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Advice and Guidance to aid with Deaf Awareness

Support with Reasonable Adjustments in the workplace

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Making Meetings Accessible

Accessible meetings benefit everyone.

A few simple adjustments can make a significant difference for people who are Deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus.

Before the meeting

Ask attendees about their preferred communication method and reasonable adjustments.
Arrange BSL/ISL interpreters, Speech-to-Text Reporters, Electronic Note-takers or other communication support where required.
Send the agenda, papers and relevant information in advance.
Check captions, microphones, hearing loops and other technology beforehand.
For face-to-face meetings, choose a quiet, well-lit room with minimal background noise.
Think about seating so everyone can clearly see each other, the speaker and any interpreter.
Build in breaks. Concentrating on lipreading, captions, interpreting or amplified sound can cause significant listening and concentration fatigue.

During the meeting

One person speaks at a time.
Clearly indicate who is speaking.
Keep your face visible and avoid speaking while looking away or covering your mouth.
Speak clearly and naturally — there is no need to shout.
Reduce background noise wherever possible.
Use microphones where available, even if you think your voice carries.
Turn on captions for online and hybrid meetings.
Remember that automated captions can make mistakes, particularly with names, accents and specialist terminology.
Allow additional processing time where needed.
If an interpreter is present, speak directly to the Deaf person, not to the interpreter.
Check understanding without putting the individual on the spot.

For online and hybrid meetings

Cameras on where possible so faces can be seen clearly.
Make sure lighting comes from the front rather than behind.
Use the raise hand function and avoid people talking over one another.
Mute microphones when not speaking.
Enable captions and provide transcripts where appropriate.
Make sure interpreters remain visible and can be pinned or spotlighted if needed.
Don’t assume joining remotely automatically makes a meeting accessible.

Remember tinnitus too
For someone experiencing tinnitus, noisy rooms, poor acoustics and prolonged concentration can make meetings particularly difficult. Consider: