UNIT 22: PRESENTATION SKILLS-III: USING

VISUAL AIDS
Structure

22.0 Objectives
22.1 Warm up
22.2 Reading: Using Visual Aids
22.3 Vocabulary
22.4 Language Focus
22.5 Speaking
22.6 Listening: Use of Visuals in
Presentations
22.7 Grammar: Adjectives or Adverb,
Comparative Adjectives
22.8 Pronunciation: The Rising Tone
22.9 Let Us Sum Up
22.10 Answers

22.0 OBJECTIVES

In this Unit the focus is on the importance of visuals and their effective use in
presentations. Hence we will take a look at:

• The function of visuals

• Types of visual aids
• Advantages of using visuals
• Do’s and don’ts of visual aids
• Language associated with
visual aids
• Talking about trends
• Making comparisons
• Use of appropriate tenses while
talking about visuals
• Practicing presentations with
visuals

22.1 WARM UP

A picture is worth a
thousand words.

To what extent do you agree with

this quote on the usefulness and
communicative ability of visuals
in presentations?

37
 Presentation Skills 22.2 READING: USING VISUAL AIDS

Using Visual Aids

Most presentations deal with statistics and other complex data which would be
confusing if it were described in words without any visual support. It is here
that visual aids come to our rescue. They help us to present figures, to make
comparisons and contrasts, to project future
performances and to talk about past, present and
future trends, thus serving the dual purpose of
enabling the presenter to deal with this kind of
information easily and making it possible for
listeners to understand these clearly. A variety of
visual aids like flip charts, line graphs, bar
graphs, pie charts, pictograms, maps, tables,
diagrams, photographs etc can be used for this
purpose.

Visual aids also make a presentation more interesting. Moreover, they help
you to cut down on the amount of talking you have to do.

However, you must ensure that your visuals are relevant, appropriate and
clear. Never overload them with information. Effective presenters introduce
and highlight visual information briefly and clearly, making sure they allow
their audience time to absorb the information. We must use visuals to
reinforce and clarify, and not to overwhelm the audience.

Check your progress 1

After you have read the above text answer these questions:

1 Give two examples of business areas where it is advisable for the

presenter to use visual aids to present information.
…………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………..
2 Name two functions that visuals help us to perform easily and
effectively.
…………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………..
3 Name five types of visual aids.
…………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………..
4 Name two do’s and two don’ts for the use of visual aids.
…………………………………………………………………………..
38 …………………………………………………………………………..
5 Name two major benefits of using visual aids. Using Visual
Aids
…………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………..

22.3 VOCABULARY

Activity 1

Here is a list of what you can use visual aids for. Choose the appropriate
words from the box to complete this list.

build up convey give summarize clarify

add present illustrate help restate

You can use visual aids to:

i ……………….. an idea or
concept;
ii ……………….. your text with
graphs, pie charts, graphics or
simply line drawings;
iii ……………….. a point;
iv ……………….. a point for emphasis;
v ……………….. the structure or content of a section or topic;
vi ……………….. key concepts or main areas;
vii ……………….. instructions for an activity;
viii ……………….. material to start a discussion;
ix ……………….. interest and variety to your presentation;
x ……………….. visuals to develop an idea;
xi ……………….. the audience recall a concept or idea, either from their
own past or from your talk.

22.4 LANGUAGE FOCUS

Language associated with talking about

visuals and making comparisons.

Introducing a visual
First of all let’s look at…………………………
I’d like to show you……………………….……
Have a look at this………………..……….……
39
 Presentation Skills This graph shows / represents……....………….
Here we can see………………………….…..…
Let’s look at this…………………………..……
As you can see in this graph/table……………...
Talking about the visual
On analyzing this graph………………………..
What is interesting in this graph………………..
It is evident from this diagram………………….
This visual clearly indicates…………………….
On taking a closer look…………………………

Comparisons: This compares x with y……………………………..

