Chapter 14: Using visual aids

When designing slides, you should use

one or two fonts maximum.

Drawings, photographs, graphs, and videos are examples of

visual aids.

Which of the following is an ideal final slide for a speech that includes visual aids displayed using presentation technology?

A blank slide

Which of the following is an essential accessory for any speech involving presentation technology?

A flash drive with a backup copy of your slides

In which of the following ways can a video do more harm than good in a speech?

A low-resolution video might be blurry when projected. A video longer than 30 seconds can distract the audience. A video that is not cued up can cause an unwanted pause.

When it is not feasible to use an object itself as a visual aid because of its size or location, which of the following visual aids are other options for showing that object?

A photograph A model A video A drawing

In which of the following scenarios would a video clip be the most useful form of visual aid?

A speech comparing presidential speaking styles

A speaker who wants to include a graph in a presentation created with presentation technology should do which of the following?

Add the graph only if it is truly needed Include a title Keep the graph simple

How does advance preparation of visual aids help you maximize the effectiveness of this material?

Advance preparation provides time to practice with the visual aids. Advance preparation ensures sufficient time to create effective aids. Advance preparation helps you plan for smooth integration of visual aids.

What is the primary factor to consider when deciding how large to make a visual aid?

The size of the room

If you cannot visit the presentation room prior to the day of your speech, which of the following is a good idea?

Arrive early the day of your speech See if you can find out what type of presentation equipment the room has Before your presentation, ensure equipment is working properly

Jessie has brochures she would like to give her audience so that they can take the material home. When would be the correct time to pass out this material?

At the close of her presentation

You should remember to do which of the following when adding images to a presentation slide?

Avoid extraneous images Use high-resolution images Make the images large enough

When speakers use a video for a presentation, they should do which of the following?

Avoid low-resolution video Edit the video to be no longer than 30 seconds Have it cued to begin at the correct spot

Chris gave a speech to his colleagues on the last quarter's sales numbers. He prepared a pamphlet of information that visually represented the trends he discussed in his speech and had the audience pass it around as he was speaking. However, this approach created a distraction that reduced the effectiveness of his speech. Which of the following would have been a better approach?

Avoid using a visual aid. Display the information using a projection screen or large poster. Hand the information out to everyone after the speech is over.

For his speech on diabetes, Benny wanted to show objects that some diabetic people use on a daily basis, including a syringe, a bottle of glucose, and a glucose measuring stick. Which one of the following would be the most effective way to display these objects?

Bringing in large photographs of the small objects

Which of the following are types of visual aids?

Charts Models Demonstrations

Dani is preparing a speech for sociology class and had lots of information on United States demographics that she wanted to display in a visual aid. However, once she puts all the information in a chart, it becomes too cluttered to understand at a glance. What should Dani do?

Create a second chart

Which of the following are recommended guidelines for constructing slides with text using presentation technology?

Do not use more than two fonts per slide. Choose fonts that are easy to read. Use fonts consistently.

Which of the following should be the intended uses of presentation technologies?

Enhancing your message Clarifying and strengthening ideas

True or false: Each talking point should be accompanied by a slide or visual example.

False

True or false: It is best to wait until the day of your presentation to prepare visual aids so that you can adapt them to the final version of your speech.

False

True or false: Presentation technologies are rarely used outside of the school setting.

False

Which of the following are steps to keep in mind when creating a visual aid using presentation technology?

Figure out which information needs to be highlighted Decide where the visual aid works best

Ben is giving a speech on playing paintball and is considering bringing various objects needed for the sport. Where should the objects be while he is not referencing them?

He should put them in a box beside the podium, from which he can pull each object as he discusses it.

Verity is giving a speech at a senior center on how to use touch-screen devices. She spent hours designing flashy slides, many of which incorporated images, embedded video, and text in different fonts. Which of the following is true of Verity's presentation?

Her visual aids include too much detail that can detract from her speech.

Terrence gave a speech on the Apollo 11 space mission and decided to show a 5-minute video clip of the launch and of moon landing in the middle of the speech to help illustrate his ideas. However, by the end of the clip the class seemed distracted and bored. What mistake did Terrence make?

His video clip should be shorter than 30 seconds.

What is the best way to remember when to click on the next slide while giving a speech using presentation technology?

Include cues for changing the slide in your speaking outline.

Which of the following is the most common mistake beginning speakers make when using charts?

Including too much information

Which of the following is a tendency that makes visual aids less effective?

Including too much information.

Which of the following is a requirement for visual aids to be effective?

Incorporate visuals smoothly into the rest of the speech.

What is the best way to determine where to place a visual aid?

Inspect the room before the speech and place the visual aid where it will be most visible.

Adding color to a visual aid can do which of the following?

