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chapter 13
introduction
“I know you can't read this from chapter outline:
the back there,” the presenter chapter objectives:
After studying this module, you should be able Introduction
apologizes to a screen so full of to: Effective Visual Aids
words you would think the entire Types of Visual Aids
speech had been crammed into one 1. Identify when and how o Personal Appearance
slide. This is just the first of a visual aids will enhance a o Objects and Props
seemingly endless string of slides I presentation o Demonstration
can't read, charts so full of numbers I 2. Identify the different types o Posters and Flip Charts
can't decipher the meaning, and clip of visual aids o Audio and Video
art so clichéd I can't help but roll my 3. Identify effective and o Handouts
ineffective use of visual o Slideware
eyes and sigh. It is not long before
aids Design Principles
I'm presented with an incredibly o Slide Layout
4. Apply basic design
dense graph I can't make any sense of principles to slide design o Backgrounds and Effects
since he keeps interrupting my 5. Identify best practices to o Colors
concentration with actual talking. incorporating visual aids in o Fonts
“When is he going to come to the a presentation o Text
point already?” I think to myself as I o Images
start to doodle in the margins of the o Graphs and Charts
handout of the PowerPoint slides for Implementation
the very talk I'm currently sitting It seems nearly impossible to see a Visual Aid Tips
through. Why did he even bother Conclusion
presentation that doesn’t revolve
Review Questions and Activities
with a presentation? He could have around a lengthy PowerPoint, so much Glossary
just emailed us all of the handout and so that you might think it was a References
saved us from this painful, dull requirement for giving a speech. The
spectacle. As he reads from his slides phrase “death by PowerPoint” was
and belabors his statistics, my mind coined in response to the ubiquitous,
drifts to grocery lists and the wordy, and intellectually deadening
upcoming weekend. I can think of a presentations that focus on the slides A visual image is a simple
hundred better uses for an hour. rather than the content or the presenter. thing, a picture that enters
With the speaker reading directly from the eyes.
the slides, or worse, showing slides
with text so small that it can't be read, ~ Roy H. Williams
viewers are often left wondering what
the need for the presentation is at all. A aids that enhance your message, clarify
simple handout would convey the the meaning of your words, target the
message and save everyone's time. emotions of your audience, and/or
PowerPoint, however, is just one of the show what words fail to clearly
visual aids available to you as a describe.
speaker. Your ability to incorporate the
Learning how to create effective
right visual aid at the right time and in
visuals that resonate with your
the right format can have a powerful
audience is important for a quality
effect on your audience. Because your
presentation. Understanding basic
message is the central focus of your
principles of how visual information is
speech, you only want to add visual
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
Visuals can spark interest, build 2011; Young & Travis, 2008).
emotional connections, clarify your Use visuals for speeches about
words, explain abstract ideas, help processes, products, or demonstrations
draw conclusions, or increase of how to do something, such as a
understanding. For instance, a speaker diagram of how email is delivered in a
may show a stacks of books to speech about computer security. Use
represent the amount of data storage in visuals when you need to explain things
a speech about the evolution of you cannot see because they are hidden
computers; or demonstrate the proper or abstract, like a model of your
use of ear plugs by distributing ear internal organs in a speech about
plugs, showing how to insert them, and gastric bypass surgery. Use them when
then blasting an air horn in a speech you need to grab your audience’s
about preventing hearing loss in order attention or stir their emotions. A
to make the value of ear protection speaker could use a photo of a starving
more memorable and concrete. Done child and a bag of rice that represents
processed alone and in combination well—simple, visible, relevant, the daily calorie intake of a poor child
with audio information can make or memorable, and audience-focused— in a speech about food insecurity to
break your visuals' effectiveness and visual aids can have a profound impact create a visceral reaction in the
impact. Incorporating visuals into your on your audience and your overall audience. As they say, a picture is
speech that complement your words message. worth a thousand words, so use images
rather than stand in place of them or Visual aids can be an important part to tell a story or create a visual
distract from them, will set you apart of conveying your message effectively metaphor. Visual metaphors are useful
from other presenters, increase your since people learn far more by hearing when trying to evoke an emotion, such
credibility, and make a bigger and more and seeing than through hearing or as showing an image of someone
memorable impact on your audience. seeing alone (Vasile, 2004). The brain running or diving into a pool when you
processes verbal and visual information want to evoke action on the part of your
It has been said that 80% of separately. By helping the audience audience. The images convey the
what people learn is visual. build visual and verbal memories, they message to “get going” or “dive in.”
