use visual presentation

.css-1qrtm5m{display:block;margin-bottom:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714285714285714;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.35px;letter-spacing:-0.35px;font-weight:300;color:#606F7B;}@media (min-width:600px){.css-1qrtm5m{font-size:16px;line-height:1.625;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:-0.5px;}} Best Practices The #1 rule for improving your presentation slides

by Tom Rielly • May 12, 2020

When giving presentations, either on a video conference call or in person, your slides, videos and graphics (or lack of them) can be an important element in helping you tell your story or express your idea. This is the first of a series of blog posts that will give you tips and tricks on how to perfect your visual presentations.

Your job as a presenter is to build your idea -- step-by-step -- in the minds of your audience members. One tool to do that is presentation graphics, such as slides and videos.

Why graphics for your presentation?

A common mistake is using slides or videos as a crutch, even if they don’t actually add anything to your presentation. Not all presentations need graphics. Lots of presentations work wonderfully with just one person standing on a stage telling a story, as demonstrated by many TED Talks.

You should only use slides if they serve a purpose: conveying scientific information, art, and things that are hard to explain without pictures. Once you have decided on using slides, you will have a number of decisions to make. We’ll help you with the basics of making a presentation that is, above all, clear and easy to understand. The most important thing to remember here is: less is more.

Less is so much more

You want to aim for the fewest number of slides, the fewest number of photos, the fewest words per slide, the least cluttered slides and the most white space on your slides. This is the most violated slide rule, but it is the secret to success. Take a look at these examples.

As you can see in the above example, you don’t need fancy backgrounds or extra words to convey a simple concept. If you take “Everything you need to know about Turtles”, and delete “everything you need to know about” leaving just “turtles”, the slide has become much easier for your audience to read, and tells the story with economy.

The above example demonstrates that a single image that fills the entire screen is far more powerful than a slide cluttered with images. A slide with too many images may be detrimental to your presentation. The audience will spend more mental energy trying to sort through the clutter than listening to your presentation. If you need multiple images, then put each one on its own slide. Make each image high-resolution and have it fill the entire screen. If the photos are not the same dimensions as the screen, put them on a black background. Don’t use other colors, especially white.

Your slides will be much more effective if you use the fewest words, characters, and pictures needed to tell your story. Long paragraphs make the audience strain to read them, which means they are not paying attention to you. Your audience may even get stressed if you move on to your next slide before they’ve finished reading your paragraph. The best way to make sure the attention stays on you is to limit word count to no more than 10 words per slide. As presentation expert Nancy Duarte says “any slide with more than 10 words is a document.” If you really do need a longer explanation of something, handouts or follow-up emails are the way to go.

Following a “less is more” approach is one of the simplest things you can do to improve your presentation visuals and the impact of your presentation overall. Make sure your visuals add to your presentation rather than distract from it and get your message across.

Ready to learn more about how to make your presentation even better? Get TED Masterclass and develop your ideas into TED-style talks.

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Engage your audience with powerful visual presentations.

Visual tools are critical to have in any presentation as they’re one of the key presentation aids that will help enhance your overall presentation .

We’ll give you tips on how to develop a sense of good presentation design whether you’re using PowerPoint, Prezi, Google Slides or any presentation software under the sun. The secret to creating a great presentation does not lie in a superior software, but understanding a few universal design concepts that can applied for all types of visual presentations.

Don’t be afraid to use a few presentation templates – there are ways to make the presentation ideas in those templates your own ideas and advance it in several different ways. Let’s make your next presentation on point and designed beautifully.

Presentations Are The Visual Communication Tool To Your Story

In the age of information, people remember facts faster through stories. Keep your bullet points and information short. You can use a rule of thumb to not put more than a paragraph and 3 points per slide to start.

Make your presentation the visual component of your story, but not something your audience has to read. Something that is short and succinct on screen will capture your audience’s attention and make sure they retain the main points of your message.

This does not mean incomplete slides. A common mistake presenters make is putting too little information on a slide in the name of simplicity when in fact they’re leaving out the main context.

