How can you make your podcast more accessible to people who are deaf and hard of hearing? It goes without saying that we don’t know what we don’t know. When it comes to how people with auditory differences—such as those who are deaf and hard of hearing—interact with our podcasts, the only way to learn how to do better and make those episodes more accessible is to ask. And that’s exactly what this episode does. Kellina Powell is an author and speaker who helps deaf and hard-of-hearing women express themselves with confidence in a hearing world. Tuck in your earbuds and get ready to listen and learn as Mary and Kellina discuss the nuances of engaging with podcasts as a hard-of-hearing listener. How big a role does video play? Is all the effort we put into creating transcripts paying off? Kellina weighs in with helpful transparency from first-hand experience about the accessibility questions you’ve always wanted to ask. Learn from Kellina’s unique perspective of the audible world: How your microphone affects sounds picked up during recordingThe difference in how hearing and hard-of-hearing people filter ambient noiseHow we can make our transcripts more accessible to those who need themHow to respectfully ask questions about accessibility Links worth mentioning from the episode: Episode 84 “Simplify Your Workflow to Keep Your Podcasting Passion Alive with Craig Constantine” - https://www.organizedsound.ca/simplify-your-workflow-to-keep-your-podcasting-passion-alive-with-craig-constantine-episode-84/ Engage with Kellina: Buy Kellina’s book, “Everyday I Am Just Deaf” - https://bookshop.org/p/books/everyday-i-am-just-deaf-life-in-a-hearing-world-with-deaf-queen-boss-kellina-powell/18522433?ean=9781778112102Connect with Kellina - https://www.kellinaempowerment.com/ Connect with Mary! Leave a voice note with your feedback at https://www.speakpipe.com/VisibleVoice or email visiblevoicepodcast@gmail.comGet the full transcript of the episode at http://www.visiblevoicepodcast.comRead up on more secrets with the Visible Voice Insights Newsletter https://www.organizedsound.ca/newsletterTo learn more or work with Mary, check out https://www.organizedsound.caLink up on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/marychan-organizedsound/Engage on Instagram @OrganizedSoundProductions https://www.instagram.com/organizedsoundproductions Show Credits: Podcast audio design, engineering, and edited by Mary Chan of Organized Sound ProductionsShow notes written by Shannon Kirk of Right Words StudioPost-production support by Kristalee Forre of Forre You VAPodcast cover art by Emily Johnston of Artio Design Co. Transcript with Audio Description: << MUSIC IN - GHOSTHOOD FEATURING SARA AZRIEL “LET’S GO” BEGINS >> MARY: You don't know what you don't know. And that goes for all sorts of things, not just any podcasting. But in the world of accessibility that is especially true. We can't create an environment to support accessibility features until we understand how someone actually interacts with it. Not what all the gurus and experts are telling us, but actual people. All the good and the bad things, what works, what doesn't. This usability aspect is really important to know. But in podcasting, an audio medium, how accessible are they to people who are hard of hearing? How do you create podcasts that can be more accessible in an audio-focused world? For some insight, I reached out to Kellina Powell, the Deaf Queen Boss. Kellina empowers deaf and hard of hearing women to express themselves fully and be heard in the hearing world with confidence. We recorded this conversation at the height of 2024, in the summer heat. So it was really hot out where she lives in the Toronto area. And I took this opportunity to let her A, feel at ease with the tech that she wanted to use for our recording. So in this case an iPad, so she could have captions automatically since we were not using video for the recording. And then B, I also realized for you as the listener, since she's outside, you can actually hear how things are recorded and heard from her point of view. So you'll hear it all and I want you to hear all of it. Not all podcasts are recorded in quiet rooms. So I wanted to use this episode as a great example of what it can be like when audio is used in a natural outdoors environment versus a closed environment. You'll hear the difference, because she'll be outside and I'll be in my quiet space. So what I've done differently with this episode is the editing. I slowly faded out her side of the recording when I'm speaking, so you can hear the difference. But there were also some spots that I left in while I was speaking. So you can hear her background too, because different mics record differently and the environment you're in plays a significant role in the outcome of your audio. So there were spots where I was talking and her background was full of great noise. As in you could hear the wind, birds chirping, ...
