How to make webinars accessible

The use of webinars by all organisations, including charities, has rocketed in recent years. This has been particularly the case following the COVID-19 health crisis, as charities look to use technology to bolster their digital activities.

 

A webinar is simply a seminar carried out online. It can be a vital way of informing staff, volunteers, and stakeholders of latest information, research, and developments. Webinars can also unlock new audiences through providing interesting and engaging content.

 

Charity Digital’s own webinars in 2021 include presentations on using data, cloud HR systems, as well as on cyber security and volunteering.

 

To appeal to existing and new audiences alike it is vital to ensure the right technology is in place and content is as engaging and accessible as possible. Here we look at some simple steps charities can take to ensure their webinar is inclusive.

 

 

Choose a platform

 

No matter how engaging the content, a webinar can fail if it has not been produced and published using the right technology.

 

Picking the right platform is the first step charities should take to producing a webinar. This should include offering options to publish a live webinar or recording it in advance.

 

There should also be a variety of features, especially around captioning and transcribing content to make it as accessible as possible.

 

Platforms should also have further accessibility features, such as screen readers, which help viewers with visual impairments access digital content via audio or touch.

 

Popular webinar platforms include Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

 

 

Use captions and transcription

 

Other features to look out for in a platform are live captioning and transcription, which help those with hearing problems as well as those who speak English as a second language.

 

Depending on the platforms’ features this could include built-in captioning or using a third-party auto-captioning app or software.

 

A captionist from the charity, sitting in on the event, can also be used. Be careful if using automatic captioning, as that may need cleaning up manually before publishing.

 

There are two forms that charities should consider. Closed captioning is sometimes abbreviated as CC and offers more than direct speech to text, as it can include description of non-speech parts of the webinar, such as music, identifying speakers and sound effects.

 

It works by breaking up transcripted text into frames and syncing them with the audio. This allows real time reading to help viewers follow along.

 

Live transcription converts speech into text. This is not the same as closed captions as it is a document, with the text transcribed from spoken words during the webinar.

 

The benefit of live transcription over closed captioning is it focuses just on the speech element of a webinar, where more accurate closed captioning may be excessive.

 

 

Choose the right technology

 

The person giving the webinar needs to look and sound good so investing in a good microphone and camera is advised.

 

A good external USB microphone can cost between £50 and £300, with Blue and Shure offering cost-effective options. An external camera, of at least 1080p resolution, is also advised.

 

Before starting the webinar, presenters are advised to test the sound and visual quality and adjust the levels accordingly.