Declining to Use a Mic at Your Next Conference Is Ableist by Jennifer Janechek

* October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. To honor this, many of the Sound Wisdom blog articles this month are meant to educate about disability-related employment issues and celebrate the diverse contributions brought to the workplace by employees with disabilities.  

There was an article circulating on my Facebook newsfeed the other day about what you’re really saying when you say, “I don’t need a mic” at a meeting or conference. According to the author, declining to use a microphone is a form of exclusion. It tells the audience that people who are not hard of hearing are valued over and above those who are—that it does not matter if people with hearing differences can comfortably listen to your presentation. In doing so, it not only devalues and ostracizes people who are hard of hearing, but in its baseline assumption about standard hearing and normative communication practices it also reinforces prejudices against those with hearing differences. In other words, it is an ableist behavior—it is discriminatory against people with disabilities. 

As someone who prides herself on being able to project well and who thus often declines to use a microphone when speaking publicly, this piece really gave me pause. I did not realize how assumptions about normative hearing were underlying my attitude about microphone usage.  

It is so important to cultivate inclusivity in our work and conference environments. In addition to always using a microphone when speaking in front of a group, here are some other great ways of promoting inclusivity in business environments that the article mentions: 

• Do not widely vary your pitch and volume while speaking: when a speaker gets quiet, a person’s hearing aids will amplify accordingly, so a sudden dramatic increase in volume can be painful to the listener. 

• Be patient and willing to repeat yourself, and if someone still can’t hear or understand you after a few repetitions, try changing your wording. 

• During Q&A, either provide question askers with a microphone or have a speaker repeat the questions using a microphone. 

• Another suggestion (unmentioned in the article) would be to have a multimedia component to your presentation. Having slides with written text can help deaf and hard of hearing audience members follow along better with your presentation. 

• This was also not stated in the article, but it is nice when conferences provide sign language translators for keynote lectures and large presentations. It is an extra expense to be sure, but when you consider what conference organizers are spending on the featured speakers, the catering, etc., the cost is minimal in comparison.  

According to a 2016 study by the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes, only 48% of deaf people were employed in 2014, while 72% of hearing people had jobs. Imagine how much richer our companies and conferences would be if we made them more accessible to deaf and disabled people. Let’s be respectful of the physical differences of our colleagues and work to eliminate ableist attitudes and behaviors from our work environments. It’s not always easy—as Joe Gerstandt writes in his introduction to Jessica Pettitt’s Good Enough Now, “Inclusion is [not] an intellectual endeavor…. It requires effort, action, and a bit of discomfort”—but it’s definitely worthwhile. Diversity brings so much value to the workplace and to society as a whole.  

This article originally appeared in The Good Men Project.

Jennifer Janechek is the director of content strategy for Sound Wisdom. She has her PhD in English literature from the University of Iowa and her MA in English from the University of South Florida. She is also the founder of The Work-at-Home Mom Blog, which provides inspiration and community for moms who juggle work and parenting simultaneously. Her writings can be found in Entrepreneur, The Good Men Project, and many other publications.

5 Tips for Employers to Encourage Productive Conversation Surrounding Disabilities and Chronic Illness by Hilary Jastram

* October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. To honor this, many of the Sound Wisdom blog articles this month are meant to educate about disability-related employment issues and celebrate the diverse contributions brought to the workplace by employees with disabilities.  

Last week, I led a call for the social interest group for The Good Men Project. We are called “Creating Success with a Disability.” The topic of the conversation dovetails perfectly with National Disability Employment Awareness Month (to my mind, anyway).  

Bringing awareness to the general population of people living with disabilities is a monumental task and that is mainly because this is a layered topic.  

Why don’t people want to look people in wheelchairs in the eyes? 

Because they are afraid of being rude and staring (likely), but more so, because they are uncomfortable. 

And why are they uncomfortable? 

Maybe the person’s disease or disability has more to do with their own fear of how they don’t want to see themselves. They are a voyeur from the outside looking in, making pronouncements about others’ realities. I was the same way. I did not understand the other side of the coin (yet). I didn’t know the range of emotions a person wielding a cane or using a chair or other helpful tool might feel. I didn’t understand that despite illness or disability, life could even improve on all levels. 

