How can you write for stakeholders with disabilities effectively?

Writing for stakeholders with disabilities is not only a matter of accessibility and inclusion, but also of strategic communication. You want to convey your message clearly, respectfully, and persuasively to a diverse audience that may have different needs and preferences. How can you write for stakeholders with disabilities effectively? Here are some tips to help you.

1 Know your audience

Before you start writing, do some research on your stakeholders. Who are they? What are their goals, challenges, and interests? How do they prefer to receive information? What are their accessibility requirements? For example, some stakeholders may use screen readers, magnifiers, or braille devices to access written content. Others may have cognitive, sensory, or motor impairments that affect their reading comprehension, attention span, or navigation. Knowing your audience will help you tailor your writing style, format, and tone to suit their needs and expectations.

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2 Use plain language

Writing in plain language is essential for effective communication with stakeholders who may have different levels of literacy, education, language proficiency, or disabilities. To ensure your content is accessible and understandable, keep sentences and paragraphs short, use active voice and simple words, explain any unfamiliar terms or concepts, use headings, lists, and white space to organize your content, and use examples, images, or diagrams to illustrate your points.

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3 Follow accessibility standards

Accessibility standards are guidelines that help you make your content more accessible for stakeholders with disabilities. These standards cover aspects such as text size, color contrast, font choice, layout, and structure. To ensure your content is readable, understandable, and usable for stakeholders with visual, auditory, or motor impairments, you should use a minimum font size of 12 points and a high color contrast between text and background. Additionally, choose a sans serif font that is easy to read and avoid using all caps, italics, or underlining. Furthermore, use headings and subheadings to create a clear hierarchy of information and use descriptive labels for links and buttons. Also provide alternative text for images, captions for videos, and transcripts for audio. Finally, use a logical and consistent layout and navigation that can be accessed by keyboard or mouse.

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Mary Renouf
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It’s so important to create content that is accessible and inclusive. Ways to do this include: Using simple and clear language that's easy to understand. Use descriptive language to provide context. Use headings and formatting to help organize content and make it easier to navigate. Use bold and large fonts. Provide alternative text for images for people who use screen readers. Describe the content of images in a descriptive way. Use captions and transcripts for videos to make accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Consider how people with disabilities access content using assistive technology such as screen readers, text-to-speech software, and voice recognition software.

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Kanika Bedi

Corporate Communications Lead | Reputation & Crisis Management | Brand PR | Strategic & Leadership Communications | Internal & External Communications | ESG & Sustainability | e4m 40 Under 40 | Seeking Next Opportunity
(edited)
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In addition to captions, I also ensured we incorporated sign language interpretation in our videos to accommodate individuals with hearing impairments. It is also worth mentioning to include options for adjusting video playback speed to cater to different learning preferences.

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4 Test and get feedback

The final step in writing for stakeholders with disabilities is to test and get feedback on your content. Testing and feedback will help you identify and address any issues or gaps in your content that may affect its accessibility, clarity, or persuasiveness. You can use accessibility tools and checkers to scan your content for errors or violations of accessibility standards. Additionally, you can ask stakeholders with disabilities to review your content and provide their opinions and suggestions. Usability tests or surveys should also be conducted to measure how well your content meets the needs and expectations of your stakeholders. Ultimately, writing for stakeholders with disabilities is a skill that can help you communicate more effectively and inclusively. By following these tips, you can write content that is accessible, clear, and persuasive for a diverse audience.

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5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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verena caetano da silveira, Ph.D.

Organization Architect & Design Scientist | Diversity Advocate | I lead the organization's processes, with kindness and authority, to make them sustainable enablers.
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Recipes don't exist It is difficult to admit (and before that notice) that it is part of our language everyday, perhaps playful or domestic, it is bearer of discrimination, stereotypes and judgments. It's not about pointing fingers or accusing, but to learn to do it at random, and then choose consciously the words and expressions (spoken and written). It's not a "don't say" but a "choose what to say". based on the effect you want to generate. Language is power, not knowing what effect produce their own will be less and less accepted. It helps a lot to listen and welcome it relativity of one's point of view.

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How can you write for stakeholders with disabilities effectively?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Know your audience

2 Use plain language

3 Follow accessibility standards

4 Test and get feedback

5 Here’s what else to consider

Strategic Communications

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How can you write for stakeholders with disabilities effectively?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Know your audience

2 Use plain language

3 Follow accessibility standards

4 Test and get feedback

5 Here’s what else to consider

Strategic Communications

Rate this article

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