A well designed visual presentation has a great story behind it and a well rehearsed voice telling it as well. Engaging the audience is also a great way to associate meaning or connection to the content of your slide decks. Ask questions and tell stories while showing off a great visual presentation! Think of writing the copy like writing for social media – you only have a certain amount of characters to use and a short audience attention span.

General Tips For Visual Presentations

Before you begin creating your presentation, you first need to know what makes effective presentations – storytelling. Such presentations target the audience’s emotions leading to a stronger connection to the audience member and the main point of the presentation.

Below are some storytelling tips for your slides, but remember to keep the presentation itself simple and practice makes perfect. And again, these are more for your spoken component that accompanies the visual component. These tips can be useful because they can be applied to all your presentations in general.

Step 1 is to ask yourself who your audience is and how to convey the key message you have in mind to them. Once you settle on your message, you can start designing your slides with that direction in mind.

You may wonder how to connect with an audience with your slides. Look to your own experiences, your own speaking style and tailor your message to what you know. Not many people want to hear others recite facts with no real meaning driving the story. Ask yourself, “Why does this matter to the audience and why should they care?”.

There is a lot of trust that can be built when the audience has a genuine connection to the presenter. Overall, if you have something that can solve a problem or teach someone complex things, that is enough to form a connection with your audience.

Think of the last app you used, the last email you read or perhaps the last business you purchased from. What was the content or visual elements that pulled you in?

Are you making a PowerPoint, Prezi or other form of visual presentation but it’s taking too much of your time? Enlist the help of Presentation Geeks and consider outsourcing your presentation design . Outsourcing your presentation slides allows you to free more of your time while still getting the results of an interesting presentation. You’ll have the support of expert slide designers who know what presentation visuals work and don’t work thanks to years of presentation feedback and background knowledge.

Color Design Tips For Presentation Slides

When designing your presentation, make sure you take into consideration the colors you’re using. We’ve listed a few background color combinations you might want to consider when developing the overall slide deck and the font to use.

Color Wheel Alignments:

Primary Colors: Red, yellow, blue

Secondary Colors: Green, orange, purple

Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-green

Analogous Colors: These are any three colors which are side by side on a color wheel. (Think green, lime green, yellow)

Complementary Colors: These are colors that are directly opposite of a color wheel. (Think green vs. purple, red vs. blue)

Monochromatic Colors: This is when you use one color and various shades or hues of it. It works well for minimal looks.

Color moods:

Red/Orange/Yellow: Generally these convey a sense of energy, are warm colors and catch your attention. Yellow is a happy warm color on one end and red is very striking and can warn of danger, and symbolizes importance, passion and sometimes violence.

Blue/Purple/Green: These colors are calming, reserved, elegant and often used for corporate slides. Think of how indigo blue is used for many large corporate entities. Green often is branded with earth or medical brands. Purple often conveys a sense of royalty, money and creativity.

Use The Power Of Photography Or Video

Pictures and videos are great visuals to incorporate into any presentation. Remember the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Well, it’s true! Photos help visualize complex information. You’ll often come across a lot of photos in research presentations as they help the audience understand examples better.

They can also save you from having to put a thousand thoughts into the PowerPoint presentation slide!

The first tip we can give to make a great visual presentation is to choose all your photos before you start. This way you can keep the consistency of the images across your slide deck and make sure they’re somewhat alike in terms of composition, mood and brand.

Use free stock photos

You don’t have to take the photos or videos yourself.

There are plenty of free resources and web pages for stock photos online – Unsplash , Pexels , Pixabay , Free Range , Creative Commons and some photos from Freepik are free to use with some accreditation.

Effective photo use

Make sure you pick an image that will focus on the main theme of the slide. One image is usually enough if the image choice is very relevant to the slide. If you have multiple photos, avoid poor or loose placement of photos all over the slide. Try to use a grid or gallery placement and it will immediately enhance the layout of the slide.

If you pick great images, making presentations can be faster. Instead of having to create an elaborate template with multiple elements, a photo with a couple of bullet points can go a long way in terms of capturing attention and making your presentation slides look professional. This is true on any presentation design platform – whether its PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc.

You can also embed videos whether they’re located on your computer, YouTube, Vimeo or other major video streaming sites. If you’re feeling nervous about your presentation or have a complex message that would be hard to condense in one slide, a video is a dynamic way of conveying your message in any type of presentation.

