Book – Sound Is Not Enough: The Art of Captioning for Universal Access (Second Edition)

Note:

• The first edition is removed from all book platforms and no longer for sale.
• The second edition offers more current information.
• Only platforms listed above are authorized by the author to sell the book.

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Book Details

Nonfiction; 132 pages; author – Svetlana Kouznetsova; editor – Keith Morrill; cover design – Nik.

Do you have a podcast, video series or upcoming live event?

Are you looking to increase your audience tenfold?

Look no further than captioning!

In the updated edition of her book, Sound Is Not Enough: The Art of Captioning for Universal Access, Svetlana Kouznetsova shares her extensive knowledge and experience on the topic.

The author, who has given a TEDx talk on how captions increase ROI and audience for media creators, will show you how to capture new viewers and take your audience to a whole new and diverse level.

With a report showing that captions increase video viewership by 80%, it’s no surprise that captioning can lead to increased audience and revenue.

However, it’s not enough to just add captions. They must also be accurate and easy to read. Captioning is an art based on the best practices.

People with good hearing can rely on their capacity to hear as a fallback if the text is poor or doesn’t make sense to them. It’s a totally different experience for 466 million deaf people worldwide who rely on quality captioning and transcription as the only way to access aural information. Poor captions cause cognitive dissonance for deaf people – in the same way it’s difficult for you to listen to poor audio. That’s why captions and transcripts need to be treated like audio, video, and lighting in terms of quality.

This book is specifically tailored for:

• executives,
• business owners,
• media producers,
• event organizers,
• educators, and
• employers.

Inside, you will find common myths about deaf and hard-of-hearing people, the author’s personal experiences with deafness, and many examples of quality captioning for various types of aural information enjoyable by anyone, regardless of hearing abilities. Because sometimes, sound is not enough.

Let’s think outside the ears!

Happy reading!

Book Preview

Liked the book?

If you enjoyed the book and need Svetlana to provide customized services for your project (to make your audio, video, event accessible) or to speak at your event, contact us.

Looking forward to working with you!

Book Reviews

Critic’s Report

Plot/Idea: Kouznetsova cogently urges business leaders and media professionals to broaden their audience to include members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities by taking a few actionable steps–most notably, by including universal captioning when presenting aural information.

Prose: Kouznetsova’s prose is even and approachable. She provides a fine blend of informative blocks of writing, clear definitions of unfamiliar or frequently misunderstood terms, and bullet-pointed lists.

Originality: Sound Is Not Enough is unique in its focus on the benefits of captioning for those with hearing issues as well as individuals with learning disabilities, foreign language speakers, and more.

Character/Execution: Sound Is Not Enough examines how providing accommodations and resources for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals can not only meet the needs of an underserved community but can also increase revenue. The author provides valuable insights into the needs of those with hearing difficulties, bringing compassion and first-hand knowledge to the topic.

The BookLife Prize

Essential reading for anyone wanting to incorporate captioning into the design of their system/service for deaf/hard-of-hearing

Sveta’s book provides a comprehensive and extremely informative overview of the challenges that deaf or hard-of-hearing people face during everyday life – at home, at work and whilst traveling. It should be essential reading for anyone who wants to provide services to, or reach out to the market of over 640 million deaf or hard-of-hearing people worldwide. Whilst the use of captioning (closed or open) is covered in detail, the book providing clear guidelines and suggestions to incorporate captioning as part of a system or service, it also focuses on the benefits that captioning brings to all users of the system or service through universal design.

– Jonathan Norris

An Innovative Solution for Improving Communication Access

As a business professional with normal hearing, this book has made me realize how much we take for granted every single day, and how much deaf and hard-of-hearing people need to work in order to get the same spontaneous information that comes so easily to people with normal hearing. Assuming that the use of Sign Language, Lipreading or sticking an interpreter in front of a room is the answer to the problem is short sighted. These methods may be useful in certain situations, but is not a good enough solution for the inclusion of deaf and hard-of-hearing people so that they may be productive in and engaged in society daily in every situation in Real-Time.

The author suggests in great detail how Universal Captioning is an innovative alternate solution to the concerns for Full Communication Access among not only deaf and hard-of-hearing people, but also how it is beneficial for everyone (eg. people with low literacy skills, foreign language learners, foreign language speakers who have a heavy accent and hard for others to understand, or for people with normal hearing who are in a noisy or restrictive environment).

This book raised my awareness and made me recognize that with the rise of Technological advances (such as the internet/texting), along with new Laws that have been put in place to support deaf and hard-of-hearing people, the only thing that remains to be improved is our Attitude toward making a difference. I think that many people ignore and/or belittle the importance of providing alternate ways to communicate. This book strives to help us understand, urges us take responsibility and use the resources necessary to provide quality captioning and communication improvement on a universal scale.

Excellent read for anybody who is trying to be inclusive, especially businesses.

– Jessica Duran

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