But there is definitely a range of feelings around the topic, which happens to be cushioned by the very way we regard and refer to people with disabilities. Words have power, and I am of the opinion that if we renamed “disability” with another word, we would find fault with it, too.  

Here’s one take on the definition of the prefix “dis-” from Merriam-Webster: “to treat with disrespect or contempt : insult; … [to] do the opposite of.” 

When we combine “dis” and “ability,” because of the way we have labeled this definition we create a person or state of being which is less than, which is the opposite of ability. 

Try being a person who has been told they are disabled. It is as if they have heard they are no longer able. Not only are they, for example, a woman, mother, wife, etc., but again, they are “no longer able.” Every time they receive a piece of material from the state or their insurance company, every time they have to explain their physical reality, they are repeating in their head, “I am not able.”  

This is not a far leap to “I am incapable,” and here you have the merry ride that leads us from perception to bias and fear, which feeds into our hiring practices. 

Societally, we have embraced that people who are still thriving, living, and participating in life are not able to complete tasks, to take care for or think for themselves, to get around autonomously, etc., simply because they have a disability. 

And this thought camp has been in effect for decades…since who knows when. 

Which is why the topic of disclosing a disability (or not) was selected for the first call for this new group. 

We had to wade into the weeds of how much to disclose, the liabilities of sharing too much, the responsibility we all have to educate people and change the perception of the chronically ill and disabled. We spoke of the desire to be open and explain without the resultant reaction of fear from a prospective employer or client, the need for accommodations. The need for real requirements to live, such as taking a nap during the day, or using a backup plan if plan A isn’t able to be implemented at the last minute, or moving offices, or allowing some work from home, exist. People who have disabilities and chronic illnesses are up against the stereotype that instantly befalls them upon diagnosis: they are lazy excuse makers; they are incapable of critical thinking (as if a perceived weakness in the body equals a frail mind). They want to just get by; they expect different (unfair or privileged) treatment. They will cost the company money because they won’t be able to meet deadlines, and on and on it goes. This stigma is emboldened by the people who do chase ambulances and who want to cave into their baser instincts to do nothing. 

But employers, you should know that chronically ill and disabled people are the poster children for work smarter, not harder…because we have no choice! We have to preserve stamina. We have to find the most efficient manners in which to complete our to-dos. If we don’t, we might suffer a setback. So many of us are parents who cherish making a living wage and who are overly proud of taking care of our families…despite our circumstances. 

Here are five tips employers/potential clients can implement during the next conversation with a person with a disability or chronic illness who is seeking a job/project. 

1. Listen to the accommodations needed with an open mind. Resist the urge to slam shut the door to more progressive conversation. Accommodations don’t mean lazy.  

2. Be open to more than one way to complete a task. Your new worker might need to finish her role in chunks, instead of in a marathon flash. He may need to rest to stave off his headache before picking up the ball again. That’s okay as long as your deadline is met. 

3. Speaking of deadlines, you can use several of them. Stating that you would like work turned in a little bit earlier than the true deadline when you need to implement a new program, etc., will give you a bit of a net. If that date cannot be met due to illness or other turns of events, then you are not sunk. You still have time. 

4. Your new employee doesn’t owe you a laundry list of their symptoms, and that’s all right, too. Treading carefully is no different in this case than in any other. Human curiosity doesn’t give us the right to pry into other people’s lives. If someone is not comfortable sharing, so be it. You can still discuss the accommodations needed without the dirty details of what may be embarrassing or a vulnerability. 

5. It is okay to question if there are any concerns that may get in the way of the job. Definitely check the laws and don’t proceed without doing so. But to move our conversations forward, we need to have deeper engagement. Would you hire a person who lived two hours away and didn’t have a car? If they weren’t sure they could be to the office on time, probably not. You can ask about the responsibilities the applicant or employee would be charged with and if they will be able to handle them. When I lost my job, the HR director and I had a similar conversation. It was open and honest, and it helped us both to make decisions. You have a job that needs to be done and you need a person who can do it. It is reasonable to talk about that. 

With the rising number of people receiving all sorts of diagnoses of diseases and disabilities, these conversations and the need to be sensitive and more honest than ever before will be paramount.

The founder of Sick Biz, Hilary Jastram uses her experience with chronic illness to support other entrepreneurs with disabilities and invisible illnesses in their journey toward success and freedom. Her book Sick Success: The Entrepreneur’s Prescriptions for Turning Pain into Purpose and Profit is available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and other major retailers.