The Typography You Use Matters

Typography is how you will arrange and present the words in your presentation. An audience can engage when text is readable, functional and works well with the other elements in the presentation. Fonts and sizing are a good place to start establishing the tone of your presentation.

Overview of Font Choices

Elegant fonts often denote a sense of luxury or lifestyle tone. Use script fonts sparingly, but as titles they immediately give this polished and high-end look. This should not be used as body text or something lengthy to read. Think about if you sent an email in that text – it would be tedious to read. However, maybe if it were a title or a way to name email, the choice may be more correct.

Corporate fonts often are traditional, serif fonts or clean sans serif fonts that evoke a sense of trust and a clear message. Think of the fonts Lato, Helvetica or Arial – they’re go-to fonts that are easy to read, and work across many systems. This is especially helpful if you are working across teams when creating content or having to approve the content, idea or visuals.

Of course, you can incorporate more stylistic or playful fonts if you want to give your presentation a personal feel. Much like the scripted font, when used sparingly but in large titles, this choice of font can be very effective at conveying a certain personality.

Adding Symbols & Icons To Your Presentation

You can consolidate information by using symbols or icons to direct your eye to information such as an arrow symbol. What if you used a symbol instead of a bullet point? Think of symbols as anchors for the eye to quickly find information. You can collect symbols off free stock sites or use the built-in ones in PowerPoint that are free to use!

Depending on if your presentation is formal or informal , you may also want to consider adding emojis! Emojis are fun ways to express different emotions and can help connect with a younger demographic.

Overall Branding, Tone of Voice & Consistency

Another tool you may have at your disposal is if your brand, business or company has brand guidelines. It will be the guide and compass to your presentation’s information that goes within it. By keeping consistent you can achieve a polished look even if it looks very simple.

Use your business voice to communicate ideas and set the tone for your presentation. Are you in an investment banking business and want people to rely on the information given to you? That would inform perhaps using blues and purples, which are calmer colors and a cleaner look. Are you an influencer who’s buying power and spending choices matter to your audience? Maybe choosing bright colors with personal touches will make the connection. Are you designing an innovative app? Maybe more interactive slides would do the trick.

Use these questions to make sure your text and tone is consistent as this is a foundation of a well articulated brand or personal identity.

Consistent Hierarchy

Visual hierarchy is how you will arrange objects and text in relation to one another to guide your user and not confuse the objects and how they should read them in your slides. Setting rules helps differentiate and prioritize what’s important in order.

Look at the difference between these two.

Snoop Dogg just launched a wine and it’s coming to Canada

Daily hive branded content | aug 11 2020, 6:30 am.

Australian winery 19 Crimes recently announced that its new Cali Red wine, created in collaboration with Entertainment Icon, entrepreneur, and hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg, will be hitting shelves across Canada later this summer.

The collaboration offers a refreshing take on celebrity partnerships as the apparent shared values and history between the brand and famous rapper make for a perfectly organic pairing.

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You can see a clear distinction in the example below:

Think of hierarchy of a form of narration or story structure. Your eye goes to the title, then to the subtitle, then to the body copy in a logical manner. Where the eye travels is one of those things we don’t think about often. But you can also utilize eye lines in photos. Is your subject in the photo looking left or right? Consider placing text to where your subject is looking and see how effectively your eye travels to that text.

We’ll look at hierarchy strictly as sizing of words for now, but note you can establish hierarchy with type, white space, alignment, etc. As a general rule of thumb, you should have consistent sizing for your Header (or title slide / slide title), your subtitles and your body text. That’s it! If the sizing in your PowerPoint is consistent, your words will look uniform and clean. Everything will be much easier to read and the eye will be trained to move each slide.

Don’t Forget Your Own Style

Also don’t forget to incorporate your own style and what kind of visuals you like. Even if your early visuals may seem simple, build up that design muscle with the basics and design techniques that look clean and consistent.

You’ll find as you design these basics, you’ll probably start noticing other visuals and things you like in other mediums and presentations. Keep a note or screenshot the presentation that inspired you. Create a mood-board that you can refer to in the future for quick idea inspiration. Copying gets a bad rap, but learning how to design something you like even if it’s a clone copy will teach you many things about design. Build a collection of images that informs everything you do: for your color scheme, your designs, the cadence of images, etc.

