Deaf Awareness
Do you know what to do when talking to a deaf or hard of hearing person? Many hearing people feel awkward or frustrated trying to communicate with deaf/Hard of hearing people, especially when no interpreter is available. There are improvements you can make to reduce the awkwardness and frustration
Physical improvements
Environmental improvements
Verbal improvements
Nonverbal improvements
Make Physical Improvements
Simple changes to your physical appearance and actions can improve communication. Making sure all of your face can be seen and that you don't have anything in your mouth, helps too.
A hearing person shall not bend down to talk because it may irritate the deaf/Hard of hearing person. Bending down also does not improve communication and in fact may make it more difficult. (The behavior is very similar to an English speaking person yelling on the phone to a foreign person.) Carry a small pad and pen or another means of communicating in writing.
Make Environmental Improvements
Controlling the environment can also help communication. Make sure that your position is good relative to a light source. Good and properly positioned lighting helps with seeing speech and signs. Monitor the noise level as noise can interfere with understanding.
In a group situation, make sure only one person talks at a time. If you have a board available, write notes on it. Prepare and distribute agendas for meetings in advance. A good though imperfect backup technique is to have a hearing person with a laptop sit next to the deaf person and take notes as you would for a college lecture.
Make Verbal Improvements
Speaking slightly slower helps deaf people to understand much better. Other deaf people prefer normal speech. You may have to repeat or paraphrase. For a hard of hearing person, speaking louder but not shouting, may help. Do not exaggerate your speech. For some reason, "Can you read lips?" seems condescending isn't it. Do use sign language if you know any sign even it is only the sign language alphabet.
Make Nonverbal Improvements
Nonverbal communication is very important to deaf/HOH (Hard of hearing) people, who get many information cues this way. Use facial expression, and gestures. You may have to touch a deaf person on the shoulder, arm, or leg to get their attention if they are close enough to you. Otherwise, you may have to stomp your foot on the floor or flash a light.
In conclusion, a hearing person who has never met a deaf person before does not need to feel awkward or frustrated. There are plenty of techniques to use. Hearing people can communicate with deaf/hard of hearing people even if they do not know sign language.
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