Anyone will tell you that one of the best ways to communicate with the deaf and the severely hard of hearing is through sign language, but what if you don’t know how to sign? Sure there are plenty of books and online guides you can get on signing through your Long Island T1 internet service and the like, but if you are pressed for time or just simply don’t have the patience to learn this new language there are a few tips we can offer for when you attempt to communicate with the deaf.
For starters, you need to be polite. Just because these people cannot hear you does not mean they aren’t human beings like you and me with thoughts and feelings. This means no shouting and, when you do try to speak with them, you make full eye contact with them so they can see your lips move. Many people who are hard of hearing have learned to read lips and sometimes all you need to do is speak calmly and slowly. Gestures and visual aids are fine too.
Remember that when you are speaking to a deaf person, you really are speaking to essentially a regular person – they just don’t communicate the same way as you. Keep this in mind. One of the best ways to establish communication with someone is to approach them as an equal.