That being said, you can also use free stock websites like Freepik for some design layouts inspiration. Creative Market is a paid website but the site offers a ton of design inspiration. This site has design templates for what’s currently in and trending. You can subscribe to an email newsletter on either site to get bite sized design influence each day that goes straight to your inbox.

However, don’t be afraid to try something new!

Once you get to a level of comfortable designing, these new ideas will be much easier to execute with the technical knowledge you amassed when you started. You could even try using a new app to design your ideas to keep your knowledge fresh! (Keep in mind that most online apps like SlideShare use cookies to improve functionality and performance.)

Ask your friends or people at your organization to give you feedback and critique, as that’s also crucial to honing your design skills. The people around you also represent different audiences!

The above image looks boring, right?

That’s because there are no visual elements!

Powerful visual presentations can engage audiences psychologically with both the presentation itself and the energy of the presenter. By understanding a few universal design concepts, you can begin your journey creating wonderful visual presentations and becoming a better presenter ! Thanks for reading this blog post, tell us your tips in the comments below.

Author:  Content Team

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > 5 reasons to use visual aids for speeches and presentations

5 reasons to use visual aids for speeches and presentations

A whopping 65 percent of humans are visual learners . This makes sense, considering the brain processes visual information about 60,000 times faster than text.

It also explains why it’s so important for speakers to incorporate compelling visual aids into their presentations . Impactful visuals help us communicate our ideas and messaging more effectively—no matter what type of audience we are trying to reach.

Here are 5 facts that drill home the importance of visual aids when it comes to delivering a memorable presentation or speech.

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1. Presentation visuals grab an audience’s attention—and keep it

Human beings are naturally curious creatures but we have a short attention span—and it’s gotten worse in our current era of information overload and non-stop scrolling. When listening to a speech or presentation, audience interest peaks around the 10-minute mark and then drops precipitously depending on the content and communication style of the speaker. (A Ben Stein soundalike drolling on about duality quantum algorithms? Godspeed.) That’s why so many experts insist on capping lectures at 15 to 20 minutes or mixing up the format with 20-minute blocks. Interesting visual aids can help you do that.

They spark interest when the brain is feeling fatigued, making it easier to receive and process complex information. Think of each new visual or animation as little shots of adrenaline—capturing the waning attention of an audience and re-energizing the room. This can be especially effective when embedding picture polls, or visuals that require audience members to pull out their phones and interact with the content you’ve presented.

2. Presentation visuals make complex ideas easier to understand

Not everyone computes information at the same speed. Infographics make data-heavy presentations more digestible—breaking statistics and other figures or timelines into bite-sized chunks. They’re also more persuasive. According to a study conducted at the Wharton School of Business, 67 percent of audience members were more convinced by the content of a verbal presentation with accompanying visuals versus 50 percent with a verbal-only presentation.

3. Presentation visuals build emotional bridges with the audience

They say a picture is worth a thousand words—it’s cliché but true. Images make viewers feel things that words cannot and give presenters a way to connect with their audience on a more visceral level. (Yes, even if your audience is a bunch of humorless academics.) Instead of listing off dull facts about global warming, pop in a few slides depicting recent floods or forest fires to drive home your point. Powerful imagery, including 3D effects and visually appealing templates , resonate with audiences and makes them care more deeply about what you’re saying.

4. Presentation visuals help audiences retain information

Researchers have found that people who are asked to recall information after a three-day period retained just 10 percent of what they heard during an oral presentation, 35 percent from a visual presentation, and 65 percent from an oral presentation with visuals. You’ve worked too hard preparing your address to have the audience walk away remembering only a tiny fraction of what you said. Embracing visuals will improve the odds by six times.

5. Presentation visuals keep your speech on track

Peppering your presentation with visual aids will help you organize your talking points, avoid off-topic rambling, and even jog your memory if you get hit with a bout of stage fright.

