how to add emphasis

Avoid using italic or bold text to convey emphasis. This will not be read by screen readers. In audio or video, emphasis is conveyed through change in tone of voice, facial expressions, or gestures. Consider describing these changes in text. Or simply use the word emphasized. Examples:

• The new bill will negatively affect your rights, she emphasized, her voice rising sharply.
• He emphasized that the day shelter was open to everyone, anyone who needs a hot meal, no questions asked.
• Their face was red and eyes were puffy from crying after receiving the news: the new law had been signed by the Governor. A slap in the face, they emphasized.

If absolutely needed, use the correct HTML tags for emphasis, which provides a visual emphasis only:

• the <em> tag to mark emphasis around a word or phrase.
• the <strong> tag to mark strong emphasis around a word or phrase

Examples:

• The new bill will <strong>negatively affect your rights</strong>, she said.
  This will render as:
  The new bill will negatively affect your rights, she said.
• He said the day shelter was open to everyone, <em>no questions asked</em>.
  This will render as:
  He said the day shelter was open to everyone, no questions asked.
• <strong>A slap in the face</strong>, they said.
  This will render as:
  A slap in the face, they said.

Use the <em> and <strong> tags sparingly. They do not add emphasis for those who use screen reader technology. The preference should be to describe emphasis using words.

For social media posts:

• Use words in complete sentences to convey emphasis.
• Avoid using emojis.
• Do not capitalize an entire word to convey emphasis. A screen reader may read this as an abbreviation or acronym

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