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“Sorry, I can’t make it. I have a thing,” might be your favourite excuse to dodge a social event, but what if that event came to you? More importantly, what if it catered to your specific needs?

We have all experienced that anxiety of attending an event. Our reasoning could vary from “I have 2 kids I need to pick up from school and won’t be home in time”. To “I’m hearing impaired and I often don’t get the full experience of an event because I’m not able to understand the presenters.”

So let’s start with a disclaimer: I’m not here to tell you I have the perfect solution, but the leaps forward in technology over the last few years are certainly making events more accessible.

A Virtual Handshake, Please

Once upon a time, if you couldn’t travel to a conference or a music festival, you were out of luck. End of story. Or was it? Cue dramatic music and enter: Virtual and Hybrid Events. If the pandemic created anything good, it’s that we are all now able to attend a business conference while you’re wearing pyjamas or head-banging to your favourite band without leaving your cosy living room couch.

However I’m not talking about us folks with few commitments and no immediate barriers. The benefits of hybrid event technology for those who can’t physically get to an event. Either because of access needs or circumstantial needs are getting better and better each day.

Accessibility in events, isn’t a compromise.

Maybe the header sums it up perfectly. But when I talk technology in events I’m not talking about sticking one static camera in the corner and plugging it in to the world wide web. What’s the point in claiming it’s accessible if not all your audience can get involved. We talk a lot about true hybrid here at Virtual Approval. In fact if you *click here* you can read all about it. Yes we mean it, technology like Zoom and virtual event platforms, enable audiences have a two way conversation. PTZ cameras that give a flexible moving picture of all aspects of the event and interactive software like Miro, Mentimeter, Slido, Ahaslides that give audiences the opportunity to get involved in the discussion are all pivotal to bringing accessibility to events.

More Than Just ‘Hello’ and ‘Goodbye’

Anyone who’s had to sit through an event in a language they barely understand knows the struggle. Luckily, the days of frantically looking up translations on your phone are over.

In the world of language translation, AI and machine learning are the new kids on the block, and they’re not just kids; they’re more like super-smart, always-on-their-toes, nerdy kids that give us real-time translations. Thanks to these advancements, everyone, regardless of their native language, can feel included and have a fuller event experience.

The market leaders in AI Interpretation Interprefy have a great quote on their website that I’m going to borrow that I think sums this all up perfectly: “Only 17% of the world understand English. Don’t let communication barriers stand in the way of success.”

A Warm Accessibility Welcome to Everyone

Now, while bringing events to everyone’s screens and breaking down language barriers is pretty cool, what’s even cooler is making sure these events are accessible to all, regardless of any access needs your audience may have. Tech, like a friendly neighbour, steps in here too.

For the heroes among us with hearing impairments, we have automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology. Think of it as subtitles for life, giving real-time captions for speeches and presentations. For our visually impaired friends, screen readers and voice-over technologies are lighting up the path, helping them navigate online platforms.

Then for those with sensory sensitivities, simple technical solutions such as silent disco headsets at your event so your audience can concentrate on your presenters without outside distractions.

On stage monitors with live transcription allows for hearing impaired audience members to fully enjoy presentations in person.

Then finally theres emerging technology like in display glasses, and haptic touch surfaces that are growing the possibilities for a number of access needs to be supported on your events.

What level of accessibility do you need at your event?

Our tip, invite your audience to the conversation. Registration forms that ask the question “do you have any access needs?” are essential in bridging the gap. Then we always recommend discussing those needs with your AV partner to come up with the most effective solutions.

Practicing what I preach.

I thought this blog was a perfect opportunity to practice what I preach. Using Elevenlabs – The text to voice software I got an AI copy of my voice to read this blog so you don’t have to!

Thanks for reading / listening! Cameron