But remember: While thoughtful visuals will make a speech or presentation much stronger, they won’t save you if you show up unprepared. The purpose of a visual aid is to engage the audience, boost their understanding of your content, ignite an emotional response, and help you convey important messaging—but it is never a substitute for preparation .

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Article • 12 min read

Creating Effective Presentation Visuals

Connecting people with your message.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Apple® founder Steve Jobs was known widely for his great presentations. His unveiling of the iPhone® in 2007 is considered to have been one of his best presentations ever, and, if you were one of the millions who watched it online, you'll know why. The presentation was engaging, and passionate.

Jobs was particularly well known for building his presentations around powerful visual aids. He knew that slides are most effective when they tell a story rather than convey information, so his visuals were simple, elegant, and image-based. They complemented and reinforced his message, and they never competed with him for his audience's attention.

You don't have to be Steve Jobs to give a great presentation, but you do need great visuals. They convey a powerful message about your ideas and your brand, so it's essential to get them right. In this article, we'll look at how you can create effective presentation visuals – slides that connect your audience with your message.

Why Simplicity Speaks Volumes

The saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" is popular for a good reason: the human brain processes information more effectively when it is accompanied by images, or by short, memorable statements. This means that when you use simple, image-based slides to support your message, your audience can better grasp the information you're communicating.

However, many people use too many slides, or they build presentations around visual aids that are word-heavy or excessively complex.

These kinds of visual aids can negatively affect your presentation. Let's look at some examples:

• You're trying to convince the board to support a new product idea. Your slides are made up of graphs, numbers, and blocks of text from top to bottom, and board members spend most of their time reading the slides instead of listening to you. The result? You don't make a real connection, and your passion for the project is lost on them. They vote unanimously not to take the idea forward.
• You're pitching to a promising potential client. You spent a lot of time creating your slides, using many colors, animations, and fonts. However, the slides are so complex that your client has trouble understanding them. She leaves the presentation feeling overwhelmed and tired, and avoids using your firm because she fears, subconsciously, that dealing with your firm in the future could be similarly draining.
• You're giving a presentation to your department to highlight its good work. You want to feature everyone, so you make a slide detailing each person's accomplishments. Your department has dozens of people, so by the end, your team cares more about leaving than their results.

Now think about what happens when you use simple and engaging visuals. Instead of generating confusion or exhaustion, your slides create a positive connection with your audience. People might not remember exactly what you said, but they will remember a powerful image. They'll recall the positive emotions that they experienced during your presentation, and they'll start to associate your brand with clear, intelligent communication.

The results will be profound. You'll win new clients, convince colleagues to act on your ideas, and earn recognition for your team members' hard work. In short, you'll make positive impressions that will remain in people's minds long after the details of your presentation have faded.

Creating Great Visuals

Your visual aids have one job: to support your presentation . However, it takes considerable time, creativity, and effort to develop slides that do this well. Use the tips below to make the most of your preparation time.

1. Be Consistent

A common mistake is choosing different colors and fonts for each slide. This can confuse your audience and divert attention away from your message. Stay consistent with your slides, so that they form part of a seamless whole.

First, choose colors carefully, as color will affect your presentation's mood and tone. Also, think about the space that you'll be presenting in. If the room will be dark (with lights off), choose a darker background color, such as dark blue, black, or gray, with white or light-colored text. If the room will be light (with lights on or plenty of ambient light), choose a white or light-colored background, with black or dark-colored text.

You also need to match color with the tone and message of your presentation. Bright colors convey energy and excitement, while darker colors may seem more conservative and serious. Align the color palette you choose with your subject matter.

Microsoft® PowerPoint and Apple's Keynote are the most widely used presentation packages. They feature useful templates and tools, and most people are familiar with the layout of their presentations.

However, cloud-based presentation tools have features and templates that might be new to your audience, increasing the potential impact of your presentations.

2. Consider Culture

Before you create your visuals, make sure that you understand your audience. This is especially true if you're presenting to a culturally diverse group.

For example, not everyone reads from left to right, and people from some cultures may consider a particular color offensive or bad luck in business settings (look out for examples of this in our Managing Around the World articles). Additionally, jargon or slang may cause confusion with your audience.

When designing your visuals, use images and photographs that reflect the culture to which you're speaking. If you're presenting to a culturally diverse group, use pictures and images that reflect this diversity.