It can help a speaker highlight key points. It can make it difficult to see clearly when contrast is low. It can increase impact when done well.

When demonstrating a process, sometimes speakers use themselves as a visual aid. What are the benefits of this?

It helps keep the audience involved. It can add clarity for an audience. It can help reduce speaker nervousness.

When preparing visual ads, you should do which of the following?

Keep them simple Prepare them in advance Make them large enough

Howie was preparing a speech to his classmates about his recent trip to China. As he put together his visual aids, he decided to use a colorful photo of a Chinese New Year parade as his background. He then used one decorative font and listed numerous points on each slide. By doing this, which guideline for preparing visual aids did he violate?

Keep visual aids simple.

Which of the following are good reasons to limit the amount of text on slides?

Less text means audiences can more easily process information as you speak Including more words means that the text might get very small More words distract audiences

Which of the following are guidelines for effective use of text on presentation technology slides?

Limit text to under 6 lines. Use key words only.

Lizzie is giving a speech on the Great Barrier Reef and has many images to use as visual aids. When she gets to the classroom, she sees that the lectern is directly in front of the projection screen and cannot be moved. What is the best way for Lizzie to handle the situation?

Lizzie should stand to the side of the screen and use a pointer when discussing the images to avoid further obstructing them.

Sean gave a speech to his economics class that included a graph of income distribution over time. When the slide with his visual aid came up, he turned to face the screen, pointed out the major features of the graph, and explained to the audience what the various trend lines meant. What should Sean do differently?

Maintain eye contact with the audience while discussing visual aids.

What is the best way to determine the success of a visual aid and your explanation of it?

Maintain eye contact with the audience while discussing visual aids.

Terry is giving a speech to a mechanics class on the two-stroke engine. To illustrate his point, Terry brought a three-inch model of an off-road motorcycle, which he held up during his discussion of common two-stroke vehicles. Which guideline for preparing effective visual aids did he violate?

Make sure visual aids are large enough.

Which of the following are examples of commonly used presentation technologies?

PowerPoint Keynote Prezi

In order to present visual aids effectively, a speaker should do which of the following?

Practice with them ahead of time Explain them clearly Talk to the audience while presenting them

Shawna gave a speech to her history class on the Louisiana Purchase. The day before the speech, she decided to incorporate several maps as visual aids. However, during her speech, Shawna lost track of where she was on her outline when she stopped to discuss the maps. What is the best way to avoid this situation?

Prepare visual aids well in advance.

Which of the following are color combinations that should be avoided due to the difficulty of differentiating between them?

Red and green Orange and red Blue and green

Belinda made a line graph illustrating the amount of money that music companies made over the past decade. During her presentation, she briefly shows the graph and says, "Clearly, there has been a decrease in sales over the past several years." She then moves on to her next visual aid. What mistake did she make?

She did not take time to explain the visual aid.

For her speech on the artist Claude Monet, Keisha prepared presentation slides, which she emailed to herself. When she got to class she found out that the school network was down. Of the following options, which one would have been the best backup plan?

She should have saved a copy of her slides to a flash drive.

Clara gave a speech at work describing which products were the company's best sellers. The speech included a pie chart showing the proportion of total sales for each product. When she came to the slide with the pie chart, Clara said, "As you can see, a few products outsell all the rest," then moved on to her next point. What is wrong with this scenario?

She should spend more time explaining what the chart shows and what it means.

Duncan has several photographs in a slide show, and he has decided that informational slides between these visual aids will be unnecessary. What is the best way for Duncan to present his visual aids?

Show the photos only when they are being discussed and use blank slides before or after each one.

Dominique wants to discuss various types of money used in the 1700s. She has several coins at home she can bring to show her audience. What is the best way for Dominique to effectively incorporate the coins into her speech?

Taking photos of the coins and projecting them with presentation technology

Carla used presentation software to prepare visual aids to accompany her speech. She started creating slides several weeks before the speech to give her time to practice her delivery, and included at least a paragraph of text on each slide explaining the images being presented. What is wrong with this scenario?

The amount of text used in visual aids should be kept to a minimum.

Which is the most important benefit for the audience when the speaker uses fewer words on slides?

The audience can process images and graphics rather than reading.

Which of the following situations is likely to result in an audience's losing track of what is said during a speech?

The audience circulates a copy of a chart discussed by the speaker.

While preparing for a speech to his geology class, Kyle came across a useful illustration of the layers of the Earth in a book he found in the library. Kyle brought the book to class to use during his speech, holding it up as he discussed the topic of stratification. What is wrong with this scenario?

The illustration is too small to be helpful

Ted gave a speech to class that included several visual aids. He spent several weeks practicing the speech and his discussion of the image he selected. After completing the speech, Ted held up a large poster of the image and gave a clear explanation of how it emphasized an important point he had made in the speech. What is wrong with this scenario?

