{"id":37142,"date":"2025-08-26T13:57:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T13:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/connection-starts-with-understanding\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T08:56:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T08:56:09","slug":"communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/","title":{"rendered":"Communicating with People who are Hearing-impaired"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>South African Sign Language (SASL) is now officially our 12th national language \u2014 a long overdue step that recognises the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community as a vital part of our nation\u2019s fabric.<\/p>\n<p>This milestone isn\u2019t just about language \u2014 it\u2019s about access, inclusion, and mutual respect. Whether you\u2019re Deaf, hard of hearing, or hearing \u2014 we all share the responsibility to build workplaces and communities where everyone feels heard, seen, and valued.<\/p>\n<p>Communication looks different for everyone. Here are ways we can all help create more inclusive interactions \u2014 whether at work, in public, or during everyday conversations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Start with respect<\/strong><br \/>\nAlways approach someone as an equal \u2014 not with pity or assumptions. A little courtesy goes a long way.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get attention kindly<\/strong><br \/>\nA tap on the shoulder, a wave in the line of sight, or even switching lights on and off \u2014 these small signals help start a conversation without causing alarm.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Face each other when speaking<\/strong><br \/>\nLip-reading, facial expressions, and visual cues are important. Avoid covering your mouth and keep your face well-lit when possible.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use simple visuals and gestures<\/strong><br \/>\nNatural hand movements, writing things down, or showing images can support clearer communication for everyone \u2014 not just those who are hard of hearing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be open to learning<\/strong><br \/>\nYou don\u2019t need to be fluent in SASL to start connecting. Learn a few basic signs, and use them with confidence and respect \u2014 even if you\u2019re still learning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Every step we take to remove communication barriers creates a more supportive and respectful environment \u2014 for Deaf and hearing people alike.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you communicate by voice, email, WhatsApp or in-person \u2014 <strong>LifeAssist support services are available to all employees.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s continue building a culture of care \u2014 where <em>everyone\u2019s<\/em> way of communicating is respected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South African Sign Language (SASL) is now officially our 12th  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[370,35,224],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-sept-articles","category-lifestyle-work-life","category-manager-toolkit"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Communicating with People who are Hearing-impaired - Sizani<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Communicating with People who are Hearing-impaired - Sizani\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South African Sign Language (SASL) is now officially our 12th [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sizani\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-26T13:57:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T08:56:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2025\/09\/deaf-connection.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"zara\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"zara\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"zara\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/af95e4ffad46b719e872bdf047249ab2\"},\"headline\":\"Communicating with People who are Hearing-impaired\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-26T13:57:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-15T08:56:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":297,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/53\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/deaf-connection.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2025 Sept Articles\",\"Lifestyle - Work Life\",\"Manager Toolkit\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/\",\"name\":\"Communicating with People who are Hearing-impaired - Sizani\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/53\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/deaf-connection.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-26T13:57:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-15T08:56:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/53\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/deaf-connection.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/53\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/deaf-connection.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Communicating with People who are Hearing-impaired\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/\",\"name\":\"Sizani\",\"description\":\"Employee Wellness Programme\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Life Assist\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/53\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/LAyourlifeassist250x250-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/53\\\/2017\\\/08\\\/LAyourlifeassist250x250-1.png\",\"width\":250,\"height\":252,\"caption\":\"Life Assist\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/af95e4ffad46b719e872bdf047249ab2\",\"name\":\"zara\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fb5ad28439f55e34c7534f97005a4647b3681f5db1b762f4509e843e360029f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fb5ad28439f55e34c7534f97005a4647b3681f5db1b762f4509e843e360029f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fb5ad28439f55e34c7534f97005a4647b3681f5db1b762f4509e843e360029f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"zara\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/author\\\/zara\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Communicating with People who are Hearing-impaired - Sizani","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Communicating with People who are Hearing-impaired - Sizani","og_description":"South African Sign Language (SASL) is now officially our 12th [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/","og_site_name":"Sizani","article_published_time":"2025-08-26T13:57:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-15T08:56:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2025\/09\/deaf-connection.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"zara","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"zara","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/"},"author":{"name":"zara","@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/#\/schema\/person\/af95e4ffad46b719e872bdf047249ab2"},"headline":"Communicating with People who are Hearing-impaired","datePublished":"2025-08-26T13:57:19+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-15T08:56:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/"},"wordCount":297,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2025\/09\/deaf-connection.jpg","articleSection":["2025 Sept Articles","Lifestyle - Work Life","Manager Toolkit"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/","url":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/","name":"Communicating with People who are Hearing-impaired - Sizani","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2025\/09\/deaf-connection.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-26T13:57:19+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-15T08:56:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2025\/09\/deaf-connection.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2025\/09\/deaf-connection.jpg","width":800,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/communicating-with-people-who-are-hearing-impaired\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Communicating with People who are Hearing-impaired"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/#website","url":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/","name":"Sizani","description":"Employee Wellness Programme","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/#organization","name":"Life Assist","url":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2017\/08\/LAyourlifeassist250x250-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2017\/08\/LAyourlifeassist250x250-1.png","width":250,"height":252,"caption":"Life Assist"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/#\/schema\/person\/af95e4ffad46b719e872bdf047249ab2","name":"zara","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fb5ad28439f55e34c7534f97005a4647b3681f5db1b762f4509e843e360029f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fb5ad28439f55e34c7534f97005a4647b3681f5db1b762f4509e843e360029f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fb5ad28439f55e34c7534f97005a4647b3681f5db1b762f4509e843e360029f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"zara"},"url":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/author\/zara\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}