And keep graphics and phrases simple; remember, not everyone in the room will be a native English speaker. Whenever possible, use images to replace bullet points and sentences.

Our article on Cross-Cultural Communication has more tips for communicating with an ethnically diverse group.

3. Use Images Intelligently

When Steve Jobs unveiled the MacBook Air® , he needed to show just how small this new laptop was. The audience wasn't going to remember that it was 0.68 x 11.8 x 7.56 inches; those numbers don't create an emotional response. Instead, he showed them that the MacBook Air would fit easily into a standard manila envelope. This was a powerful way to show its size.

This kind of creativity is essential when choosing images. Your audience has probably seen plenty of bad clip-art and too many pictures of cross-cultural handshakes. Brainstorm creative, clever approaches with your imagery, and look for photographs or illustrations that tell a story in a less obvious way.

Thoughtful images will keep your audience engaged, reinforce your professionalism, and make a lasting impression.

4. Break Complex Data Down

When you have to communicate complex data or large chunks of information, avoid putting it all on one slide, as your audience may struggle to take in all of the details. Instead, either summarize the information, or split it up over several slides.

You can also use handouts to communicate complex information. Handouts allow your audience to look at data closely. This is especially important when you're presenting to analytical people, such as engineers, scientists, or finance professionals. They are trained to be skeptical about data, and a handout will give them a closer look. Once again, this kind of attention to the needs of your audience will highlight your professionalism and support your message.

5. Keep It Simple

Each slide should focus on one idea or concept. This allows your audience to grasp quickly what you want to communicate. Keep your text to a bare minimum (10 words or fewer if possible), and, where you can, use an image to convey a message rather than words: for example, consider using a graph instead of a list to show changing trends. Each slide should take three seconds or fewer to process. If it takes longer, the slide is probably too complex.

It can sometimes be helpful to follow a clear structure when creating your presentation; for example, if it is focused on a document or process with which audience members are familiar. This will help them make connections between your content and their existing knowledge.

Avoid bulleted lists whenever possible; they make it too easy to put several ideas on one slide, which can be overwhelming for your audience. If you do need to use bullets, don't use sentences; instead, simply list the fact, statistic, or idea you want to communicate. Then use your narrative to educate the audience about what these mean.

To simplify the wording on your slides further, highlight the key word in every sentence.

Next, look at the layout of your slides. Aim to use a plain background and plenty of blank space: this will help to focus audience members' eyes on your message. Avoid decorating slides with background pictures, logos or patterns that could distract attention.

Last, consider using blank slides when you need the audience's complete focus; a blank slide is equivalent to a pause, and it will add drama, tension, and focus to your words.

Many people underestimate how much time they need to set aside to prepare for a presentation. They'll spend days creating content and visuals but only a few hours practicing. Allow extra preparation time to hone your message and feel fully confident in your presentation.

First, take our interactive quiz, How Good Are Your Presentation Skills? to get an idea of how well you speak. Our articles on Delivering Great Presentations and Better Public Speaking contain tips and strategies that will help you communicate with clarity and intention.

When you practice your presentation, use your visuals. You should be able to glance at each slide and know exactly what you want to say.

If you're not confident in creating your own slides, think about outsourcing the task to a professional. This can be a smart option when a lot is at stake, or when you don't have the technical skills to create the type of presentation you want.

Consider using an outsourcing service such as Elance , Guru , or PeoplePerHour to find a suitable professional.

If you do, keep in mind that managing a freelancer requires a different approach from managing a regular staff member. Be clear about the project details, communicate your goals for the presentation, and set deadlines that give you plenty of time to revise and add as necessary.

Presentations that are too complex or lengthy can undermine your message. To create better visuals, do the following:

• Stay consistent.
• Consider culture.
• Use images intelligently.
• Break down complex data.
• Keep it simple.

If the stakes are high with your presentation and you don't feel confident with your technical skills, consider outsourcing slide preparation.

"iPhone," "Apple," "MacBook Air," and "Keynote" are trademarks of Apple Inc. (see www.apple.com ). "Microsoft" and "PowerPoint" are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation (see www.microsoft.com ). We have no association or connection with these organizations.

