Creating Accessible Online Meetings

When conducting meetings or delivering instruction while using an online meeting platform, it is essential to consider various factors to ensure accessibility for all participants.

Best Practices for Virtual Meetings

Before the Meeting:

• Select and test your technology.
• Distribute an agenda and materials that will be shared in your presentation to attendees in advance.
• Designate a co-host to monitor the chat or mute participants who may accidentally have their microphone unmuted.

During the Meeting:

• If you are a presenter, make sure you have adequate lighting, and your camera is on for people who read lips.
• Enable captions when a meeting starts.
• Ask all participants to mute their microphone when they are not speaking.
• Ask meeting participants to state their name each time they speak.
• Describe what is being visually presented such as images for attendees.
• Orient participants to the Mute, Raise Hand, and Chat features used during virtual meetings.
• For large meetings, ask participants to use the Raise Hand feature when they have a question or wish to make a comment to reduce the likelihood of people speaking at the same time.

Captions for Virtual Meetings

Webex

The following pages provide information about accessibility support for meetings and webinars in Webex.

• Captions in Webex
• Accessibility Features in Webex

Microsoft Teams

The following pages provide information about accessibility support for meetings and webinars in Microsoft Teams.

• Captions in Microsoft Teams
• Accessibility Features in Microsoft Teams

Accessible Tools for Virtual Meetings

• BigBlueButton Accessibility
• Microsoft Office 365 Accessibility

Additional Resources

• American Bar Association. (2021). Virtual meetings: Accessibility checklist & best practices.
• U.S. General Services Administration. (n.d.). Create accessible meetings. Section 508.