Have you ever considered whether the way you are presenting your research is accessible to and considerate of those with disabilities? 

Conferences are an incredibly important part of academic and research careers, and a useful way to present information and findings. However, many conference attendees find that they are not accessible, and there is often little guidance on how to make them accessible in conference guidelines.

In this short overview, Emily Messina shares the insights from an online survey to improve equity in conferences. They found that conference attendees with accessibilities want:

1. Online access
2. Uncluttered posters
3. Slides with mixed text and images, alongside verbal delivery.

For conference presentations, respondents favoured designs featuring less visual clutter – in fact, the traditional academic poster was considered the most difficult to gain information from. 

Respondents also preferred traditional-style (one speaker with a mix of text and images) over TED-style talks and panels (one speaker and a few slides with images). Other key accessibility considerations are having enough chairs and allowing people to sit down to look at posters.

Finally, the findings stress having virtual access options – it’s the most commonly used accessibility strategy. It significantly opens up participation for those who cannot attend due to health or budget constraints.

Overall, the takeaways from the survey are helpful to anyone running anything from a poster session to a keynote.