Virtual meetings are a constant presence in remote and in-office El Paso jobs. You might take a call from your dining room table or videochat with clients from the office. However you engage in virtual meetings, ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in them is crucial.
Accommodating for hearing loss is one way to make that happen.
How Does Hearing Loss Affect Virtual Meetings?
Hearing loss can make virtual meetings challenging in the same ways as in-person meetings: it interrupts clear communication and makes employees feel less confident voicing their opinions.
Another difficulty for people with hearing loss is a lack of visual cues like lip movements or body language. When the video is off in virtual meetings, people with hearing loss may struggle to understand speech without the visual cues of an in-person collaboration.
How Can I Create an Accessible Virtual Environment?
Approximately 15% of U.S. adults have hearing loss. Creating an accessible environment lets your employees or coworkers know that what they say matters. Try a few of these tips to make your meetings hearing loss-friendly:
- Turn cameras on. Ask your employees or coworkers to turn their cameras on during small meetings to give people with hearing loss good visual clues. If you prefer to have cameras off, consider only doing so in larger meetings where not everyone talks and ask the speaker to turn their camera on.
- Use subtitles. Most virtual meeting software has subtitles that provide real-time text. Employees with hearing loss can enable this feature to ensure they don’t miss anything. The subtitles aren’t always perfect, so make it clear that you’re happy to repeat or rephrase yourself when needed.
- Use the mute feature. Turn your microphone off whenever you aren’t speaking. People with hearing loss often struggle to understand speech with a lot of background noise, so it’s best if only one person has their mic on at once.
- Enable Bluetooth®. Hearing aids can connect to smart devices like laptops and phones via Bluetooth. Ensure that your employees can connect their hearing aids if they wish. If they can’t connect, their work laptop may have restrictions on linking devices. If that’s the case, you may need to update permissions or talk to your IT department.
By following a few of these tips, you can create an accessible space where all employees can thrive. To learn more about hearing loss, contact Tinnitus & Hearing Experts today.