3 simple tips for communicating with deaf people whilst wearing a mask. We hope these will be of value to our wonderful NHS staff , and other key workers who are putting themselves at risk to save the lives of others.

Follow these simple tips:

1) Use Bullet Points

Get a pen and paper and write down bullet points rather than longer sentences.
British Sign Language has a different grammar structure to written English so reading articles or forms may not be the most efficient way to access information.

2.) Don’t Shout

We can’t hear you. Shouting doesn’t help a person who is deaf or has a hearing impairment.

3.) Use Body Language

Lip readers won’t be able to see your lips because of the mask so use body language, hand gestures and use your eyes to convey the tone and emotion necessary to help get the message across.

Thank you to the NHS, ambulance staff, police force, army and all the key workers putting themselves at risk to save others. If we can do anything to help in regards to disability awareness please contact us.

This information is available as a downloadable pdf document:

Tips for communicating with a deaf person whilst wearing a mask by Enhance The UK

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