Audio Description techniques for presentations
a11yTO · Toronto · October 2026
Roy Samuelson · Parity Endeavors, Inc.
This page lives at RoySamuelson.com/toronto
You already build for access. So I used our time on the techniques I use in Audio Description, pointed at the way you present.
Audio Description is my day job. I produce and perform it for film and TV. My work makes sure that blind audiences get access to the visuals, then say it in the sometimes two seconds between lines of dialogue.
Similar choices apply to a slide, a demo, or a screen share.
You point at a slide. You say:
“And over here we have…”
The words are correct, but some people are still searching while you keep talking. Without specificity, “over here” doesn’t tell anyone where to look.
Give the location instead:
“In the top right corner…”
“In the gray-blue box…”
The pattern: position, then color or shape, then the thing.
Your hand knows where it points. Your sentence says it.
On a screen share, or a support call:
“Click there. It’s right there. It’s right in front of you.”
The other person sees 200 words on a screen. They can’t find the “there.”
“In the top right, in the gray-blue box, there’s a button that says ‘More info.’ Click that.”
Same information. Now they can follow.
Beyond orientation, there’re other ways to bring your audience in.
I use two words. I ask them on every cue I record (a cue is one piece of description, spoken in one gap between lines).
Context. What is happening around this moment.
Intent. What this moment is doing.
Here is context. Five words:
“She eats the red apple.”
Ask “did she eat the green apple?” The answer stresses red.
Ask “did she save the red apple?” The answer stresses eats.
The five words stay the same. The stress moves, and the meaning moves with it.
We ran five of those. Then we ran the same line for intent: to inspire, to insult, to discover, to disappoint.
Intent changes cue by cue. It can change inside one sentence. If you only pick one intent, and hold it for 40 minutes, the talk goes flat.
Orientation. The room knows where to look.
Emphasis. Context and stress carry the message, so no single word has to.
Range. You track the moments as they change.
theADNA.org lists working AD professionals in film and TV. I built it after IMDb deleted my credits. It’s free and searchable, and this work now has names attached to it.
That’s what Parity Endeavors does.
The AD Playback Lounge is my membership for working Audio Description performers. Each month there’s one workout: a clip, a script, a technique. Members record it, then give each other notes.
I list it here as a model. If you want to see what separates an AD track that works from one that just complies, this is where that gets built. Pass it on if you know a voice actor or anyone interested in bringing words to life.
If anything here raises a question about your own content, book 30 minutes. Bring the video, the deck, or the decision you’re stuck on.
Or email me: Roy@RoySamuelson.com
© Roy Samuelson · Parity Endeavors, Inc.