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Why Use Visual Aids
Be sure you really need one
- Enhances understanding : 80% of our info comes from sight
- Enhances memory : You remember 10% of what you read, 20% of what you hear, 30% of what you see, 50% of what you simultaneously see and hear
- Helps listeners organize ideas : Adds clarity and helps audience grasp main ideas; reinforces concepts
- Helps gain and maintain attention : Grabs attention and keeps interest more than words alone
- Helps illustrate a sequence of events or procedures : Understand and visualize a process
Choosing the Right Visual Aid
What is the right medium?
- Consider your objective
- Take into account your own skill and experience
- Consider audience size and make up
- Consider the room where you will present -- size, equipment available, shades for windows, lighting, etc.
Designing/Preparing the Visual Aid
Make sure it has the impact you want
- Size
- Make it easy/large enough for the entire audience to see
- Portable enough for you to move it around/carry it
- Simplicity
- Resist the temptation to make them complicated
- Words should be limited to key words and phrases, not sentences:
- 6-7 lines of text with no more than 6-7 words in each line
- Omit non-essential details
- Make sure they are not too cluttered or busy; use 2-3 transparencies rather than trying to cram it all into one overhead
- Don’t have so many of the visuals that they overtake the speech or substitute for the speech. (A big downfall of creating PowerPoint slides.)
- Appearance -- should be attractive
- Check for neatness
- Check for misspellings
- Keep all printing horizontal
- Make sure all is consistent
- Avoid mixing several fonts
- Colors for contrast -- but not circus like using many different ones
- Use a straight edge for writing lines of text
- Use of space — consider how things are spread out
Incorporating the Visual Aid into the Speech
Rehearse with your visual aids so you feel at ease with them; get accurate rehearsal timing.
- Timing -- Coordinate the display of the visual aid to coincide with your presentation of the information contained in them
- Have it ready to go but not in full view until needed
- Remove the visual aid if it is not needed for the next point
- Placement -- plan where will it go and where you will stand
- Display the visual where it can be seen by all
- Be sure you are not blocking the view of audience members
- Stay out of the light of the projector
- Block out lines of text if necessary and reveal as needed
- Explaining/Interpretation : don’t just exhibit; tell your audience the point you are trying to make; set your visuals in a verbal context
- Specify the subject (“this is a diagram of the human eye” “this is a graph of the growth of the US population from 1980-2007”)
- Orient the audience to the general layout
- For graphs -- what do the horizontal and vertical axis represent and what conclusion is being drawn
- For tables and charts -- what are the headings for the columns and what conclusion is being drawn
- For objects, models, pictures -- describe in more detail
- Eye Contact -- Should be with the audience, not the visual
- Glance at the overhead or notebook computer, not the screen
- Face the audience; don’t turn your head or back to them
- Pointing
- Focus your audience’s attention to specific components as they are described
- Don’t leave audience searching
- Cautions to consider -- You must be in control at all times
- Test electronic equipment before you begin
- Have a back-up plan just in case
- Live people (volunteers) and animals are chancy
- Avoid passing objects/distributing handouts -- they are distractions
- Visuals need to reinforce at the moment; “show” with “tell”
- Can get broken
- Compete with you for attention
- When playing a clip from a DVD/VHS tape, decide whether or not you need the voice or any background music; adjust the volume accordingly, rather than trying to talk over the audio.
- The visual aid should not be something that you throw together at the last minute simply because your instructor requires that you use one in your speech. Visuals should serve the audience’s needs, not the speaker’s needs.
Remember: You are a visual as well. Good grooming, appropriate dress (no clanky jewelry, no extreme fashion, no excessive make-up) and a smile on your face are important visuals in your presentation as well! Hats, coats, sunglasses and gum must be removed before speaking.
For more information about preparing your speech, please refer to your textbook, consult with your professor, or make an appointment with the Speech Assistance Area.
Feel free to contact the Reference Desk or the Communications Librarian for help researching your topic.
This guide was last updated July 23, 2007.
A collaborative project of the C.O.D. Speech Department and the Library.
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