Business - Improve Online Communications
Improve Your Next Remote Call with Accessibility Tools By Quartz at Work
THE STIGMA AGAINST the term “accessibility” has made many ignore free and useful resources that can alleviate the stresses of remote work. At the recent Interaction Design Association conference, Beatriz González Mellídez, an accessibility and digital inclusion lead at the French IT firm Atos, highlighted several accessibility tools and practices we should adopt:
• Describe your slides. When presenting, avoid phrases like “as you can see here” and instead clearly describe the graphic on the screen. This practice doesn’t just benefit users with visual impairments, explains González. “It can help your colleagues who are driving or commuting and can’t watch the video. Describing your slides guarantees that they don’t miss any important content.”
• Say hi with sign language. The hand signs for hello and goodbye can be useful in a large group meeting. Waving an open palm with your fingers splayed signals hello and a waving your hand with closed fingers serves as a sign-off. 7
May-June 2022
• Protect your tech from your kids. If you have to use your mobile device as a babysitter while you’re on a call, activate the “Guided Access” feature on your iPhone or iPad. Originally developed for users who have trouble focusing, it limits kids to a single app and prevents them from accidentally sending a wayward email. https://qz.com/work Image credit: face2faceafrica.com, YouTube
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