Enhance the Service Experience of Your Untapped Customer Base: People with Disabilities by Jennifer Janechek

* October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. To honor this, many of the Sound Wisdom blog articles this month are meant to educate about disability-related employment issues and celebrate the diverse contributions brought to the workplace by employees with disabilities.  

The sixth Convenience Principle in Shep Hyken’s new book, The Convenience Revolution, is Access. This principle is about “removing unnecessary friction from the typical customer’s day.” According to Hyken, the three factors that contribute to it are availability, communication, and location. 

A large and growing percentage of the population has a disability, and these customers contribute greatly to the economy. However, many businesses do not make an effort to be accessible to customers with disabilities, which, on top of being unethical, can be really detrimental to their company. It’s important to consider how your business—and the businesses you support—make themselves accessible to their customers who have disabilities, whether visible or invisible, physical or mental. Using the three components of Access that Hyken mentions in his book as a framework for this discussion, let’s reflect on the various ways that companies can enrich (or harm) the customer experience of people with disabilities. 

Location 

Your company’s physical environment is likely the first thing that comes to mind when you think of access, and it is certainly a very important aspect of the customer experience of people with disabilities. Because there are such a wide variety of disabilities—from mobility impairments to visual impairments, chronic illnesses to psychological and cognitive disabilities—it’s important to utilize universal design principles as much as possible in the construction of your space. “Universal design” simply means structuring your place of business in such a way as to cater to the widest range of customers possible. According to this article in Forbes, two ways to enhance access for people with disabilities in terms of location include (1) having ramps and keeping them well maintained and (2) using “universal access” levers instead of round doorknobs for your entry/egress doors, restroom doors, and as many other doors as possible. The US government recommends that business owners who aren’t able to make the physical location of their company accessible (as in cases where a ramp isn’t feasible or is cost prohibitive) offer an alternative means of access, e.g., curb-side or home delivery for restaurants and dry cleaners, home or alternate meeting locations for appointments with a lawyer or an accountant. It’s also important to be sensitive to people with allergies, autism, and other sensory sensitivities. Unless you own a candle or perfume store, avoid strong-smelling scents (I’m looking at you, Abercrombie & Fitch). Keep sound levels to a minimum, and be cognizant of how lights, media, and other stimuli might affect customers differently. 

Communication 

Are your customers with visual and/or auditory disabilities able to reach out to you online? According to the US government, “Under the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act], businesses are expected to communicate effectively with customers with vision, hearing, or speech disabilities, and are responsible for taking the steps that are needed for effective communication.” But how many companies actually do this? The Forbes article mentioned earlier recommends making sure any CAPTCHAs (“Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart”) have a (good) audio alternative for blind customers, designing customer service channels in such a way that gives alternatives to IVR (interactive voice response telephone systems) for those who can’t interact with them effectively, and ensuring that your website isn’t too graphics heavy, which can make a website unreadable for those with visual impairments who use screen-reading technology. And all images should have readable alt tags that give a clear description of them. 

Availability 

Are you able to meet the needs of your customers by providing hours of operation or communication (for online customer service experiences) that are accessible for the widest range of customers possible? Some people with disabilities rely on a family member, friend, or caretaker to assist them with their purchasing: Are your business hours conducive to those who might need to shop, go to the bank, etc., after the “normal” 9-to-5 workday is over? Do you have long wait times on your customer service channels that might deter neurodiverse customers from getting the answers or help they need? These are important questions to consider. 

Remember, accessibility isn’t just about the physical environment. Social barriers (including the attitudes of employees) can hinder people with disabilities from patronizing your establishment. I encourage you to reflect on how you might make your business more universally accessible to both your customers and your employees. 

How might you make your business more accessible to customers with disabilities? What businesses do you know of that excel in this area? Comment below to share!

Looking for more tips? Check out this course from the US government on “Reaching Out to Customers with Disabilities” or this Canadian guide on serving customers with disabilities. And be sure to pick up a copy of Shep Hyken’s The Convenience Revolution: How to Deliver a Customer Service Experience That Disrupts the Competition & Creates Fierce Loyalty, available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, 800-CEO-READ, and many other fine retailers.