Let’s compare the……………………………….
Here you see a comparison between……………
A close look at these two pie charts shows……..
In sharp contrast to x……………………………

Language for Depicting Trends

Visuals are also often used to talk about trends and future prospects. Trends
can be divided into three types – increasing trend, decreasing trend and steady
or constant trend.

Activity 2

1 Here are words that are often used to describe these. Can you match
them with the appropriate graphics that follow?
i Steady increase ii Sharp decline
iii Dramatic rise iv Peaked
v Edged up vi Rallied
vii Remained constant viii Fluctuated

1 2 3

6
4 5

40
8
7
 Most increases or decreases can be measured in volume or speed. For Using Visual
example, if you say sales went up gradually you are talking about the Aids
speed at which sales increased whereas if you say sales increased
substantially you are indicating the volume by which sales increased.

Activity 3

Now take a look at these words and divide them into the two columns on
volume and speed.
i quickly ii marginally iii significantly iv rapidly
v steadily vi slowly vii slightly viii fast
ix nominally x considerably

Words Denoting Volume Words Denoting Speed

Most words that denote changes or trends can be used in two ways:
1 As adverbs: Sales increased quickly.
2 As adjectives: Sales registered a quick increase.

Activity 4

Here is some more vocabulary that can be used with graphics. Can you
indicate whether these are used for increasing trends, decreasing trends or
both? Put a tick mark in the appropriate column.

Words Increasing trend Decreasing trend Both

1 Dramatic
2 Phenomenal
3 Spectacular
4 Plunged
5 Soared
6 Dipped
7 Plummeted
8 Rocketed

22.5 SPEAKING

Activity 5
41
 Presentation Skills Following table represents the number of students enrolled for different kinds
of English language courses at the Everbright Language School. Speak about
the visual as if it is a part of a presentation you are making on the performance
of the School in the last 5 years. Make sure you consciously use the language
you learnt in the last section.

Courses 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

General English
200 180 160 100 50
Business English
35 80 140 140 210
English for Travel
and Tourism 20 60 150 80 60
Communicative
English 55 85 190 200 200

…………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………..

22.6 LISTENING: USE OF VISUALS IN PRESENTATIONS

Listen to a speaker talking about the use of visuals in presentations and answer
the following question:

Check your progress 2

State whether these statements are true or false:

i Visuals should be used to substitute speech.

ii The first step to preparation of a presentation should be to think of
what visuals you would like to use.
iii Visuals are helpful in presenting complex information.
iv Presenters tend to overload their slides with information because they
want to give the optimum to their audience.

22.7 GRAMMAR: ADJECTIVES OR ADVERB,

COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES

Using ‘trend’ words as adjectives / adverbs

Words that describe changes or trends can often be used as adjectives as well
as adverbs. Take a look at these examples:

42 1 There was a marginal increase in the sale of hand pumps in October

2 Sale of hand pumps increased marginally in October.

In the first sentence the word marginal is used as an adjective qualifying the Using Visual
noun increase. Aids

In the second sentence the word increased is used as a verb and the adverb
marginally adds to the meaning of the verb increased.

Activity 6

Now take a look at the first column of the table given below and change the
form of the given word. If the word depicting trend is used as an adjective in
column A, change it to an adverb and write it in column B and vice versa.
Also try to use a variety of nouns and verbs by substituting ‘increase’ or
‘decrease’, for example ‘to rise / fall’, ‘go up / down’ etc.

A B
i Quick
ii Noticeable
iii Gradual
iv Steady
v Significant
vi Slowly
vii Dramatic
viii Rapid
ix Substantial
x Nominal

Activity 7

Fill in the blanks using the sentences from your completed box.