~ Allen Klein are more likely to be able to remember When talking about numbers or
the information at a later time statistics, use visuals to provide
(Malamed, 2009). If you can find a context, comparison, and to help your
effective visual aids visual aid to complement what you are audience understand the meaning of
Before you just open up PowerPoint saying, you will help your audience data. Done well, graphs can convey
and begin creating slides, you should understand the information you are
stop for a moment and consider what presenting and remember your
type of visual aid will best serve your message. For example, a speaker might
purpose and if you even need an aid at show the proper and improper ways to
all. Select a visual aid that adds to your bow when being introduced in Japan
presentation in a meaningful way, not while at the same time talking about the
merely something pretty to look at or a movements and also displaying a slide
substitute for thorough preparation. with the appropriate angles and
Visuals are not there for you to hide postures for bowing. By using multiple
behind when you are in front of your modes in concert with each other, the
audience. Because of the tendency for message is strengthened by the pairing
novice speakers to use visuals as a of words, images, and movement.
crutch in their speeches, it has even
been suggested that beginner speakers Not just any visual will do, however.
be forbidden from using visual aids Each visual should be relevant to your
while they are learning to present message, convey an important point, be
(Palmer, 2011). clearly understandable, and be visible
by your entire audience. Visuals
Visual aids serve a unique role in a should be used to make concepts easier
presentation, and you should consider to understand and to reinforce your
the specific purpose and desired message. They should illustrate
outcome of your speech when important points that are otherwise hard
determining if, when, to what extent, to understand (Detz, 2000; Palmer,
and in what format you use visual aids. your point where numbers only provide
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
the difference between reading the your speaking time, so make sure to
instructions on how to perform CPR, factor this into your speaking time.
watching someone perform CPR, and Speaking and writing at the same time
trying CPR on the training dummy. As can be tricky because the audience will
evidenced by the huge number of have a difficult time processing what
online videos illustrating how to do they are hearing when they are also
something, there is great value in trying to read what you write.
watching while you learn a new task. Additionally, if you are writing, you
If your presentation includes a process need to be careful not to turn your back
where seeing will improve on your audience, which is makes it
understanding, consider including a harder for them to hear you and for you
demonstration. to connect with your audience. Legible
Because you have a limited time to handwriting that can be seen at a
present, make sure your demonstrations distance is of prime importance, so
are succinct, well rehearsed, and visible using these kinds of visual aids should
to the entire audience. Be prepared for be limited to small audiences. While
the demonstration to fail and have a some speakers write and draw to
back-up plan in place. It is better to highlight important points, this takes an
move forward with your presentation enormous amount of skill and practice.
than to fret with trying to get your For those with less developed skills,
demonstration perfect or fixed. flip charts are best limited to situations
demonstration However, if you are providing a where audience input is necessary for
A demonstration can serve two demonstration of your new product, the direction or continuation of the
different purposes in a speech. First, it make sure it is as error free as possible. presentation (Duarte, 2008).
can be used to “wow” the audience. If you can't be positive the product will
Showing off the features of your new perform as expected, it is better to skip
The soul never thinks without
product, illustrating the catastrophic the demonstration. a picture.
failure of a poorly tied climbing knot,
posters and flip charts ~ Aristotle
or launching a cork across the room
If you are presenting to a small
during a chemistry experiment are all
audience, around a dozen people, you audio and video
ways of capturing the audience's
may choose to use a poster rather than A large amount of digitized audio
attention. Demonstration should not be
PowerPoint. The focus of your poster and video is now available to be
gimmicky, but should add value to your
should be to support your core message included and embedded in your
presentation. When done well, it can
and can be left behind to remind those presentation. Select short clips; Young
be the memorable moment from your
in attendance of your presentation after and Travis (2008) recommend only 10-
speech, so make sure it reinforces the
you have left. Posters should look 20 seconds, but this will depend in part
central message of your talk.
professional (e.g., not handwritten), be on the length of the presentation, the
visible to everyone in the room, and purpose of the presentation, and clip
follow design rules covered later in this content and relevance. You should not
chapter. Before your presentation, you have a presentation primarily composed
should ask whether posters must be of audio/video clips. Select only clips
hung or be free standing. For posters that reinforce the message or serve as
that will be hung from a wall, sturdy an appropriate segue into your next
poster or matte boards will suffice. If topic.
your poster is going to be free standing
or if you are going to use the same When including audio or video in
poster for multiple presentations, you your speech, there are several technical
should consider using a tri-fold display considerations. It is important that the
board. clip be properly cued to start at exactly
where you want it to begin playing. It
Other text-based visual aids include distracts from both your audience's
Demonstration can also be used to
white boards and flip charts. Both can attention and your credibility when you
show how something is done. People
be used to write or draw on during the are fumbling with technology during a
have different learning styles, and a
presentation and should be used with speech. It is also important that your
process demonstration can help visual
several caveats. Writing during your file format can be played on the
learners better understand the concept
presentation actually takes away from computer you are using. Since not all
being taught. Consider for a moment
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
computers will play all file formats, be trying to cram all that information on a
sure to test playability and audio slide. Since you need to simplify the
volume before your presentation. data to make it understandable on a
Again, going back to providing a slide, the handout can contain the
professional appearance from your first evidence for your message in a way
interaction with your audience, you that is legible, detailed, complex, and
should iron out the technical details shows respect for the audience's time
before they enter the room. As with a and intelligence (Tufte, 2003).
demonstration, if your clip isn’t playing You don’t need to include everything
properly, move on rather than attempt in your talk, and you don’t need to pack
to correct the issue. Fumbling with all your information into your slides.
technology is a waste of your Write a handout document with as
audience’s valuable time. much detail as you want and keep the
handouts slides simple. Presenters often feel the
There are many schools of thought need to display all the data and
on the use of handouts during a information they have so they will
presentation. The most common appear knowledgeable, informed, and
current practice is that the presenters thoroughly prepared. You can help
provide a copy of their PowerPoint ease this feeling by creating a handout
slides to the participants before or after with all of the detailed data you wish, consider distributing handouts as they
the presentation. This is so common which leaves your slides open to focus are needed during the presentation and
that some academic and professional on your key message (Reynolds, 2008). allowing time for people to review
conferences require presenters to them before continuing on (Vasile,
submit their slides prior to the event, so 2004). This may not be a viable option
copies of the slides can be made for for shorter presentations, and the
There are many true interruption in the flow of the
each attendee. Despite this prevailing
trend, you should avoid using your statements about complex presentation may be hard to recover
from. Unless having the documents in
slides as handouts because they serve topics that are too long to fit front of your audience is absolutely
different purposes. Using your on a PowerPoint slide.
presentation slides as the handout both critical to the success of the
shortchanges your slides and fails as a ~ Edward Tufte presentation, handouts should be
handout. distributed at the end of the
presentation.
Handouts are best used to Crafting an appropriate handout will
supplement the content of your talk. If take additional time for the presenter, slideware
you are providing statistical data, your but doing so will result in a take-away Slideware is a generic term for the
slide may only show the relevant document that will stand on its own and software used create and display slide
statistic focusing on the conclusion you a slide show that focuses on effective shows such as Microsoft PowerPoint,
want your audience to draw. Your visual content. Duarte (2008) and Apple iWorks Keynote, Google Drive
handout, on the other hand, can contain Tufte (2003) recommend handouts only Presentation, Zoho Show and others.
