How I Hear and Speak
1. I was born Deaf and grew up bilingual in American Sign Language (ASL) and English. Thanks to 13 years of speech therapy, I can speak and lipread very well, allowing me to communicate effectively and build rapport with people. Many are surprised to learn I am Deaf, and some others may notice my unique accent and inquire which country I am from.
2. I wear hearing aids daily. My hearing aids amplify sound, allowing me to hear common sounds and voices. Without them, I only hear very loud sounds like fireworks. I combine my lip-reading with my amplified hearing to piece together what’s being said.
3. Because I concentrate intently on clear pronunciation, my vocal tone may not always fully reflect the emotion of my message. For example, I may sound monotone when I’m actually excited. Please know this isn’t personal.
4. I may mis-judge background noise and mis-calibrate the volume of my voice (i.e. speaking too loudly in quiet environments or too quietly in loud environments). If this happens, please let me know so I can adjust my volume accordingly.
Communication in the Workplace
5. I often remove my hearing aids when concentrating at work. If you need (or want) to speak with me in the office, please tap me on the shoulder to get my attention. I’m always happy to pause and chat!
6. When we’re talking, it’s very helpful to maintain eye contact and make sure your mouth is visible. This greatly aids my lip-reading. Speak normally; there’s no need to overenunciate words.
7. When starting a new conversation or switching topics, giving me some brief context beforehand is extremely helpful, as it helps me narrow down the possible words that I’ll be lipreading.
8. Dimly-lit places with loud background noises make it challenging to follow what’s being said. During practice dinners, happy hours, or other social events, I may appear shy, reserved, and stick to one-on-one conversations. Don’t take offense–I’ll be okay and am still having a good time.
9. I am truly an extrovert and love to connect with people. I am used to navigating potentially uncomfortable or awkward situations daily, so I know how to break the ice and make others feel at ease.
10. If you know a few signs in ASL, please feel free to use them! I appreciate the effort people take in learning and communicating in ASL.
Teams Chat and Video Calls
11. I rely heavily on Teams chat for collaboration among co-workers. If in a video call, I always have my Automatic Captions turned on. In the event of lagging captions or technical malfunctions, I have a third-party transcription service ready on stand-by.
12. You will often find me using the sidebar chat feature in video calls for clarification. In large video calls, I prefer to use “raise your hand” and chat feature for my questions. This helps me avoid unintentional interruptions as it’s challenging for me to verbally interject at exactly the right moment. Depending on the situation, I will request to have an interpreter join the call for seamless communication.
Speaking With Others
13. By default, I will speak for myself in almost every setting, as I communicate verbally with ease in most one-on-one conversations. One-on-two conversations are manageable, though they require a bit more focus and I may miss a few words here and there.
14. For groups of three or more individuals, I find having an ASL interpreter greatly enhances my ability to fully participate and understand everything being said.
15. When public speaking to groups of 20 or more people, I opt to using American Sign Language and have an interpreter voice for me. I’ve found this approach ensures my message is conveyed with clarity and reduces vocal strain.
16. Please do feel free to ask me questions about my Deafness, ASL, or anything else. I am more than happy to answer your questions!