These tips are to help those colleagues with hearing difficulties while participating in a video conference call.
If Automatic Speech Recognition is available and to be used, it would be good to test this feature before the meeting starts.
Make sure you are in a well-lit area but do not sit with a source of light behind you. This can put your face into shadow and make it harder for someone to lipread.
If an agenda of the video call was handout beforehand, it would give a clear reference point to follow during the meeting.
Assign a facilitator to ensure the meeting stays focused and on track to provide context for what is being said.
Face the camera and don’t cover your mouth or rest your chin on the hand while speaking as it’ll make this harder to lipread.
Make sure that only one person is speaking at a time. This can also help make sure captions are more accurate, if they are used.
Mute your microphone when you are not speaking to remove unwanted background noise.
One other simple addition would be for people to click on the ‘raise your hand’ icon before speaking.
Make use of chat functions that might exist when using video or voice software. They can help to clarify details, especially with numbers or dropping attachments.
Ensure a written summary or minutes are distributed following the meeting.
These tips are to help those colleagues with hearing difficulties while participating in a video conference call.
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