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Visual Aids In Presentations: The Complete Guide

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Published Date : August 21, 2020

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A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. Using visual aids in presentations helps you pass a lot of information in a relatively shorter time. With the right visual aids, you can create the desired impact that you want your presentation to make on your audience. Learning how to use visual aids effectively will boost the quality of your presentations. We discuss some of the top visual aids in our recent YouTube video :

Visual Aid Definition

What are visual aids? Simply put, visual aids are things that your listening can look at while you give your Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech or presentation. Visual aid appeals to the audience’s vision more than any other sensory organ.

Why use visuals for presentations?

There is no such thing as a perfect Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech . However, there are ways to make a presentation closer to perfection. What are they? Simple: Visual aids. Visual aids can bring life back into a tedious Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech , and they take less time to come up with than long notes. This article discusses how you can use visual aids effectively and conquer an audience. Before that, we discuss how visuals can help you achieve a better presentation.

They help you structure your work.

Using the right types of visual aids can help you create a perfect picture of what you want your audience to see in your presentations. Instead of struggling to condense a lot of information into a long text, you can present your information in one straightforward image or video and save yourself the stress.

It is easier to engage the audience.

An excellent visual setup can help elicit audience interest and sometimes their input in the presentation. When the audience is engaged, they tend to be more interested in the presenter’s work. Also, an interactive audience can boost your morale and encourage you.

You save time on your presentation.

When presenting, time is of the essence. So, you can effectively reduce your presentation time if you have useful visual aids and use them properly. Would you prefer to go on and on for minutes about a topic when you can cut your Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech down by inserting a few images or videos?

What are visual aids?

A visual aid is any material that gives shape and form to words or thoughts. Types of visual aids include physical samples, models, handouts, pictures, videos, infographics, etc. Visual aids have come a long way, including digital tools such as overhead projectors, PowerPoint presentations, and interactive boards.

Different Types Of Creative Visual Aid Ideas To Awe Your Audience

Have you ever been tasked with making a Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech or a presentation but don’t know how to make it truly remarkable? Well, visual aid is your answer.

Giving a presentation or Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech is hard. You have to strike a balance between persuading or informing your audience while also maintaining their attention. The fear of your audience slipping away is very real. And a visual aid can help.

We surveyed the Orai community to vote for their preferred visual aid. Here are the top ten creative visual aid ideas that you could use in your next presentation:

Videos emerged as the clear winner in all our surveys. We ran these surveys on all our social handles and contacted successful speakers. 27.14% of all respondents prefer visual aids because they are easy to understand, can be paused during a presentation, and can trigger all sorts of emotions. That being said, it is also very tough to create good videos. However, more and more tools are available to help you create amazing videos without professional help.

Hans Rosling’s TED talk, titled ‘the best stats you have ever seen,’ is one of the best speeches.  He uses video for the Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech ’s entirety while not diverting the audience’s attention away from him. He does all this while also bringing out some optimism for the world’s future. We highly recommend this TED talk to learn how to use videos effectively as a visual aid and inject some positivity into your lives during these trying times.

2. Demonstrations

Demonstrations, also known as demos, are undoubtedly among the most effective visual aids for communication. You can use demonstrations in two ways. One as a hook to captivate your audience. Prof. Walter Lewin was famous for using demonstrations as a hook during lectures. In his most famous lecture, he puts his life in danger by releasing a heavy pendulum to show that a pendulum’s period remains constant despite the mass. 

Demonstrations can also be used to show how some things are done or work. We use demonstrations to showcase how Orai works and how you can use them to improve your speaking skills.

18.57% voted for demonstrations because they are unique, interactive, up close, and have a personal touch.

3. Roleplays

Jokes aside, why do you think comedy shows are memorable? You guessed it right. Roleplays! Role – play is any speaking activity when you put yourself into somebody else’s shoes or stay in your shoes but put yourself into an imaginary situation! 

Nothing is more boring than a comedian delivering lines straight from a joke book.  Legendary comedians like George Carlin, Kevin Hart, Chris Rock, and Bill Burr use roleplays effectively and make a mundane joke genuinely memorable. 

