Speaker Guide

This pack explains how to apply to speak at Access Given 2027.

How to apply

Complete the Access:Given 2027 speaker application form by 5pm on 11 November 2026. You can use the Google Form, or download and complete the Word document and email it as an attachment to info@accessgiven.co.uk.

Both ask the same questions about you and your proposed talk.

What happens to your answers

We use your answers to choose speakers and plan the programme. If you are chosen, we will agree the wording used to introduce you and describe your talk to attendees. We will only use publicity materials where you have given permission. We use any information you give us about support to arrange that support.

What happens next

We will review applications after the deadline and email everyone with the outcome by 9th December 2026. If you would like feedback on our decision, contact info@accessgiven.co.uk.

Who is asking

Access:Given is organising the 2027 conference. This pack draws on frameworks developed by Vulnerability Managers, a UK company that helps organisations support people in vulnerable circumstances. You can find out more at vulnerabilitymanagers.com.

What we ask for, and why

Four lengths, each with a job

We ask for your biography and your session at set lengths. Each length is used in a specific place.

What you give	Length	Where we use it
Short biography	One sentence	The programme, your introduction slide, and social media if you agree
Longer biography	3 to 5 sentences	The website, announcements and adverts if you agree
Your session in a sentence	One sentence	The programme, and the notes attendees get in advance
Your session in a paragraph	3 to 5 sentences	Longer listings, and the start of your session
Your outline, with timings	About one page	The review, and checking the length fits the content
The full detail and materials	As long as it needs	Running the session, checking content, and planning support

How every session starts

Every session starts with the same short introduction. It gives people the things they would otherwise have to ask for. It covers six things:

Anyone can pause or leave at any time, without asking or explaining.
How long the session is, and when the breaks are.
Who you are: your name, role, pronouns, and a short spoken description of how you look.
That we give the topic before the details.
If you offer a private conversation afterwards, how to book it.

The topic comes before the details

We call this “theme then detail”. You say the broad topic first. Then the setting. Then the general detail. Then the specific detail. At each step, people can choose how much more to hear.

For the same reason, we do not use “trigger warning” or “sensitive content” labels. A label on some content suggests the rest is safe. That is never true.

Instead, every session states its topics plainly, in your words. For example: “This session covers bereavement.”

Describing yourself

Your spoken description helps people who cannot see you. They may be blind or have low vision. It gives them what a sighted person sees at a glance.

Aim for one plain sentence. Use two at most.
Only describe what can be seen.
Use your own words, especially for gender and race.
We never say or publish anything about you that you have not agreed.
Every speaker is asked for the same things. Nobody is described in more or less detail than anyone else.

Here is an example:

“I’m Elisabeth Ward, the facilitator today. I’m a white woman in my early thirties, with curly brown shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, and I wear glasses. My pronouns are she and her.”

Publicity and social media

What we collect

We collect a photograph of your head and shoulders (a headshot), a short biography and a longer biography. We also use your session title, sentence and paragraph to advertise the programme.

Where they can appear

the event website and printed programme
the event’s social media accounts: LinkedIn, Instagram, MailChimp newsletter
photographs, recordings and short clips of you speaking, but only if you say yes

At the event, nobody is photographed unless they say yes. People who have not said yes wear a visible marker.

How we keep it in your control

Each permission is separate. Saying no to any of them does not affect whether your proposal is accepted.
We use your words. If we need to shorten a biography, we ask you first.
Every image of you has a text description. It is the same description you give in your introduction. Screen reader users then get the same information as everyone else.
You can change your mind. Contact info@accessgiven.co.uk at any time. We will remove your content from the event’s own accounts and pages.
We are honest about the limits. We cannot recall copies other people have already made. This is why we publish nothing until you clearly agree.

Wellbeing and safeguarding

Topics are shared in advance

Attendees are told the topics of each session before the event, at the start of the session, and before each part. They can choose how much to take part or step out without explaining why.

Other people’s stories need their consent

Your session might use someone else’s story, words or image. If so, three things must be true:

the person agreed
their agreement is recorded
they were told how their story, words or image would be used

Two rules for every speaker

First, never promise complete confidentiality. Do not say “what’s said in this room stays in this room.”

Second, describe what is there, not how people will feel. The event has a quiet room with a door that closes. It has seating away from the group, and named people to talk to. We describe these plainly. We do not say “safe space”, because nobody can promise that everyone will feel safe.

Your wellbeing counts too

The details form asks what would support you before, during or after you speak. You never need to give a reason.

Materials

We share materials with attendees before the event in accessible formats. So we need yours by 26 March 2027.

Appendix 1: Standards for slides and materials

Area	The standard
Text size and font	Slide text is 20 point or larger. 24 to 28 point is better. Use a clear font such as Arial, Tahoma or Calibri. No text in all capitals, and no blocks of italics.
Amount of text	No slides packed with text. Keep bullets to two lines or fewer. Use several short slides, not one crowded one.
Backgrounds	No text over pictures, textures or patterns. Put a block of solid colour behind any text that must sit on a picture.
Space for captions	Keep the bottom of every slide clear, about 15% of its height. This leaves room for captions.
Colour	Check the contrast between text and background. Never use colour alone to show meaning.
Images	Every meaningful image has a text description. Mark decorative images as decorative. Never put important information only inside an image.
Video	Every video has captions, checked for accuracy. A written transcript is available. Nothing relies only on pictures.
Movement	Nothing flashes.
Speaker notes	Every slide has notes of what you will say. Write them so anyone could read them. Slides are often shared with the notes still in them.
Sources	Give a source for every fact and figure where it first appears. Credit anyone else’s material.

