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PowerPoint: Creating accessible layout structure
The easiest way to create accessible content in PowerPoint is to stick to the templates and features provided by Microsoft. Slide titles are essential to accessible PowerPoints because it tells the screen reader when to tell the viewer that they are starting a new slide and what that slide is about. Imagine listening to an audiobook, and instead of the reader pausing when they read the next chapter title, they just went straight from the end of the previous chapter to the chapter title to the chapter text, all in one breath. Well, that’s what it is like when a person using a screen reader doesn’t have title structure in the PowerPoints they need to read.
Luckily, titles are defined on pre-defined layouts of MS PowerPoint. Note: That doesn’t mean your slideshows have to be boring white slides with black text and nothing else. It simply means that you should start there and use the Layout function of PowerPoint to decide on what all you will have on the page and how it will be laid out.
- Create a new slideshow in MS PowerPoint and fill in your content. Keep the basic layout for now—you’ll modify the style without losing accessibility later. As you create new slides, you can choose from a variety of default slide layouts. Click the arrow under "New Slide" on the home tab to see your options. Choose the layout that you need for each slide, but keep in mind that for accessibility reasons, you almost never want to use a Blank slide, and you should never delete the slide title box that each layout provides.
- Once you've got some content in the slideshow, you might be thinking it looks very boring. Your first instinct might be to delete boxes, move things around on the slide, add images on top of the layout, etc. Resist the urge to just plop things on the slide—there is a better way to make your slideshows more exciting without sacrificing accessibility. Click on the "Design" tab, then click "Design Ideas."
- MS PowerPoint has an artificial intelligence feature that takes the text on your slide and helps you with design suggestions while maintaining the accessibility structure. So instead of moving your things around on the slide manually to create a presentation and then having to go back and re-do it for accessibility, use the "Design Ideas" feature!
