Universal Design and Public Speaking

March 05, 2026

Universal Design and Public Speaking 

Last fall, while at the University Farm, I [Tim Ball] had finished revising my first toolbox for the CFI, I Can’t Do Public Speaking (Yet): Increasing Student Expectancy by Providing Specific, Rubric-Based Feedback, when Daisy Breneman came into the conference room. We started talking about universal design and how those principles could be applied to public speaking. Thus, a second toolbox was born. 

While universal design is defined by the Center for Universal Design as “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design,” a modification that can be used for the applications to teaching and learning is to design “teaching and learning products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design” (Burgstahler 2020, p. 111). How can this modification be used by public speakers? 

Considerations for public speakers: 

• Preparation: Prepare for a diverse audience by considering the target audience and the characteristics within that audience, especially with respect to the ability to hear, see, speak, understand the language you are speaking. 

• Presentation materials: Design presentation materials that are accessible to everyone. Use multimedia (i.e., videos, slides, visual aids, props, and handouts), but make sure to use large, sans serif fonts on slides so that they can be easily read from the back of a large room. Use background and text colors that are high in contrast. Don’t use color as the only method for conveying information, though. As possible, share slides or other materials in advance, or at the very least afterward, to increase accessibility. The JMU Libraries offer some valuable accessibility resources. 

• Delivery: Make your presentation welcoming, accessible, and inclusive by speaking clearly. Avoid speaking too rapidly or softly especially because there may be audience members whose first language is not yours and others with hearing impairments. Use a microphone and face the audience. Use inclusive language and avoid making assumptions about ability. For example, instead of using phrases such as “as you can see on the slides” or “you can read for yourself,” actually explain what’s on the slides. Use detailed visual descriptions. Consider live captioning. In other words, as possible, provide multiple means for your audience to engage with your presentation. 

Considerations for evaluating public speaking: 

It's also important for those of us who evaluate student public speaking to consider the diversity of presenters. It’s time to examine some of the criteria we use and carefully reflect on how inclusive they are (or are not). For example, norms around eye contact can vary by identity and culture. In addition, people who stutter shouldn’t have to conform to ableist notions about fluency. Consider the ways that body movement might be shaped by culture, neurodiversity, or other forms of difference. For more conversations and events about accessibility and advocacy, consider participating in this year’s Disability Advocacy Week. 

As instructional designer JD Goulet argues, "Stop Asking Neurodivergent People to Change the Way they Communicate" and extend the same consideration to speakers with other forms of difference. It’s important for us all to do careful reflection on the assumptions we make around communication.  

We can learn with and support our students as we all work toward linguistic justice and more inclusive and effective communication—things we very much need right now!