Accessible Virtual Meetings

As virtual communication becomes a cornerstone of modern interaction, accessible virtual meetings are no longer a luxury—they’re essential for building inclusive, equitable spaces in education, employment, and beyond.

Inclusivity means designing virtual meetings where everyone can participate fully, regardless of physical, sensory, cognitive, or technological barriers. These barriers might include the absence of live captioning, inaccessible platforms for assistive technology, limited internet access, or complex user interfaces that alienate those with diverse needs.

In the workplace, accessible virtual meetings support diverse hiring practices and remote job opportunities, allowing organizations to tap into a wider talent pool. When employees and job seekers feel empowered to contribute without obstacles, productivity rises, team cohesion improves, and businesses and institutions benefit from richer perspectives.

In education, remote or hybrid learning opportunities that are built with accessibility in mind ensures that students, faculty, and administrators can collaborate effectively, without exclusion. But the ripple effect of accessibility extends far beyond the classroom—it’s a model for how we design every remote interaction with empathy and foresight.

Best Practices

  • Test your headphones and microphone beforehand to ensure they are functioning properly.
  • Reduce background noise.
  • Be in a well-lit space or use good lighting.
  • Do not sit with an outside door or window behind you. This makes it difficult for participants to see you on screen.
  • Wear a headset, or headphones/mic. This allows you to hear and be heard more easily.
  • Enter the meeting with your microphone shut off and mute when not speaking.
  • If you are comfortable, consider turning on your camera/webcam when speaking so anyone who is hard of hearing or deaf may be better able to read your lips (use a virtual background for privacy if you would like).
  • Update your name/profile to share your pronoun(s) if you are comfortable.
  • State your name before you speak.
  • Avoid distracting activities, such as conversing with people in the background, where possible.
  • Raise your virtual hand if you would like to speak.

Meeting Facilitators or Presenters

Before

  • Use real-time automatic captioning for synchronous meetings or lectures. Be prepared for using ASL interpreters and/or out-sourced real-time captioning (CART)  when required for an accommodation request.
  • Allow enough time for activities and plan for technical difficulties
  • Allow time for breaks during long meetings.
  • Minimize the number of digital tools used and ensure they work with assistive technology tools e.g.: screen sharing, polling, whiteboarding.
  • Create, use, and share accessible materials.
  • Consider letting participants know, in advance, if you are asking for specific input so that those who need time to process can meaningfully contribute.
  • When presenting:
    • In planning, minimize the number of digital tools
    • Plan for opportunities for engagement, interaction, practice, participation, and comprehension checks.

During

  • Start the session early to ensure everything is working correctly.
  • Clearly state the meeting agenda up-front including which features of the virtual meeting software will be used.
  • Providing time estimates for each portion of the meeting is especially helpful for neurodivergent participants.
  • Ask for consent to record the meeting and record it if possible.
  • Discuss accessible online etiquette in your first meeting/class and revisit as needed, establishing norms for participants as well as:
    • How and when to ask questions.
    • Other ways to contribute to the discussion.
  • Recruit someone to monitor the chat.
  • Use the chat feature sparingly and share chat content through additional channels after the meeting. While the chat is important as a non-verbal way to participate, the chat feature can also be distracting for some neurodivergent users and people using screen readers. Some options for using the chat feature thoughtfully include:
    • Read any comments or questions aloud as part of the meeting.
    • Demonstrate how to disable the chat preview feature.
  • Describe all shared visual content.
  • Use simple and inclusive language.
  • Avoid jargon and acronyms.
  • Create pauses during and between activities, so students/attendees who are taking notes,  or with slow Internet bandwidth, or using captions or sign language interpreters can catch up.
  • How to prepare participants for breakout rooms:
    • Let them know how long it will last and what is expected of them.
    • Decide who will facilitate.
    • Explain how to ask for help or ask questions.
    • Ensure that participants have access to whatever materials they will need.
  • Be flexible by assessing and addressing needs in real time.

After

  • Send the following to participants and those who may have missed the meeting:
    • meeting/lecture recording
    • the saved chat transcript
    • all links from the chat
    • presentation materials
    • audio transcription file
  • Ask for feedback from meeting participants/students.

Resources

Captioning

Accessibility Features in Virtual Meeting Platforms

Teams

WebEx

Zoom