i There was a …………..rise in the sale of Television sets during the

World Cup Championships.
Sale of television sets rose ………………. during the World Cup
Championships.
ii There has been a ………………. rise in the summer temperatures in
the last five years.
Summer temperatures rose ……………….in the last five years.
iii The cost of living has been going up ……………….ever since the
economic recession.
There has been a ………………. increase in the cost of living since
the economic recession. 43
 Presentation Skills vi There has been a………………. demand for courses in management in
the last five years.
Demand for management courses has gone up ……………….in the
last five years.
v The sale of Nano cars is expected to increase ……………….once they
are readily available.
A ……………….increase is expected in the sale of Nano cars once
they are readily available.
vi International travel has gone up ………………. but steadily in the last
year.
International travel has seen a ………………. and steady rise in the
last year.
vii There has been a ……………….rise in the cost of petrol in the last ten
years.
Cost of petrol has risen ………………. in the last ten years.
viii Scooters have seen a ……………….fall in demand in the recent past.
The demand for scooters has fallen ………………. in the recent past.
ix On the other hand the demand for motorcycles has shot up ………….
On the other hand there has been a ………………. increase in the
demand for motorcycles.
x There is likely to be a ……………….increase in the cost of rail tickets
next year.
The cost of rail tickets is likely to go up ………………. in the next
year.

Comparatives

The interpretation of visuals often involves making comparisons. An

understanding of appropriate comparatives is of utmost importance.

What are comparatives?

Comparatives and Superlatives are special forms of adjectives. They are used
to compare two or more things. Generally, comparatives are formed using -er
and superlatives are formed using -est.

For example the comparative of high is higher and the superlative is highest.
The superlative form is used when the comparison is between more than two
things. For example:

44
1 The state of Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India. (the
comparison here is with all the states of India)
2 Kerala is smaller than Tamilnadu. (Comparison between two states).

45
 Presentation Skills Check your progress 3

Petrol prices in Rupees per Litre in three Indian Metros

between 2005 and 2008

60

50

40
Delhi
30
Kolkatta
20 Mumbai

10

0
2005 2006 2007 2008

Read the description of the bar chart given below and underline all the
comparatives. Now read the description again and encircle the language used
for talking about trends and changes.

As you can see this is a comparative bar graph of petrol prices in three major
cities of India from 2005 to 2008. It is clear from the graph that petrol was
costlier in Mumbai than in Kolkata or Delhi throughout this period. Also,
except for the year 2006, Delhi sold petrol at the lowest rates from amongst
the three metros.

In the year 2005 petrol prices were around Rs 42 per litre in Delhi whereas in
Kolkata people paid Rs 4 more than Delhi. In Mumbai petrol was priced
marginally higher than Kolkata at Rs 48 per litre.

The following year experienced a rise in fuel costs in Delhi and Mumbai.
While in Delhi the cost shot up significantly to Rs 48, Mumbai also registered
a marked increase of Rs 4 per litre.

In the year 2007 petrol prices dipped slightly for Delhi and increased
nominally for Kolkata. On the other hand in Mumbai the costs peaked at Rs
55, the highest in the four years.

Interestingly, the consumers could breathe a sigh of relief in 2008, with petrol
costs sliding back to the rates of 2005.

We may conclude that petrol prices fluctuated during the given period, with
maximum changes experienced by the Mumbai consumers.

Check your progress 4

Look at the sentences given below:

1 Serangoon Garments is a big company.

46 2 India Garments is a bigger company than Serangoon Garments.
 3 Bharat Garments is the biggest of them all.

The adjectives (the words in italics) change their form to show comparison.
These forms are called degrees of comparison. When two things are
compared, the comparative degree (‘bigger’) is used, When more than two
things are compared, the superlative degree (‘biggest’) is used.

1 Complete the passage with the correct comparative form of the

adjectives in brackets.

PC Computers and Comp Services, two giants of the computer

industry, have decided to merge. PC is a much …………….. (i)
(young) company than Comp but it has had ……………… (ii) (fast)
growth in the past 2-3 years. In fact, it is now slightly …………. (iii)
(big) than Comp. PC’s sales strategy is ………………… (iv)
(competitive) than the latter. It is ……….. (v) (large) and plays a
…………………….... (vi) (important) role in the organization. The
PC management group believes that they are ………………………
(vii) (hard working) and ………….. (viii) (innovative) than the Comp
team.

On the other hand, the Comp group, is a ……………….. (ix)

(conservative) company. The managers are generally …………………
(x) (old) than the managers in PC and have therefore worked
…………….. (xi) (long) for the company. The PC management feels
that their managers are ………………. (xii) (experience) and the
company has …………….. (xiii) (good) credentials where product
quality is concerned. The managers think that they may be ………
(xiv) (slow) than PC, but they have been proved right.

However, amongst all computer companies Comp Services has the

………… (xv) (good) record of performance and turnover in the past
10 years. It is one of the ………… (xvi) (old) companies. When it
began, it had inducted the ………….. (xvii) (sharp) minds among
talented computer engineers. It has the reputation of being one of the
…………….. (xviii) (reliable) company.

2 Now make sentences comparing the two companies. Use as … as and

the words in the box:

old conservative aggressive

competitive innovative show

Example: PC Computers isn’t as old as Comp Services

22.8 PRONUNCIATION: THE RISING TONE

47
 Presentation Skills When we use a rising tone, our pitch starts at a lower level and then goes up
to a higher level. In English we begin the tone on the nucleus and normally
use the rising tone in:

a Yes/No questions
b Wh- questions asked warmly
c incomplete utterances
d polite requests.
We shall give a few examples of each of these four types of sentences listed
above. In all the examples, stress that occur before the nucleus are marked
with the vertical bar [ ' ] the nucleus since the rising tone is used, is marked
[ ´ ] and the stressed syllables that occur after the nucleus are marked [╷ ].

a Yes/No Questions Yes/No question is one which can be answered in

‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

1 Is 'father at ´home?
2 Can I 'see the ´Dean for a ╷minute?
3 Can you 'buy me an ´ice-cream, ╷mummy?
4 Will you 'show me your 'new ´atlas?
5 Can I 'borrow your ´record ╷player?
6 Can you ´drive?
7 Can you ´cook?
8 Would it be 'possible to 'spend the ´night here?
9 Is the 'Ahmedabad Ex'press ar'riving on ´time?
10 'Is there any re´cording to╷day?

b Wh-questions asked warmly

1 'What is your ´father?

2 'Where do you ´live?
3 'How is ´mother?
4 'Where did you 'leave your ´book?
5 'How ´old are you?
6 'Which is ´yours?
7 'When did you ´come?
8 'Where are you ´going?
9 'Who did you ´talk to?

c Incomplete Utterances

All the examples cited below have two tone-groups each. The end of
the first tone-group is marked /. See how the first of the two tone-
groups in each sentence is said with a rising tone.

1 If you 'go to ´Delhi/ 'please 'meet my 'aunt.

2 I 'went to the 'market this ´morning/ and 'bought a 'lot of
'vegetables.
3 As 'soon as you 'reach ´London/ 'give this 'letter to the 'High
Co'mmission.
4 When my 'father ´died, / I was 'only 'five years 'old.
48 5 'If I ´see him/ I shall 'give him a 'piece of my 'mind.
 6 The 'moment you are ´ready,/ 'please 'phone 'me.
7 I 'don’t mind 'eating ´anywhere,/ pro'vided the 'place is 'clean.
8 If you get 'drenched in the ´rain, / you’re 'likely to 'fall 'ill.
9 I was 'terribly ´hurt/ when my 'father 'called me a 'fool.
10 If at 'all its ´possible, / I shall 'meet you at the 'station.
11 'Indira Gandhi 'National 'Open Uni´versity / is the 'first of its
'kind in India.
12 You can 'go to the 'Study Centre in your ´region/ and dis'cuss
your 'problems with your 'Counsellor there.
13 If you 'want to ac'quire a 'good pronunci´ation, / you should
'listen to our 'audio tapes.
14 'Madam ´President/ will in'augurate the 'new 'buildings.
15 ´Laugh / and the 'world `laughs with you.
16 'If you are ´naughty, / 'daddy will 'punish you.
17 When'ever you are in ´doubt, / 'please con'sult a 'good
'dictionary.
18 As a 'matter of ´fact, / I for'got to 'phone `Meena.
19 Be'cause of the 'efforts of the po´lice / the 'thieves were
'caught.
20 The 'earlier you ´finish, / the 'earlier you can 'go.

d Polite Requests

1 'Pass the ´salt.

