A Rapid Learning Curve: Deafness in a Workshop

Recently I was asked to deliver one of my regular workshops as an Associate, for a client organisation that was new to me. The client made me aware early on that one of the participants was deaf. 

It wasn’t until a couple of days before the workshop that I found out a BSL (British Sign Language) interpreter would not be available to come and support the attendee, in his understanding and participation of the training.

This took me immediately out of my comfort zone. I’ve learned over the years NOT to rely on PowerPoint (Death by PowerPoint not my thing!) or other written materials to make an impact – so much of it is in the style and tone of the delivery. I’ve perfected my verbal communication to give impactful messages to participants without the need for text. But suddenly, seen in a new light, my ‘go to’ materials for the session are rendered next to useless. A picture paints a thousand words – but not if you can’t give some verbal content around the reason why you’re showing the picture!

If I’m honest it threw me into a bit of a nervous spin. How could I delight the client – especially the one with the hearing loss – and still deliver an exceptional experience for the other attendees? It turns out I couldn’t do it alone.

Like many people who have been deaf their whole life, the team member cannot lip read and has no verbal communication abilities. The team leader provided me with loads of useful information about the participant’s specific communication preferences and was extremely reassuring and communicative before the session. They sent me a really useful document ’10 Communication Top Tips for Deaf People’, containing loads of helpful content to engage the person. Despite this reassurance, this document also sent me into a tailspin! So much to remember!

·      ‘Don’t ask if they can lip-read’

·      ‘What they can’t see, they don’t know’

·      ‘Don’t speak fast or use jargon’

So much to take in (no pressure!) and frankly the simple sign language I learned circa 1992 in Girls Brigade was going to be nowhere near enough.

After asking (probably too many) questions about how the person can and does communicate with their peers, it became crystal clear that the team of people who work with him are exceptional at inclusivity, especially when interpreters aren’t available and information is delivered to them audibly.

Essentially, the key to success on the day was teamwork and note taking! Team members made notes of key points for him on post-it notes (other sticky notes are available) as the session was being delivered. This, combined with some individualised preparation beforehand – I wrote notes for him at points where I would be giving group instructions, and at every stage that the team broke into group activities and exercises, meaning he felt included and able to keep up.

Sadly, due to time constraints at the end of the session, I had to hurry the verbal delivery (one of the things to avoid in the 10 Top Tips, oops). This undoubtedly impeded the ability of the note taker (who rotated every 20 mins or so) to keep up. 

However, I received this lovely feedback from the attendee – and next time I’ll feel more confident about stepping up early and communicating with someone who didn’t hear a word I said.

“I enjoyed working together with my team, at our Away Day last Friday. It was disappointing that no British Sign language interpreters were available for communication support, because of the short notice for the Away Day. However, the event was very helpful for developing my work style. The trainer gave me well-prepared instructions about working with colleagues. To be honest, I missed a lot of the information at the end of the session, but I realise that this part of the event had to be more fast-paced, because a lot of ground had to be covered, before finishing our session. I would like to thank Elaine for her training and I would also would like to thank my colleagues for their helpful note taking”.

I feel grateful to have learned a little more about training deaf people and genuinely hope I can improve my ability to communicate with the deaf community more credibly over time. Thanks also to the associate colleague who passed me the work and the client for giving us the opportunity to work with them.