Last week I talked about Zoom, and the ways it can affect your vision. This week I’m highlighting how Zoom or other video calls can be difficult for deaf or hard of hearing participants.
Zoom meetings can be a great source of frustration for deaf workers, as we pointed out in our blog post “For Deaf Workers, Zoom Meetings Pose Problems.” Video calls have always presented problems for deaf employees, but with the increase in business being done via video calling due to the Covid Pandemic, those problems can multiply quickly.
So in this era of increased video calling, what can we do to create a more inclusive, hard-of-hearing-friendly video meeting environment?
- Have everyone on the call use captioning so they can track the conversion and correct information that gets captioned incorrectly.
- Eliminate as much background noise as possible
- Have a well- lit environment that can help those who lip read.
- If you are addressing someone directly, say their name first.
- More Tips for Better Video Calls
By following these helpful hints, you can make meetings more inclusive, efficient and clearer for all participants.
Work calls are not the only place these tips should be used. You may even identify individual hearing issues during family calls. If a loved one appears to have trouble hearing on a video call, read our article on Whether Your Loved One Needs Hearing Aids. Please reach out to a hearing specialist or contact LSH at 1-800-647-6638 or admin@lshf.org.
Sincerely,
Randy Stein, CEO