2 'Close that ´window.
3 'Lend me a ru´pee.
4 'Shut the ´door.
5 'Please 'carry my ´bag.
6 'Buy me some ´flowers.
7 'Bring some ´lunch for me.
8 'Give me some ´water.
9 'Fetch me an um´brella.
10 'Buy me a 'new ´pen, ╷daddy.

22.9 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit you learnt about:

• Visual aids and why they are used as part of presentations.

• The function of visuals and the extent to which they help deal more
effectively with content
• Types of visual aids
• Advantages of using visuals
• Do’s and don’ts of visual aids
• Language associated with visual aids
• The use of the comparative as a grammar function
• The use of ‘trend’ words as adjectives and adverbs
• Practicing presentations with visuals
• Building up business vocabulary frequently used in presentation

49
 Presentation Skills 22.10 ANSWERS

Check your progress 1

1 Two examples of business areas where it is advisable for the presenter
to use visual aids to present information: statistics and complex data.
2 Two functions that visuals help us to perform easily and effectively -
present figures, to make comparisons and contrasts, to project future
performances and to talk about past, present and future trends.

3 Five types of visual aids: - flip charts, line graphs, bar graphs, pie
charts, pictograms, maps, tables, diagrams, photographs.

4 Do’s – visual aids must be relevant, appropriate and clear.

Don’ts – don’t overload, don’t rush through them – allow audience
time to read and understand them.

5 Two major benefits of using visual aids:

i Make presentations more interesting.
ii Cut down on your talking time.

Activity 1

You can use visual aids to:

i convey an idea, concept, theory or hypothesis

ii illustrate your text with graphs, pie charts or simply line drawings
iii clarify a point
iv restate a point for emphasis
v summarize the structure or content of a section or topic
vi build up key concepts or main areas
vii give instructions for an activity
viii present material to start a discussion
ix add interest and variety to your presentation
x add visuals to develop an idea
xi Help the audience recall a concept or idea, either from their own past
or from your talk

Activity 2

1 i Steady increase - 1
ii Sharp decline - 4
iii Dramatic rise - 6
iv Peaked - 2
v Edged up - 3
vi Rallied - 5
vii Remained constant - 8
viii Fluctuated – 7

50 Activity 3
 Words denoting Volume Words denoting Speed
marginally quickly
significantly rapidly
slightly steadily
nominally slowly
considerably fast
Activity 4

Words Increasing trend Decreasing trend Both

Dramatic √
Phenomenal √
Spectacular √
Plunged √
Soared √
Dipped √
Plummeted √
Rocketed √

Activity 5

Sample answer
I’d now like to make a comparison of enrolments for our English language
courses. If you look at this table closely you will find that the demand for our
General English courses has had a sharp decline whereas our Business English
and Communicative English courses have experienced a dramatic rise in
popularity. While the enrolments for the Business English courses have shot
up by 6 times since 2004, in the case of Communicative English the numbers
have climbed up substantially to 200.

22.6 Listening
Tape script

It is generally believed and experienced that people learn more readily through
visuals than through text or the spoken word. They also tend to retain more
information when learning is reinforced by visualization. Visuals are an
integral part of presentations. Hence it is essential to understand the role and
impact of visuals and to know when and how to use them.

Visuals in presentations should be used to support the spoken or written word,

and not in place of it. A well-developed concept and effective script are the
first prerequisites of any presentation. Once the concept evolves and takes
shape, visuals are developed around it to support, elucidate or illustrate the
concept. Visuals are an extremely useful tool to communicate concepts that
are complex in nature or difficult to grasp.

