Making your message accessible

It’s important to make your campaign accessible to all. The following tips will show you how.

Use plain English

Make your campaigning information as accessible as possible and think about your use of language. Avoid jargon, vary the writing by mixing short sentences with longer ones, keeping to one main idea in a sentence and cut out passive or irrelevant words. See How to Write in Plain English.

Make it readable

Good standards of print legibility help all readers but these standards are particularly important to those with a visual impairment. Arial is considered the best all-round font for general leaflets, posters and headlines, as it is a strong, clear typeface. Also it is good for word-processed documents, being available on most computers. Arial 14 point is helpful as a default font or 16 point for short documents or large print formats.

Large print does not solely refer to the size of the text itself; the contrast, type face, paper weight and print quality also impact on the accessibility of the document.

Download Clear Print Guidelines, produced by the RNIB.

Use signs, symbols and pictures

Your campaign may need to include information with signs, symbols and pictures. Visit the National Autistic Society website.

CHANGE has picture banks on CD-ROM for communicating with people with learning difficulties.

Use audio

For many people with little or no vision audio formats are the most commonly used media for providing accessible information. As well as being used by visually impaired people, audio formats can also be used by anyone with difficulty reading the printed word, such as people who have dyslexia or who have trouble holding books and turning pages.

One way to create audio tapes is to use a professional transcription service – you can find out more information at www.rnib.org.uk

Above all, be passionate about your cause!