the full table of data. If you need to for dense, detailed information. Composed of individual slides,
show a complex diagram or chart, a Reynolds (2008) expands on this idea, collectively known as the slide deck,
handout will be more legible than noting that your handout needs to be slideware is a de facto standard for
complete enough to stand in your place presentation visual aids despite
since you won't be there to present the criticisms and complaints about the
information or answer questions. format. In truth, the problem is not
with the software but in the use of the
When to distribute handouts is also
program. The focus of much of the
heavily debated. So common is the
remainder of this chapter will be
practice of providing handouts at the
suggestions and best practices for
beginning of a presentation that it may
creating effective slide decks that will
seem wrong to break the convention. It
be high impact and avoid many of the
is important to understand, however,
complaints of slideware detractors.
that if people have paper in front of
Before this discussion, there are two
them while you are speaking, their
distinct slideware presentation styles
attention will be split between the
that should be mentioned.
handout, your other visual aids, and
your words. To counter this, you might
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
but also lends itself to over-populating medium, and your audience. Each slide
the blank canvas with images (Yee & should reinforce or enhance your
Hargis, 2010). message, so make conscious decisions
Prezi’s fast moving images and, at about each element and concept you
times, unusual movement can make include (Reynolds, 2008) and edit
users dizzy or disoriented. Careful mercilessly. Taken a step further,
work is needed during planning and graphic designer Robin Williams
practice so that the point of the talk (2004) suggests each element be placed
isn’t the wow factor of the Prezi on the slide deliberately in relation to
software, but that your visuals enhance every other element on the slide.
your presentation. The best way to
learn more about this emerging tool is
to visit the Prezi website to view Figure 13.1
examples (http://prezi.com/explore/).
If opting to use Prezi in a corporate Too Little Information
environment, you should strongly
consider one of the paid options for the
sole purpose of removing the Prezi logo
A picture is a poem without from the presentation.
words.
~ Horace design principles
Slide and slide show design have a
Pecha Kucha major impact on your ability to get
Pecha Kucha is a method of your message across to your audience.
presenting using a slide deck of 20 Numerous books address various
slides that display for 20 seconds per design fundamentals and slide design,
slide, advance automatically, and Too Much Information
but there isn't always consensus on
generally contain no text (Duarte, what is “best.” What research has
2008). This method began in 2003 as a shown, though, is that people have
way to contain the length of trouble grasping information when it
presentations of architects and comes at them simultaneously. “They
continues to grow in popularity, but is will either listen to you or read your
still reserved mostly for people in slides; they cannot do both” (Duarte,
creative industries (Lehtonen, 2011). 2010, p. 178). This leaves you, the
Because of the restrictive format, Pecha presenter, with a lot of power to direct
Kucha-style presentations help the or scatter your audience's attention.
speaker practice editing, pacing, This section will serve as an overview
connecting with the audience, focusing of basic design considerations that even Providing the right amount of
on the message, and using images in novices can use to improve their slides. information, neither too much nor too
place of words (Beyer, 2011). little, is one of the key aspects in
First and foremost, design with your
Prezi effective communication (Kosslyn,
audience in mind. Your slide show is
While not quite slideware, Prezi is 2007). See Figure 13.1 as an example
not your outline. The show is also not
digital presentation software that breaks of slides with too little or too much
your handout. As discussed earlier, you
away from the standard slide deck information. The foundation of this
can make a significantly more
presentation. It requires users to plot idea is that if the viewers have too little
meaningful, content-rich handout that
out their themes before adding information, they must struggle to put
complements your presentation if you
primarily image-focused content the pieces of the presentation together.
do not try to save time by making a
(Panag, 2010). Instead of flipping Most people, however, include too
slide show that serves as both. Keep
through the slide deck, the presenter much information (e.g., slides full of
your slides short, create a separate
zooms in and out of the presentation to text, meaningless images, overly
handout if needed, and write as many
visually demonstrate connections not complicated charts), which taxes the
notes for yourself as you need.
available in other slideware. The audience's ability to process the
design of the software lends itself All decisions, from the images you message. “There is simply a limit to a
toward more rapidly changing visuals. use to their placement, should be done person’s ability to process new
This helps to keep the viewer engaged with a focus on your message, your information efficiently and effectively”
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
with color and color perception that are light background (Kadavy, 2011). If blind. These colors appear to vibrate
beyond the scope of this chapter. you want something to stand out, these when adjacent to each other and are
Because color can have such a huge color combination rules can act as a distracting and sometimes unpleasant to
impact on the ability to see and guide. view (Kosslyn, 2007).
