Deaf awareness for any business or organisation is an important factor when dealing with clients. Being Deaf aware means you can enhance all your communication with every client you meet.
Lets set the stage to Clear communication that ensures understanding and that all your clients needs are met.
♦ You want good lighting that ideally would be LED or daylight balanced.
♦The people you are communicating with to be able to see you clearly , so avoid being back lit.
♦Ensure beards and moustaches are trimmed so that the lips can be seen. Lip pattern helps clear communication.
♦speak clearly with a slightly slower pace than normal.
♦Break sentences down into smaller chunks and if you need too rephrase what you have said.
♦Speak one at a time in meetings so that the person can lip read or look at the speaker if using an interpreter.
♦Face the Deaf person who you talk to them
♦Limit noise from all sources where possible. It can be hard to listen if loud traffic is in the background or heavy machinery.
♦Write things down. Using plain English that’s simple and easy to read can also help.
♦You may use gestures. pointing or showing the person.
♦If using visual materials eg a power point. consider supplying the person a copy ahead of time or giving time to look at the slides before you then talk through them.