The image should have been integrated into the speech.

What should the speaker describe when discussing a visual aid?

The major features of the aid What the aid means

An illustrator is giving a speech to an art class on her technique for drawing some of her most well-known characters. Which of the following would be the most effective form of visual aid?

The speaker's hand

To what does the phrase "Death by PowerPoint" refer?

The tendency of speakers to read through boring and poorly designed visual aids as if they were a manuscript.

When preparing a presentation using presentation technology, you should do which of the following?

Use fonts that are easily read Keep the slides fairly simple Use limited amounts of text

PowerPoint and similar programs can reduce the effectiveness of a presentation if the speaker does which of the following?

Throws the presentation together quickly Reads the speech to the audience off the slides Allows technology to dominate the speech

Bryce wanted to use a drawing of a map to highlight important places to visit in Fiji. What should he remember when preparing his visual aid?

To keep the drawing simple To make it large enough that people can see

Which of the following is a recommended strategy for ensuring that the fonts used in a presentation program are clear, legible, and consistent?

Using a built-in theme

What is the most effective method of showing a photograph or drawing during a speech?

Using a presentation program such as PowerPoint

Which of the following has been shown to reduce audience comprehension of the speaker's point?

Using nonessential images

What is the primary problem with Prezi and similar presentation programs?

Visual effects distract from the content of the speech.

In which of the following scenarios should speakers consider using a model?

When the object they want to discuss is unavailable for use. When the object they want to discuss is too small for the class to see. When the object they want to discuss is too large to transport.

Which of the following are true about passing around visual aids during a speech?

While waiting for the visual aid to come to them, listeners might focus on the person who has it before them instead of focusing on the speaker. Listeners might explore an object or handout at their own pace rather than focusing on what the speaker is saying about it. Listeners might be handling the visual aid instead of listening to the speaker.

Which of the following text and background color combinations would make it easy for the audience to see everything?

Yellow text on a black background Red text on a white background

Which of the following is the primary benefit of using presentation technology to display visual aids?

You can incorporate multiple types of visual aids into your speech.

What are some key points to remember when practicing using presentation technology?

You should practice with the mouse or keyboard so you won't have to fumble or look down much to advance your slides. You should allow extra time for rehearsal. You should address the audience and not the screen.

If there are too many categories of statistics to present clearly on a graph, what is the next best option?

a chart

Denise was giving a speech on dental care and wanted to show the class proper technique. In order to give them a three-dimensional view, her best choice would be

a large-scale model of a mouth.

Tara gave a speech on aviation technology and decided to bring a model of a passenger airplane with her to help illustrate some of the concepts she discussed. In this scenario, Tara used

a visual aid.

A determining factor in deciding whether visual aids are large enough is that a person sitting ______ of the room should be able to see them clearly.

at the back

When preparing a visual aid using technology for your speech, it is best to

avoid making it too fancy or too plain.

Ideally, speakers should construct visual aids

before they begin the rehearsal process.

When constructing an all-text slide using presentation technology, you should make the text

brief.

When presenting visual aids, speakers should

display them in a prominent place only while the visual aid is being discussed.

True or false: Each talking point should be accompanied by a slide or visual example

false

True or false: Presentation technologies are rarely used outside of the school setting

false

When using a projection screen for visual aids, the speaker should be sure to stand

in a location that will not cast shadows.

When speakers decide to use themselves as a visual aid, they should take special care to make sure their movements

match their words.

Bobby wanted to show his audience how to make homemade salsa. Which of the following would be the most effective visual aid?

mixing salsa with ingredients already chopped

Barry wanted to explain to his audience the various types of nautical flags. His best option for a visual aid to illustrate his ideas would be

photographs of the flags in use.

The amount of information contained on a slide should be limited to

what the speaker can manage comfortably.

When deciding whether to use a chart as a visual aid, you should remember that charts

should be uncluttered. should not contain too much information. help present blocks of information.

Carlos is preparing visual aids for a speech to his United States Government class and has a number of important points to make, resulting in a slide with 14 lines of type. In order to make sure his slides are legible, Carlos should

spread his points across multiple slides.

True or false: It is acceptable for a speaker to occasionally glance at a visual aid while discussing it.

true

True or false: Writing in ALL CAPS is more difficult to read than text written using normal capitalization rules.

true

Mimi is giving a speech on how to make various flower arrangements. She would like to demonstrate one technique during the first part of her presentation by bringing all the materials needed to make the arrangement. However, part of her presentation will focus on photographs of other types of arrangements. To coordinate her visual aids, she should

use the objects in the first part of the speech, then place them out of sight when it is time to go to the photographs.