understand your visuals, this section With all these rules in place,
will explore basic rules and selecting a color palette, the group of
recommendations for working with Figure 13.8 colors to use throughout your
color. presentation, can be daunting. Some
Complementary Colors color pairs, like complementary colors
or analogous colors as in Figure 13.8,
Color does not add a are naturally pleasing to the eye and
pleasant quality to design - it can be easy options for the color
novice. There are also online tools for
reinforces it. selecting pleasing color palettes using
~ Pierre Bonnard standard color pairings including Kuler
(https://kuler.adobe.com/) and Color
Scheme Designer (http://colors
Much of what we perceive in terms
chemedesigner.com/). You can also
of a color is based on what color is next
use websites like Colorbrewer
to it. Be sure to use colors that contrast
(http://colorbrewer2.org/) to help
so they can be easily distinguished
identify an appropriate palette of colors
from each other (think yellow and dark
that are visually distinct, appropriate
blue for high contrast, not dark blue
for the colorblind, and that will
and purple). High contrast improves
photocopy well, should you decide to
visibility, particularly at a distance. To Analogous Colors also include this information in a
ensure you have sufficient contrast, you
handout.
can view your presentation in
greyscale either in the software if
available or by printing out your slides
on a black and white printer (Bajaj, I'm a visual thinker, not a
2007). language-based thinker. My
brain is like Google Images.
Figure 13.7 ~ Temple Grandin
Warm and Cool Colors
fonts
There are thousands of fonts
available today. One might even say
there has been a renaissance in font
design with the onset of the digital age.
Avoid using red and green closely Despite many beautiful options, it is
together. Red-green color blindness is best to stick to standard fonts that are
the predominate form of color considered screen-friendly. These
blindness, meaning that the person include the serif fonts Times New
cannot distinguish between those two Roman, Georgia, and Palatino, and the
colors (Vorick, 2011). There are other sansserif fonts Ariel, Helvetica,
forms of color blindness, and you can Tahoma, and Veranda (Kadavy, 2011).
As seen in Figure 13.7, warm colors easily check to see if your visuals will These fonts work well with the
(reds, oranges, yellows) appear to come be understandable to everyone using an limitations of computer screens and are
to the foreground when set next to a online tool such as the Coblis Color legible from a distance if sized
cool color (blues, grays, purples) which Blindness Simulator appropriately. Other non-standard
recede into the background. Tints (http://www.colblindor.com/coblis- fonts, while attractive and eye-catching,
(pure color mixed with white, think color-blindness-simulator/) to preview may not display properly on all
pink) stand out against a darker images as a color-blind person would computers. If the font isn't installed on
background. Shades (pure color mixed see it. Certain red-blue pairings can be the computer you are presenting from,
with black, think maroon ) recede into a difficult to look at for the non-color the default font will be used which
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
alters the text and design of the slide. Figure 13.9 2001); so when presenting, you need to
Readability is a top concern with give your audience silent reading time
font use, particularly for those at the when you display a new slide. That is:
Bad Font Effects talk, advance to your next slide, wait
back of your audience, furthest from
the screen. After you have selected a for them to read the slide, and resume
font (see previous paragraph), make talking. If you consider how much
sure that the font size is large enough time your audience is reading rather
for everyone to read clearly. If you than listening, hopefully you will
have the opportunity to use the decide to reduce the text on your slide
presentation room before the event, and return the focus back to you, the
view your slides from the back of the speaker, and your message.
room. They should be clearly visible. There are several ways to reduce the
This is not always possible and should number of words on your page, but
not be done immediately preceding don't do it haphazardly. Tufte (2003)
your talk, as you won't have time to warns against abbreviating your
effectively edit your entire message just to make it fit. He says
presentation. Presentation guru Duarte this dumbs down your message, which
(2008) describes an ingenious way to does a disservice to your purpose and
test visibility from your own computer. insults your audience's intelligence.
