Creating accessible Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
Last updated on January 26, 2024Who does this affect?
- Zoe has low vision. The text in PowerPoint presentations is often too small for her to read which prevents her from fully participating in meetings.
- Kai uses a screen reader. They’re taking a course built in PowerPoint. The reading order has not been set correctly, so the information is being read to them in the wrong order.
- Carlos has an inner ear disorder which can cause headaches or nausea. Complex slide transitions make him feel sick and lose focus.
Steps to take
- Use an accessible template
- Include a unique title on each slide. Titles should describe what the slide is about
- Use a size 18 point font or larger
- Use a sans serif font like BC Sans, Arial or Calibri
- Avoid putting a lot of information on one slide as it can be difficult to read
- Avoid using all capital letters, excessive italics or underlines
- Use descriptive alternative text for pictures, charts and other visual objects
- Use good colour contrast
- Test your presentation with the Grayscale feature to see how slides might look for someone who is colour blind
- Write in plain language
- Use descriptive hyperlinks
- Include speaking notes on each slide. Speaking notes provide additional information and context for your slides
- If you're embedding a video ensure it contains closed captioning
- Follow accessibility standards when using tables
- Set the reading order of slide content so that screen readers know what order to read them in
- Run the Accessibility Checker for review
Resources
- Use the Microsoft Office: Accessible PowerPoint Template Sampler (external link)
- Review Microsoft's guide for making your PowerPoint presentations accessible (external link)
- Watch Microsoft's video tutorials to create more accessible PowerPoint presentations (external link)
- Understand Web Aim's techniques for PowerPoint Accessibility (external link)