How to audio describe yourself

Audio Description of this blog

Audio describe yourself

I'm 6'6, have a viking sort of hair cut with a plait down one side, have a bit of a scruffy beard and am wearing a black hoody and shorts. Oh and as I'm at my desk at home, my cat is also on my lap.

WHAT am I on about?

If I was on stage, camera or podcast, for example, I would have just audio described myself. It feels strange to do - all new things do - but, I'm learning how important it is to our event audiences so they can be more engaged with and access every session.

Audio Descriptions at Events

I only really started to know more about this when hosting the stage at Event Tech Live and tuning into Orla Pearson's session titled "Diversity and Inclusion, can we really deliver accessibility to all our venues?"

Once I'd introduced the stage, Orla then started to audio describe herself. I was tuned in - I hadn't heard this in-person before. Then this week, I think it was on BBC Radio 1, the hosts were talking about audio descriptions of music videos (the Adele one is hilarious btw) and I realised it's something that I need to do better.

You can watch the session with Orla Pearson from MyClear Text and AccessLoop, Dan Dexter from AccessLoop, Catherine Grinyer from Attendable, David Padmore from ITV and Nick Fagan from DRPG on the ETL sessions on demand here https://youtu.be/4dStNZOWNxs or it's embedded at the bottom of this blog.

Actually, not just myself, but as our events industry strives to make everything more accessible, this simple act of audio describing yourself before beginning a session could make a huge difference to the audience.

What is an audio description?

Audio description, also known as audio narration or audio notes, is a technique used to convey visual information to audiences who are unable to see or are vision impaired.

This can include events that have limited visibility, such as those with poor lighting or complex stage setups, it could be for large conference set ups where the back seat is 1000 rows away and those at the back simply can't see or, perhaps even more importantly, those with visual impairments where they can clearly hear your voice (for example) but can't really make you out.

For those of us with clear vision, you know how you can relate or recall someone because you can picture them and then the story they were sharing? Imagine not having that ability. That's why audio description is so important for our event audiences, as it allows them to access the content and make deeper connections with the information being shared on stage.

How to get started with Audio Descriptions

Whether you are organizing an event or simply looking for ways to improve the accessibility of audio content that you consume, audio descriptions offer many benefits and can help level the playing field for everyone. So if you're ready to start using audio descriptions in your work or daily life, here are a few tips to help you get started.

1- Brief your speakers

Ensure at the start of all of your speaker briefs you have notes about introducing themselves with audio descriptions. Put it in your call for entries so that when speakers submit their proposed session, they're already thinking about how to audio describe themselves.

2 - Train your hosts

Your brief for your event or stage host should have this as part of their brief, so that even if speaker guests are unaware, your host can introduce everyone properly with audio descriptions.

I use the term "training" because, if like me, you've never heard it before or never seen a session where this has happened, it will take a little getting used to. For example, just re-reading this blog I found it weird doing it for myself, let alone in front of a stage of hundreds. So, ensure your speakers know what they're doing, what they should include but also more importantly WHY. Why they should be audio describing themselves.

3 - Be clear and use simple language

W hen audio describing yourself or your session, be sure to use simple, clear language that is consistent and easy for all audiences to understand. This will not only help audience members follow along with the audio description track, but it can also make things easier for you as well by not adding unnecessary jargon.

4 - Presentations and slides - describe them

If your session is using slides and has some nifty graphics (yes, I used the word nifty), make sure your speaker describes the image. If they're making a joke about it, but only those that can see it get it, how will those members of your audience feel if they can't? Aside from joining in the laughter because they feel they should, you've automatically not included them by not describing what everyone else can see.

What can our industry do to make this better?

There's a few things we can do to make this better. For example, I've audio recorded this article trying to make it more accessible to those with visual impairments, but I could also have a "bot" do it for me, though it will completely lose any personality...

You could also watch back sessions such as that of Orla's at Event Tech Live, where they also used closed captioning service MyClear Text to provide live closed captions at the event.

Ultimately, the key to making audio descriptions work at your events is to be proactive and consistent in how you approach them and ensure everyone involved understands why audio describing themselves or their content is so important. By taking these steps, we can ensure that all event audiences are able to access and enjoy content in a way that is equal and accessible for everyone.

So, when you're hosting your next event or podcast or audio recording, consider audio describing yourself before you begin.

Turning this article into an audio version

Once I was happy with the written content, I turned on my mic and a few takes later, had produced the audio version of this article.

I used Adobe Audition to record the spoken word, exported as an audio file, uploaded into the article on the website and hey presto, it's done. The whole process took approximately 15 minutes, so there's really no excuse to not be doing more of this and I will strive to ensure I do it at all events, podcasts or recordings going forward.

Want to find out more about me and what I do? Head over to the blogs section on my website at wavesconnects.com

Diversity & Inclusion, can we really deliver accessibility to all our events?

Below is the recorded live session from Event Tech Live’s on-demand playlist.