PowerPoint Accessibility Overview

Why accessibility matters in presentations

Accessible presentations ensure all audience members can participate fully, whether they're attending in person, virtually, or reviewing materials later. PowerPoint presentations are used across ESDC for training, meetings, project updates, and public communication.

When presentations aren't accessible, we exclude colleagues and clients who:

  • Use screen readers to navigate through content
  • Have visual impairments and need accessible design or larger text
  • Are deaf or hard of hearing and rely on captions or visual information
  • Have cognitive differences and benefit from clear structure and simple language
  • Use keyboard navigation instead of a mouse
  • Are in environments where audio isn't available

Real-world impact

Consider these scenarios:

  • A team member with a visual impairment can't review your quarterly update because image charts lack alternative text
  • A participant using a screen reader gets lost in your training because slides lack proper titles
  • A colleague with hearing loss misses key information in a video embedded in your presentation
  • Someone reviewing your presentation later can't understand the content flow because of poor reading order

Accessible design benefits everyone, not just people with disabilities.

Key accessibility principles for PowerPoint

Structure and navigation

  • Use built-in slide layouts with proper placeholders
  • Provide unique, descriptive slide titles for every slide
  • Organize content in logical reading order using the Reading Order Pane
  • Use heading styles to create content hierarchy

Visual design

  • Use good color contrast between text and background (see Module 2: Contrast for detailed guidance)
  • Don't rely solely on color to convey information
  • Use readable fonts and appropriate font sizes
  • Provide alternative text for images, charts, and SmartArt

Content clarity

  • Write descriptive link text that makes sense out of context
  • Use simple, clear language appropriate for your audience
  • Structure tables properly with headers and clear relationships
  • Provide captions or transcripts for multimedia content

Interactivity and navigation

  • Ensure keyboard accessibility for all interactive elements
  • Use animations sparingly and provide controls when necessary
  • Test with assistive technologies like screen readers

PowerPoint accessibility tools

Built-in accessibility features

Accessibility Checker
Automatically identifies common accessibility issues and provides suggestions for fixes
Reading Order Pane
Shows reading order of objects and allows you to reorder them for logical flow
Alt Text pane
Dedicated interface for adding alternative text to images and other visual elements
Design Ideas
Suggests accessible layouts and designs that maintain good structure
Live Captions
Real-time caption generation during presentations (requires Microsoft 365)

Keyboard shortcuts for accessibility

Alt + Shift + F10
Open Reading Order Pane
Alt + Text
Add alternative text to selected object
F7
Run spell check
Ctrl + K
Insert hyperlink

What you'll learn in this module

This module covers practical techniques for creating accessible PowerPoint presentations:

  1. Slide layouts and placeholders: Using built-in templates for proper structure
  2. Slide titles: Creating meaningful titles for navigation
  3. Reading order: Organizing content flow with the Reading Order Pane
  4. Slide Master and templates: Building accessible design foundations
  5. Images and graphics: Adding alternative text and descriptions
  6. Charts and SmartArt: Making data visualizations accessible
  7. Tables: Structuring tabular data properly
  8. Multimedia: Adding captions and audio descriptions
  9. Animations and transitions: Using movement accessibly
  10. Exporting and sharing: Creating accessible output formats
  11. Presenting accessibly: Delivery techniques for inclusive presentations

Getting started

Before you begin

  • Enable the Accessibility Checker: Go to File > Options > Ease of Access and check "Keep accessibility checker running while I work"
  • Familiarize yourself with the ribbon: Locate the Review tab where accessibility tools are found
  • Plan your content: Think about structure and key messages before designing slides
  • Consider your audience: Who will be viewing this presentation and in what contexts?

Quick accessibility wins

Start with these simple steps that make an immediate difference:

  1. Use a built-in slide layout instead of blank slides
  2. Add a unique title to every slide
  3. Follow contrast guidelines from Module 2 when choosing colors
  4. Add alternative text to images
  5. Run the Accessibility Checker and address flagged issues

✅ Ready to continue

You're ready to dive into specific PowerPoint accessibility techniques. Each lesson in this module builds on the previous one, so we recommend following them in order.

Next: Learn how to use built-in slide layouts and placeholders for proper content structure.