Remember that you use visuals to facilitate understanding of complex ideas or

concepts. This is possible only when your visuals are simple, clear and
concise. Additionally the entire audience must be able to see your visual
images clearly from where they are seated. This means that they must be large
enough to be seen without causing any strain.
51
 Presentation Skills A common problem with presenters, especially beginners is information
overload. They tend to use and illustrate all information collected for the
presentation, thereby cramming the slides with text and visuals. A single idea
or set of facts per image, timed to the speaker's pace will add punch and
emphasis to each important idea, assuring maximum retention by the
listeners.

Check your progress 2

i Visuals should be used to substitute speech. FALSE

ii The first step to preparation of a presentation should be to think of
what visuals you would like to use. FALSE
iii Visuals are helpful in presenting complex information. TRUE
iv Presenters tend to overload their slides with information because they
want to give the optimum to their audience. TRUE

Activity 6

A B
i Quick Quickly
ii Noticeable Noticeably
iii Gradual Gradually
iv Steady Steadily
v Significant Significantly
vi Slowly Slow
vii Dramatic Dramatically
viii Rapid Rapidly
ix Substantial Substantially
x Nominal Nominally

Activity 7

Missing words are given in bold.

i There was a quick rise in the sale of Television sets during the World
Cup Championships.
Sale of television sets rose quickly during the World Cup
Championships.

ii There has been a noticeable rise in the summer temperatures in the last
five years.
Summer temperatures rose noticeably in the last five years.

iii The cost of living has been going up gradually ever since the
52 economic recession.
 There has been a gradual increase in the cost of living since the
economic recession.

vi There has been a steady demand for courses in management in the last
five years.
Demand for management courses has gone up steadily in the last five
years.

v The sale of Nano cars is expected to increase significantly once they

are readily available.
A significant increase is expected in the sale of Nano cars once they
are readily available.

vi International travel has gone up slowly but steadily in the last year.
International travel has seen a slow and steady rise in the last year.

vii There has been a dramatic rise in the cost of petrol in the last ten
years.
Cost of petrol has risen dramatically in the last ten years.

viii Scooters have seen a rapid fall in demand in the recent past.
The demand for scooters has fallen rapidly in the recent past.

ix On the other hand the demand for motorcycles has shot up

substantially.

On the other hand there has been a substantial increase in the demand
for motorcycles.

x There is likely to be a nominal increase in the cost of rail tickets next

year.
The cost of rail tickets is likely to go up nominally in the next year.

Check your progress 3

As you can see this is a comparative bar graph of petrol prices in three major
cities of India from 2005 to 2008. It is clear from the graph that petrol was
costlier in Mumbai than in Kolkata or Delhi throughout this period. Also,
except for the year 2006, Delhi sold petrol at the lowest rates from amongst
the three metros.

In the year 2005 petrol prices were around Rs 42 per litre in Delhi whereas in
Kolkata people paid Rs 4 more than Delhi. In Mumbai petrol was priced
marginally higher than Kolkata at Rs 48 per litre.

The following year experienced a rise in fuel costs in Delhi and Mumbai.
While in Delhi the cost shot up significantly to Rs 48, Mumbai also
registered a marked increase of Rs 4 per litre.

In the year 2007 petrol prices dipped slightly for Delhi and increased
nominally for Kolkata. On the other hand in Mumbai the costs peaked at Rs
55, the highest in the four years.
53
 Presentation Skills Interestingly, the consumers could breathe a sigh of relief in 2008, with petrol
costs sliding back to the rates of 2005.

We may conclude that petrol prices fluctuated during the given period, with
maximum changes experienced by the Mumbai consumers.

Check your progress 4

1 i- younger ii-faster iii- bigger

iv- more competitive v-larger vi- more important
vii- more hard-working viii- more innovative ix- more conservative
x- older xi- longer xii- more experienced
xiii-better xiv- slower xv- best
xvi- oldest xvii- sharpest xviii- most reliable

2 PC Computers isn’t as old as Comp Services.

PC Computers isn’t as conservative as Comp Services.
Comp Services isn’t as aggressive as PC Computers.
Comp Services isn’t as competitive as PC Computers.
Comp Services isn’t as innovative as PC Computers.
PC Computers isn’t as slow as Comp Services.

54