Ch4 - p.60 Guidelines for Using Presentation Aids

ASK AN ASSISTANT TO HANDLE YOUR PRESENTATION AIDS SO THAT YOU CAN CONCENTRATE ON YOUR AUDIENCE WHILE YOU ARE SPEAKING

Be sure to arrange this with a classmate before the day of your speech.

PRACTICE YOUR PRESENTATION WHILE USING YOUR PRESENTATION AIDS BEFORE YOU DELIVER THE SPEECH

Become familiar with your aids by practicing when, where, and how you will use them

DON'T FILL THE SLIDE WITH TEXT

Change complete sentences into short bullet points. If you have too much information, divide it into to slides.

CHOOSE COLORS CAREFULLY

Choose one color for the background, one for the titles, and one for the text.

VISUAL AIDS SHOULD BE LARGE ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE TO SEE

Confirm the visibility of your visual aids by viewing them from the back of the room. If you see them clearly, so will your audience.

KEEP CHARTS, MAPS, AND GRAPHS VERY SIMPLE

Don't try to show too many details in one visual aid. Less is more!

COVER ALL VISUAL AIDS YOU ARE NOT USING, AND PUT THEM AWAY AFTER YOU HAVE FINISHED SHOWING THEM

For example, if you are starting to speak about the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, don't leave up a picture of the Great Wall of China from an earlier section of your speech.

NEVER PASS OUT OBJECTS, PHOTOS, OR PAPERS DURING YOUR SPEECH

If your audience is looking at objects or reading papers, they will not be listening to you.

AUDIO AIDS SHOULD BE LOUD AND DISTINCT ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE TO HEAR

Listeners should not have to strain to hear recordings or sound effects, nor should they feel compelled to cover their ears due to an uncomfortably loud audio aid.

PICTURES AND ART MUST ENHANCE MESSAGE

Make sure that you explain how the pictures or art in your presentation are connected to your topic. Draw the audience's attention to the specific things you want them to notice.

BE SURE TO LOOK AT YOUR AUDIENCE, NOT YOUR VISUAL AIDS

The trick is to maintain eye contact with your listeners while explaining and displaying your visuals. Remember: Do not talk to your aid. Talk to the listeners!

VISUAL & AUDIO AIDS SHOULD HAVE A SPECIFIC PURPOSE

They should explain, clarify, illustrate, or summarize information from your speech. It should be clear to both you and your audience, why you are using a particular speech aid at a particular place in your presentation.