Measure your monitor diagonally in Instead, Duarte (2008) and Reynolds
inches, display your slides, then step (2008) recommend turning as many
back the same number of feet as you text
concepts as possible into images.
measured on your monitor in inches. If Nothing is more hotly debated in Studies have shown that people retain
you have a 17 inch screen, step back 17 slide design than the amount of text more information when they see
feet to see what is legible. that should be on a slide. Godin says images that relate to the words they are
“no more than six words on a slide. hearing (Mayer, 2001). And when
EVER” (as cited in Reynolds, 2008, p. people are presented information for a
Create your own visual 20). Other common approaches very short time, they remember images
include the 5x5 rule – 5 lines of text, 5 better than words (Reynolds, 2008).
style... let it be unique for
words per line – and similar 6x6 and
yourself and yet identifiable 7x7 rules (Weaver, 1999). Even with
for others. these recommendations, it is still Tip
~ Orson Welles painfully common to see slides with so
much text on them that they can't be An easy way to judge how
read by the audience. The type has to much time your audience
In addition to font style and size, be so small to fit all the words on the needs to read your slide
there are other font “rules” to improve slide that no one can read it. Duarte
your slides. Don't use decorative, silently, is to read the slide
(2008) keenly points out that if you
script, or visually complex fonts. have too many words, you no longer text to yourself in reverse
Never use the Comic Sans font if you have a visual aid. You have either a order.
want to retain any credibility with your paper or a teleprompter, and she
audience. If you must use more than recommends opting for a small number The ubiquitous use of bulleted lists is
one font, use one serif font and one of words. also hotly debated. PowerPoint is
sansserif font. Use the same font(s)
Once you understand that the words practically designed around the
and size(s) consistently throughout
on the screen are competing for your bulleted-list format, even though is it
your presentation. Don't use all upper
audience's attention, it will be easier to regularly blamed for dull, tedious
case or all bold. Avoid small caps and
edit your slide text down to a presentations with either overly dense
all word art, shadows, outlines,
minimum. The next time you are or overly superficial content (Tufte,
stretching text, and other visual effects.
watching a presentation and the slide 2003). Mostly this format is used
Use italics and underlines only for their
changes, notice how you aren't really (incorrectly) as a presenter's outline.
intended purposes, not for design.
grasping what the speaker is saying, “No one can do a good presentation
While there are many rules listed here,
and you also aren't really understanding with slide after slide of bullet points.
they can be summarized as” keep it as
what you are reading. Studies have No One” (Reynolds, 2008, p. 130).
simple as possible” (Kadavy, 2011;
proved this split-attention affects our Reserve bulleted lists for specifications
Kosslyn, 2007). See Figure 13.9 for
ability to retain information (Mayer, or explaining the order of processes. In
examples of poor font choices.
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
all other cases, look for ways to use better than words to a multicultural for companies that sell images to have
images, a short phrase, or even no audience (Malamed, 2009). In all a preview available that has a
visual at all. cases, choose only images that enhance watermark on it. This allows you, the
Quotes, on the other hand, are not as your spoken words and are potential customer, to see the image,
offensive to design when they are short, professional-quality. This generally but prevents you from using the image
legible, and infrequently used. They rules out the clip art that comes with until you have paid for it. Using a
can be a very powerful way to hammer slideware, whose use is a sign of watermarked image in your
a point home or to launch into your amateurism. Select high-quality presentation is unprofessional. Select
next topic (Reynolds, 2008). See images and don't be afraid to use your another image without a watermark,
Figure 13.10 for an example. If you do entire slide to display the image. take a similar photo yourself, or pay to
use a quote in your slide show, Boldness with images often adds get the watermark-free version.
immediately stop and read it out loud impact.
or allow time for it to be read silently. When using images, do not enlarge
If the quote is important enough for them to the point that the image Figure 13.12
you to include it in the talk, the quote becomes blurry, also known as
deserves the audience's time to read pixelation. Pixelation, (Figure 13.11) Watermarked Image
and think about it. Alternately, use a is caused when the resolution of your
photo of the speaker or of the subject image is too low for your output device
with a phrase from the quote you will (e.g. printer, monitor, projector). When
be reading them, making the slide selecting images, look for clear ones
enhance the point of the quote. that can be placed in your presentation
without enlarging them. A good rule of
thumb is to use images over 1,000
Figure 13.10 pixels wide for filling an entire slide. If
your images begin to pixelate, either
Quotations on Slides reduce the size of the image or select a
different image.
