QUIET!

One "noise" that may not be apparent to you is when you're outside and there's a lot of gusty wind. Not only can the wind rattle small objects, but it can actually generate noise in a hearing aid, just like a whistle. (You can also notice this effect if you're talking to someone who's using a cell phone in the wind.)

Attention, please

This is even more important in a group situation. In general, it's easier for hearing-impaired people to listen to people they know well because they know the typical speech patterns for those people; however, that knowledge can't be used until the speaker is identified.

A slightly different aspect of attention is that it's a lot easier to follow a conversation if the subject matter is known. For example, it's a really bad idea to start a conversation by saying, "Terminator is the best movie of all time." A better way would be, "Do you know the movie Terminator? It's the best movie of all time." The key points are to use some padding words at the beginning to let the impaired person get up to speed and to use a subject word ("movie") to focus the contextual cues before you start giving details.

Finally, if you change the subject, make sure to do so explicitly.

Look at me

Some hearing-impaired people have a preferred ear. If so, the rule changes to line of sight from your mouth to the impaired person's good ear. Sitting on that person's "bad" side is almost as bad as not facing them. If you see someone constantly swiveling zir head, you might want to ask if there is a preferred ear.

Make sure that nothing obstructs your mouth: don't wave a fork in front of your face, don't rest your chin on your hand, and so on.

Speak Clearly

Whispering can be a particular problem for hearing-impaired people. The problem with whispering is that it heavily aspirates everything, and the noise of the breath drowns out the words in addition to decreasing the clarity of the consonants. It's much better to speak normally, but as quietly as possible.

Note: "speaking slowly" is not the same thing as drawing out each word. Make sure that you pronounce each word normally; the pause between each word should be about half as long as a "comma pause". If you're familiar with music, you might think of it as speaking in staccato, but without the hard "break".

Even if you break this rule on all other occasions, make sure to follow it saying a person's name or reading an address or phone number.

Be particularly careful if you tend to say "yeah" and "nah" a lot. The vowel is identical, so it can be difficult to distinguish the two if you mumble the consonant. Better to use "yes" and "no", extending the "s" to make it clearer ("yesss").

Don't shout, project

If this isn't clear, consider taking a class in acting or singing; classes on public speaking can also help.

Don't play with the volume

Rephrase

Double-check

If the person you're talking to repeats what you said to make sure zie got it right, just say "yes" or "correct." If you repeat yourself, the other person will assume zie heard wrong.

No "helping"

Sign Language