Chapter 13 Visual Aids

13.1 Introduction

13.2 Effective Visual Aids

-Select a visual aid that adds to your presentation in a meaningful way, not just something pretty to look at

-Visuals can spark interest, build emotional connections, clarify your words, explain abstract ideas, help draw conclusions, or increase understanding

Ex.  a speaker may show a stacks of books to represent the amount of data storage in a speech about the evolution of computers

-Visuals must be simple, visible, relevant, memorable, and audience-focused

-When the audience has visual and verbal memories, they are more likely to be able to remember the information at a later time

-Each visual should be relevant to your message, convey an important point, be clearly understandable, and be visible by your entire audience

-Visuals should be used to make concepts easier to understand and to reinforce your message

-Use visuals when you need to explain things you cannot see because they are hidden or abstract

ex. a model of your internal organs in a speech about gastric bypass surgery

13.3 Types of visual aids

Personal appearance:

-dress up as part of your presentation because this can help set the tone of the speech or reinforce a specific point

ex. choose to wear a handmade sweater in a talk about knitting in order to inspire others to begin the hobby

-you should dress appropriately for your audience and venue

Ex.  A presentation to a professional audience or at a professional conference would lend itself to appropriate business attire

-The way you dress affects your credibility

Objects and props:

-Seeing the actual item will often make it easier for your audience to understand your meaning and will help you connect with your audience on an emotional level. 

-Props can be used as part of demonstrations (discussed below) or as a stand-alone item that you refer to in your speech.

Considerations:

-If you have a large audience, showing the prop at the front of the venue may mean that audience members can't see the item

-If you pass an item around most people will be seeing the object after you have moved on with your talk and having your prop out of sync with your presentation disrupts your audience's attention or by having your prop visible when you aren't talking about it

Demonstration:

Has 2 purposes:

To wow the audience

Ex. chemistry experiment

Can show how something is done

-can help visual learners understand

-make sure your demonstrations are succinct, well rehearsed, and visible to the entire audience

-Have a back up plan in case of failure

Posters and flip charts:

-for small audiences

-poster should be to support your core message and can be left behind to remind those in attendance of your presentation after you have left

-If you are writing be sure to take this into your time consideration

Also consider:

-the audience will have a difficult time processing what they are hearing when they are also trying to read what you write

-you need to be careful not to turn your back on your audience, which is makes it harder for them to hear you and for you to connect with your audience

-Legible handwriting needs to be seen at a distance 

Audio and video

-recommend only 10- 20 seconds

-It is important that the clip be properly cued to start at exactly where you want it to begin playing

-It distracts from both your audience's attention and your credibility when you are fumbling with technology during a speech

-It is important that your file format can be played on the computer you are using

Handouts:

-most common current practice is that the presenters provide a copy of their PowerPoint slides to the participants before or after the presentation

-handout can contain the evidence for your message in a way that is legible, detailed, complex, and shows respect for the audience's time and intelligence 

-you can provide handouts at the beginning of a presentation but if people have paper in front of them while you are speaking, their attention will be split between the handout, your other visual aids, and your words

-Or you can distribute handouts as they are needed during the presentation and allow time for people to review them before continuing on but this interrupts the flow of the presentation

Slideware:

generic term for the software used create and display slide shows

Ex. Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple iWorks Keynote, Google Drive Presentation

Slide deck: collection of slides

Pecha Kucha: presenting using a slide deck of 20 slides that display for 20 seconds per slide, advance automatically, and generally contain no text

-helps the speaker practice editing, pacing, connecting with the audience, focusing on the message, and using images in place of words

Prezi: is digital presentation software that breaks away from the standard slide deck presentation. It requires users to plot out their themes before adding primarily image-focused content

-the presenter zooms in and out of the presentation to visually demonstrate connections not available in other slideware

-helps to keep the viewer engaged 

-can cause you to have too many images

-Prezi’s fast moving images and, at times, unusual movement can make users dizzy or disoriented

13.4 Design principles

Design with the audience in mind

Keep slides short

Each slide should enhance the message

To keep it simple:

Include only one concept per slide

Practice so you can judge how much information to put on each slide

Have slides that can be understood in 3 seconds

Slide layout:

It is recommended to start your layout on paper to avoid using too many bullet points

Leave white space to give design breathing room which draws attention to the focus point and makes the slides appear more professional

Use repetition of color, font, and images to tie slides together

Use contrast to highlight message

Ex. different size font for key points

Rule of thirds: If you divide the screen using two imaginary lines horizontally and two vertically, you end up with nine sections. The most visually interesting and pleasing portions of the screen will be at the points where the lines intersect. Aligning your text and images with these points is preferred to centering everything on the screen.

Create visual clues to direct them to the main information

Ex. use a arrow to point to something

Background and effects:

It is best to use solid colors if any background at all

Background color must be consistent throughout the presentation

Be careful with color choice

ex. avoid the color red because it has been shown to reduce your ability to think clearly. Bright colors, such as yellow, pink, and orange, should be avoided, as they are too distracting. Black is associated with sophistication and can be a very effective background as long as there is sufficient contrast with the other elements on your slide

Colors:

High contrast improves visibility

To see if you have enough contrast view your presentation in grayscale

Avoid using red and green together

Fonts:

Best to stick with standard fonts

Ex. times new roman, arial

These fonts work well with the limitations of computer screens and are legible from a distance if sized appropriately.

Readability is a top concern with font use, make sure that the font size is large enough for everyone to read clearly.

To check visibility

Measure your monitor diagonally in inches, display your slides, then step back the same number of feet as you measured on your monitor in inches. If you have a 17 inch screen, step back 17 feet to see what is legible.

Don't use decorative, script, or visually complex fonts

Don't use all uppercase or all bold. Avoid small caps and all word art, shadows, outlines, stretching text, and other visual effects. Use italics and underlines only for their intended purposes, not for design. 

Text:

split-attention affects our ability to retain information so when presenting, you need to give your audience silent reading time when you display a new slide

Reserve bulleted lists for specifications or explaining the order of processes

Quotes are not as offensive to design when they are short, legible, and infrequently used

Images:

Use photographs to introduce an abstract idea, to evoke emotion, to present evidence, or to direct the audience attention, just make sure it is compatible with your message

Use simple images which translate better than words to a multicultural audience

Look for images that don't become pixelated when enlarged

Never use an image that has a watermark

Graphs and charts:

Use to present numerical data

Make sure the conclusion of the graph is clear

Be sure to distinguish with clear labels

13.5 Implementation

Make sure you give credit where due

Ex. mention where you borrowed props

Places citations at the end

Citing shows credibility

13.6 Conclusion