In pursuing workplace inclusivity, organizations are prioritizing everyday interactions across all employee groups. Key to this initiative is fostering inclusive meetings for visually impaired employees. While events like town halls shape organizational culture, they can be challenging for this group. Often overlooked, self-description is a crucial tool for visually impaired individuals navigating these settings. One of the most important parts of inclusive gatherings comes right at the start and is often taken for granted: introductions.
Self-Description for Visually Impaired Employees
A great deal of visual information is taken in during introductions, from a person’s surrounding environment, personal characteristics and the diversity in the room. Some of these characteristics may be discerned differently for individuals with a visual impairment. “Self-description” is a helpful tool visually impaired individuals use to acclimate to any meeting with unfamiliar voices or when in large groups. Furthermore, descriptive introductions significantly decrease the work attached to this acclimation process. Finally, self-descriptions can help visually impaired people recognize their colleagues more easily in future interactions.
When organizing a large gathering, it’s important to consider self-description a part of good event execution, similar to how you would hire a sign-language interpreter. You might be wondering how many visually impaired people need to be present to require self-descriptions. Not all visually impaired people require or enjoy self-descriptions, but the presence of a single person who wants this to be a feature of the event should be enough to require speakers and attendees to provide them.
With this in mind, let’s consider what makes a good self-description.
The Art of Self-Description
Self-description may not come naturally to everyone, but simple guidelines can make it easier. With practice, self-description can eventually seem as natural as saying your name.
If a visually impaired person is in the middle of a multi-person conversation, the sound of overlapping voices can quickly become confusing. Simply repeating your name before you speak is a good way to help them remember you and associate it with your voice. Adding a person’s organization provides additional context at large gatherings. Meeting or conference organizers should reinforce the practice and structure. Remind people as they begin to speak in case they forget.
When making your initial introduction, prepare a concise remark that particularizes you. The more people in the room, the harder it is for the visually impaired to remember everything. Keep self-descriptions to no more than two sentences to prevent cognitive overload. Limit the self-description to important information for the context of the situation.
Common things to include are names, pronouns, positions, company and perhaps some defining physical features. Your choice of words matters, but they should be descriptors you are comfortable sharing. You are, in some ways, describing yourself to everyone in attendance. If there are elements of your identity you are not comfortable sharing, that is OK. Self-description is ultimately a personal statement that allows you to choose what to reveal and withhold. Limit the description to what you feel the person needs to know.
Luckily, everyone has already had some experience with self-description. For example, if you’ve ever met someone you don’t know and have never seen in a public place, how would you describe yourself to them so they can find you in a crowd? Typical things include:
- Gender identity
- Age
- Race/ethnicity
- Appearance details (hair color, height, skin tone, clothing, etc.)
- Disability (if desired)
Self-Description in Virtual Settings
In a world where virtual settings are increasingly common, consider crafting your self-description thoughtfully. For example, your clothing may not be relevant. Additionally, your height is indecipherable from everyone else on the call. Consider the environment when formulating your self-description and eliminate unneeded descriptions to save time.
Ensure your voice is heard and easily understood by being mindful of background noise; use headphones, a mic or an app that minimizes such noise.