Appendix 2: What we will not accept, in full

Content and claims

We will not accept	Why
Distressing detail given before its topic is named, or with no chance to step away before the most specific part	Detail that comes first can overwhelm people. It takes away their choice about how much to hear.
“Trigger warning” or “sensitive content” labels used to manage difficult material	A label on some content makes the rest look safe. Labels used unevenly are worse than none. Plain topic statements work for everything.
Any activity where people must show they are affected, to take part or to step out	The person who steps out is singled out.
Any promise of complete confidentiality, such as “this stays in the room” or “off the record”	The law can override this promise. Anyone who relies on it is misled. If confidentiality is offered, its limit is said at the same time.
Promising a feeling instead of describing what is there, such as “safe space” or “worry free”	Nobody can promise a feeling for everyone. We describe what is actually provided.
Facts or figures without a source, or other people’s work without credit	Every fact has a source where it first appears. Other people’s work keeps their name on it.
Other people’s stories, words or images used without recorded consent and clear terms	Someone who was never told how their words would be used has not agreed to this use.
Personal details about other people that the proposal does not need	We only collect and share information for a stated reason.

Formats and materials

We will not accept	Why
Anything that flashes or flickers	It can cause seizures.
Text over pictures, textures or patterns	Many people cannot read it, including people with low vision or dyslexia.
Slide text under 20 point, text in all capitals, blocks of italics, or slides packed with text	Each one makes text harder to read.
Colour used alone to show meaning	It shuts out people who are colour blind or use screen readers.
Meaningful images with no text description, or important information only inside an image, including scanned handouts	A screen reader user gets nothing.
Video without accurate captions, or content that is only visual or only sound	It shuts out deaf, hard of hearing, blind and partially sighted people.
Speaker notes with private business details, or judgements about people or organisations, that are not on the slide	Slides are often shared with the notes still in them. Ask yourself: would I put this on the slide?
A headshot or biography of someone else, or a group photograph, without their recorded consent	Only the person themselves can give permission for their own publicity.

How sessions are run

We will not accept	Why
Not using the microphone, in any size of room	A microphone is used even in small rooms, and passed round for questions.
Pointing at something without saying what it is, such as “this thing here”	Some people cannot see it. Name and describe what you point to.

Appendix 3: How we use your answers

What you tell us	How we use it
Your contact details	To email you about your application and, if chosen, your session.
Your biography, headshot and introduction	To introduce you and promote the event, using wording and images you have agreed to.
Your talk idea, title and topics	To choose speakers and, if you are chosen, tell attendees what to expect.
Your session outline, timings and materials	To plan your session, check the content and share accessible materials with attendees in advance.
Other people’s stories or images	To check that you have their consent before using them.
Your publicity permissions	To check what we can publish about you and where.
Your support needs	To arrange support before, during or after your session. You do not need to explain why you need it.
An optional conversation after your session	If you offer one, tell attendees how to book it.

Appendix 4: Sources

Everything in this pack and both forms comes from the standards and frameworks of Vulnerability Managers, as at September 2026. Their author is Matt Radford, Director of Vulnerability Managers.

We have gathered the sources here, so the main pages stay easy to read. Each rule traces to one of these Vulnerability Managers standards or frameworks:

Four lengths: the Sentence, Paragraph, Page, Paper framework. It says each length must be complete, accurate and honest on its own. A shorter version adds a way in; it never replaces the longer one.
How every session starts: the Vulnerability Managers standard introduction, and the standards for introduction slides and spoken introductions.
Describing yourself: the standards for simple descriptions of people and for introducing yourself. These include the example in Appendix 1, and the rule that you lead on your own description.
Topic before details, and no trigger warnings: the Theme Then Detail framework, and the standards for sensitive content. These include chances to step away, checking what images and sounds carry, and replacing warning labels.
Form design: the standards for forms. These cover plain labels, explaining required questions, help where it is needed, and sending part of a form.
Slides and materials: the presentation, slide and font standards. These include the Vulnerability Managers position that length is set by what the content needs. Vulnerability Managers records this as a disagreement with NHS England’s guidance “Making meetings accessible”.
Running events: the event standards on microphones, describing what you point to, transcription and interpreters. Also the standard on breaks every 45 to 60 minutes. Also the standards on topic notes, photography and recording.
Choice of routes: the standard that no single way is ever the only way.
Images and consent: the image standards, including consent and where images come from.
Vulnerability Managers’ own rules for everything it produces: sources for every fact, and clear terms for anyone who contributes. Confidentiality is always offered with its limit, in standard words. We describe what is there, not a promised feeling. Speaker notes are written so anyone could read them. Every document carries the copyright line.
Honesty about taking content down: the principle that once something has been shared, copies are out of our control. So nothing is published without clear agreement first.
The way these documents are written: the written content standards and plain language rules.

Many of the slides, materials and event practices come from Elisabeth Ward’s Accessible meetings, presentations and events guide (2026). Vulnerability Managers has adopted them in its standards. They include the standards in Appendix 2.

Other people’s material keeps its own credit. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 are published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Words used in this pack

Word	What it means here
Biography	A short piece of writing about you, used to introduce you.
Captions	Words on screen that show what is being said.
Consent	A person’s clear agreement.
Headshot	A photograph of your head and shoulders.
Pronouns	The words used for you, such as she, he or they.
Safeguarding	Protecting people from harm.
Screen reader	Software that reads out what is on a screen, used by many blind and partially sighted people.
Text description	Words that describe an image, for people who cannot see it. Also called alternative text.
Theme then detail	Saying the topic before the details, so people can choose how much to hear.

Companion documents: