision Deficiency.

  How to Check Color Contrast with Colour Contrast Analyser (CCA)

  How to Add and Use High Color Contrast

4. Use a simple table structure.

• Avoid blank cells, split cells, merged cells, or nested tables.
• Include a table header and a descriptive summary of the specific information in the table.
• Go to the following article for detailed step-by-step instructions: How to Create Tables, Graphs, and Charts. 

• Guidelines for Writing About People with Disabilities
• Disability Language Style Guide
• Choosing Words for Talking About Disability
• How to Ensure Your Event is Inclusive and Engaging for All
• How to Enable Closed Captions in Microsoft Teams
• Make your PowerPoint Presentations Accessible to People with Disabilities - Microsoft Support
• Microsoft PowerPoint Video Accessibility Training - Microsoft Support
• SNHU Accessibility and Assistive Technology Resources