Accessible Communications: Create Impact, Avoid Missteps and Build Trust

In this episode of PR Explored, host Michelle Garrett, a PR consultant, author, and writer, interviews her guest Matisse Hamel-Nelis, PR consultant, trainer, professor, and speaker, to discuss her new co-authored book with Lisa Riemers on accessible communications in PR, created to help practitioners “create impact, avoid missteps, and build trust.” Hamel-Nelis shares how a Twitter hashtag mistake at CNIB introduced her to digital accessibility and revealed a gap in PR education despite accessibility laws and WCAG standards. The conversation covers practical starting points like plain language, PascalCase/camelCase hashtags, alt text, captions, accessible Word styles, and the complexities of PDFs and reading order, plus vendor support. They emphasize progress over perfection, leadership buy-in using audience and revenue impact, building accessibility into projects early to save costs, and examples from Microsoft, Apple, and NASA.00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro00:42 Book Launch Journey04:00 Teaching and Consulting Updates05:04 Why Write the Book05:41 Hashtag Accessibility Wakeup09:43 Acronyms and Screen Readers12:18 DEI Acronyms and PDFs15:24 Start Small Progress Over Perfect22:51 Emojis and Alt Text Pitfalls25:58 Accessibility Laws and WCAG Basics28:01 PDF Standards and Structure30:06 Word Styles and Tagging31:54 Social Media Accessibility Rules33:37 Prioritizing Fixes and New Content37:02 Captions Done Right on YouTube39:41 Winning Leadership Buy-In44:15 Designing Accessible Video Audio47:47 Accessibility Helps Everyone49:58 Brands Doing It Well55:55 Start Now and Keep LearningShow notes: Learn more about Matisse Hamel-Nelis: https://matissenelis.com/Get Matisse's book, Accessible Communications: Create Impact, Avoid Missteps and Build Trust: https://matissenelis.com/accessible-communications-by-lisa-riemers-and-matisse-hamel-nelis/Follow Matisse Hamel-Nelis  on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matissenelis/Follow Matisse Hamel-Nelis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matissenelis/Follow the host: Website: www.michellegarrett.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUsX/Twitter: https://x.com/PRisUsThreads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergalMichelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available nowBook a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here. About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, writer and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker and podcast guest on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.