You can create images yourself, use
free images, or pay for images from
Figure 13.11 companies like iStockphoto for your
presentations. Purchasing images can
Pixilated Image get expensive quickly, and searching
for free images is time consuming. Be
sure to only use images that you have
permission or rights to use and give
proper credit for their use. If you are
looking for free images, try searching
the Creative Commons database
images (http://search.creativecommons.org/)
Images can be powerful and efficient for images from places like Flickr,
ways to tap into your audience's Google, and others. The creators of
emotions. Use photographs to images with a Creative Commons
introduce an abstract idea, to evoke License allow others to use their work,
emotion, to present evidence, or to but with specific restrictions. What is
direct the audience attention, just make and isn't allowed is described in the
sure it is compatible with your message license for each image. Generally,
(Kosslyn, 2007). Photos aren't the only images can be used in educational or
images available. You might consider non-commercial settings at no cost as
using simplified images like long as you give the photographer
silhouettes, line art, diagrams, credit. Also, images created by the
enlargements, or exploded views, but U.S. government and its agencies are
these should be high quality and copyright free and can be used at no
relevant. Simplified can be easier to Never use an image that has a
watermark on it, as in Figure 13.2. A cost.
understand, particularly if you are
showing something that has a lot of watermark is text or a logo that is One final consideration with using
detail. Simple images also translate placed in a digital image to prevent images: having the same image on
people from re-using it. It is common
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
every page, be it part of the slide specific point with the data on the slide, clutter is removed, should be distinct
background or your company logo, can so make sure that the point – the from any background color. Finally,
be distracting and should be removed conclusion you want your audience to don't get too complex in any one graph,
or minimized. As mentioned earlier, draw – is clear. This may mean that make sure your message is as clear as
the more you can simplify your slide, you reduce the amount of data you possible, and make sure to visually
the easier it will be for your message to present, even though it is tempting to highlight the conclusion you want the
be understood. include all of your data on your slide. audience to draw.
It is best to minimize the amount of
information and focus instead on the
Figure 13.13 simple and clear conclusion (Duarte, Figure 13.14
2008). You can include the complete
Complex Chart data set in your handout if you feel it is Pie Chart
necessary (Reynolds, 2008).
Particularly when it comes to numerical
data, identify the meaning in the
numbers and exclude the rest.
“Audiences are screaming ‘make it
clear,’ not ‘cram more in.’ You won’t
often hear an audience member say,
‘That presentation would have been so
much better if it were longer’” (Duarte,
2008, p. 118). In some cases you can
even ditch the graph altogether and
display the one relevant fact that is
your conclusion.
Chart Line Graph
Different charts have different
purposes, and it is important to select
the one that puts your data in the
appropriate context to be clearly
understood (Tufte, 1997). Pie charts
show how the parts relate to the whole
and are suitable for up to eight
segments, as long as they remain
visually distinct (Duarte, 2008). Start
your first slice of the pie at 12:00 with
your smallest portion and continue
around the circle clockwise as the
sections increase in size. Use a line
Simple Graphic graph to show trends over time or how
data relates or interacts. Bar charts are
Bar Chart
good for showing comparisons of size
or magnitude (Kosslyn, 2007; Kupsch,
1998) and for showing precise
comparisons (Duarte, 2008). There are
other types of charts and graphs
available, but these are the most
common.
