A wide variety of slide transitions and visual effects are available within presentation software. These can be used to enhance the flow of a presentation and of course some can be downright annoying if not used sparingly!
You can easily improve the experience for blind and partially sighted audience members by briefly describing slide transitions and saying the title of each fresh slide as you progress through your presentation.
Keeping pace with the presentation
Knowing when slides have changed also helps blind and partially sighted members of your audience to keep pace with your presentation.
If your presentation includes sound output through speakers you could use audio to signal the transition between slides. Most presentation software includes various sound files you could use.
A few points to bear in mind:
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The sound chosen only needs to be brief.
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Explain what the sound means the first time it is used.
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Set the volume level to be audible but not too loud.
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Try to choose a sound which is in keeping with the style of your presentation.
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Finally, really annoying sounds should be avoided at all costs!
What's going on?
Slide transitions and effects are generally a way of adding visual interest to your presentation rather than providing important information. Nevertheless, it is wrong to assume that blind and partially sighted people don't want know what is happening. The simple device of explaining what is happening as you progress through the slides can go a long way towards making your presentation more accessible.
Further information on accessibility for presentation software can be found on the Slide design and layout, Multimedia in presentations, Projected presentations, Producing handouts and Providing accessible formats pages.