Author: Gebremeskel Eshete

Creating effective PowerPoint presentations can be challenging for anyone, but it presents unique obstacles for presenters who rely on screen readers. Unlike sighted users, who can quickly assess slide layout, color contrast, and visual effects, non-visual users must navigate a primarily visual medium using keyboard commands, screen reader feedback, and careful planning. This guide provides practical tips for designing, formatting, and delivering presentations in a way that is both accessible and professional, helping you communicate your ideas clearly while maintaining confidence and control throughout the process.

Creating PowerPoint presentations can be particularly challenging for screen reader users because PowerPoint is designed as a visual communication tool. Much of what makes a presentation effectively out, color, and design is not always fully conveyed through screen readers. For this reason, even when you carefully format your slides, it is still advisable to have a sighted colleague review the final presentation.

Screen readers can miss or misinterpret certain visual details, so a second check can help ensure accuracy.

In Microsoft PowerPoint, slide notes provide a powerful way to include additional details that support your presentation. For screen reader users working with JAWS, NVDA, or Narrator, the Slide notes pane is especially useful for keeping track of what you want to say during a live presentation.

These notes are not visible to your audience during the slideshow, but they remain part of the file. This means they can be shared with participants afterward or printed for reference, making them valuable both during and after your presentation.