When designing charts, one should
use easily distinguishable colors with
clear labels. Be consistent with your
colors and data groupings (Kosslyn,
2007). For clarity, avoid using 3-D
graphs and charts
If you have numerical data that you graphs and charts, and remove as much implementation
of the background noise (lines, shading, If you have chosen to use visual aids
want to present, consider using a graph
etc.) as possible (Reynolds, 2008). All in your presentation, it is important to
or chart. You are trying to make a
components of your graph, once the give credit where credit is due. Make
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
them. Otherwise, the audience will read your slides or handouts at the
spend time reading any text or guessing same time as they are listening to you.
the meaning of the visual instead of When designing slides make sure
focusing on the presenter's words. Once they are clear and visible to the entire
used, visuals should also be removed audience. Contrasting colors with
from sight so as not to continue to consideration for common color
distract the audience (Palmer, 2011). blindness should be used. Screen-
friendly fonts of sufficient size to be
read from the back of the room are
A picture is the expression of extremely important. Avoid clutter on
sure to mention the source of your an impression. If the your slides and leverage the power of
white space, aiming always for
props if you borrowed them from a beautiful were not in us, how simplicity and impact.
person or organization. You should cite would we ever recognize it?
the source of all data and images used Practice your presentation with your
in your presentation. There are ~ Ernst Haas visual aids, remembering to allow time
conflicting opinions about whether the for your audience to read any new text
source citations should be on the conclusion you present. Be prepared to continue in
individual slides or at the end of the This chapter addresses both the role a professional manner should your
presentation on a final slide. Including and value of using visual aids, visuals falter or fail. The ease with
citations throughout the slide deck including slideware, objects, audio and which you implement your visuals and
places the source information adjacent video clips, and demonstrations. They move past any problems demonstrates
to the relevant text, but it is often so should be used only when they help to your professionalism and bolsters your
small as to be unreadable. Placing clarify or enhance your spoken words credibility.
citations at the end of your presentation or will help your audience remember Effective selection, design, and
reduces clutter on the slides and allows your message. implementation of visual aids will
the citation information to be larger and increase your audience's attention and
more legible. In all cases, refer to your Be sure that any visual aid you use
adds to what you are saying. Slides help to vanquish “death by
sources when speaking and be able to PowerPoint.” It will make you and
provide exact citations for anyone should be brief, easy to understand, and
complement your message. Objects and your message clearer and more
interested in your sources. Citing your memorable, which will help you to
sources provides credibility to your slides should not be revealed before
you begin talking about them, lest your achieve your primary goal: an audience
content and shows you are a that understands and connects with
professional. audience become distracted from your
point. Remember that people cannot your message.
Once you have decided on which
visual aids to use and have prepared Table 13.1
them for your presentation, you should Visual Aid Tips
practice with them repeatedly. Through
practice you will be able to seamlessly Select only visual aids that enhance or clarify your message.
incorporate them into your Select visual aids that will have the greatest impact on your
presentation, which will reduce audience.
distractions, increase your credibility, Speak to your audience not to your visual aid or the screen.
and keep the audience's attention Reveal your visuals only when they are relevant to your current
focused on your message. Practice will point, and take them away when they are no longer being
also help determine the time required
talked about.
for your presentation so you can edit
Practice with your visual aids and make sure all demonstrations
before you speak if necessary. No
work smoothly.
audience benefits from the speaker
Design visuals so they can be understood within 3 seconds.
looking at the time, admitting how off
schedule they are, or rushing through Keep your visuals as simple as possible while still conveying
their remaining slides. your message.
When presenting text to your audience, give them time to
No matter which visual aid(s) you read before you begin speaking again.
have chosen, they should be displayed Be prepared to move on with your presentation should any of
only when you are ready to talk about the visual aids falter or fail. No matter how great your visuals
are, you need to be prepared to speak without them.
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
review questions
1. Other than slides, list three types of visual aids that can be used in a presentation and give an example of
each.
2. What are the ways that visual aids can benefit a presentation? Harm a presentation?
4. Explain the different purposes and content of handouts as compared to slide shows.
5. List and explain two considerations when using color in your slides.
6. Discuss the pros and cons of having a large amount of text on a slide.
activities
1. Using the data below, design 3 different types of charts/graphs to effectively display data from this table.
Which is most effective and why?
2. Design 6 different slides that express the following “The USDA study indicated that in 2010, 17.2
million households in America had difficulty providing enough food due to a lack of resources.” (From
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cga/pressreleases/2011/0391.htm)
Which slide most clearly gets your point across and why?
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
glossary
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Chapter 13 Visual Aids www.publicspeakingproject.org
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photo credits
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