Jokes aside, you can use roleplays in business presentations and speeches. Use real-life stories or examples in your role plays to make them authentic. 

15.71% of the survey respondents voted for roleplays because they are very close to real life and do not take the audience’s attention away from the speaker.

With 12.86% of the votes, Props is number 4. A prop is any concrete object used to deliver a Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech or presentation. Props add another dimension to our Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech and help the listeners visualize abstract concepts like vision, milestones, targets, and expectations. It ties verbal to visual. Introducing a prop into your Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech or presentation should not seem forced. Use them sparingly to highlight your address’s most critical points or stories.

People voted for props because they feel 3D visualization is more useful than 2D visualization. Props will make your presentations stand out because few people use them today.

When we sent out the survey to the Orai community and some highly successful speakers, we were sure that slides/presentations would come out on top. However, we were surprised by the results. With 12.86% votes, slides are number five on our list.

Presentations are effortless to create and, therefore, the most commonly used visual aid in business communications. Today, dozens of software programs are available to help you make beautiful presentations. Microsoft PowerPoint is the pioneer in the space and holds a significant market share.

Whatever is your preferred software, you need to keep your audience at the center while making presentations.

People described the ease of creation and the ability to incorporate other visual aids when asked why they chose presentations as their top visual aid.

The inclusion of Audio in this list can appear controversial. But it got a significant vote share in our survey and cannot be ignored. Audio can add a new dimension to your presentations where the audience is hearing your voice and other sound cues that can trigger various emotional responses. Especially when coupled with other visual aids, audio can be a powerful tool for making impactful presentations.

Vote share:

Audio aid is number six, with 4.29% of the votes.

7. Handouts

What is a handout.

A handout is a structured view of your presentation or Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech that you can distribute to the audience.

What are the benefits of a handout?

Like how this blog gives more information than our YouTube video on the different visual aids, handouts can be used to furnish more information than your discourse itself. They give your audience something to take away after your presentation, making you and your presentation more memorable. 

Are you going to be speaking about something overly technical? Then handouts are your friends. Handouts are also an opportunity to facilitate follow-ups if you specify your contact details. 

Handouts are tied with whiteboards and got 2.86% of the votes in our survey.

8. Physical & Online Whiteboards

What is a whiteboard.

Traditionally, whiteboards are white, shiny, and smooth boards on which texts and diagrams are made using non-permanent markers. It is widely used in professional presentations, Brainstorming <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:132">A collaborative process to generate ideas freely and spontaneously, fostering creative thinking and problem-solving.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:12"><strong>Purpose:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-11:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73">Develop a wide range of innovative ideas without judgment or criticism.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:60">Overcome creative blocks and stimulate fresh perspectives.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:67">Encourage participation and engagement from diverse team members.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-11:0">Build upon and combine individual ideas to reach breakthrough solutions.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="12:1-12:17"><strong>Key elements:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="14:1-19:0"> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:96"><strong>Openness:</strong> All ideas are welcomed, regardless of their initial feasibility or practicality.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:109"><strong>Quantity over quality:</strong> Focus on generating as many ideas as possible, even if they seem unconventional.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:93"><strong>Spontaneity:</strong> Encourage quick thinking and rapid-fire suggestions without overanalyzing.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:114"><strong>Building upon ideas:</strong> Combine, adapt, and improve upon existing ideas to generate even more unique solutions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-19:0"><strong>Positive environment:</strong> Maintain a supportive atmosphere where participants feel comfortable sharing their thoughts freely.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="20:1-20:13"><strong>Benefits:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="22:1-26:0"> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:68">Sparks creativity and innovation, leading to unexpected solutions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:95">Encourages participation and team building, fostering collaboration and a sense of ownership.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:78">It breaks down communication barriers and allows diverse perspectives to shine.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-26:0">It helps identify potential flaws and roadblocks early in the ideation process.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="27:1-27:16"><strong>Application:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="29:1-32:0"> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-29:69">Idea generation for new products, projects, or marketing campaigns.</li> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-30:78">Problem-solving for existing challenges or obstacles within an organization.</li> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-32:0">Developing communication strategies or messaging frameworks.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="33:1-33:38"><strong>Brainstorming for Public Speaking:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="35:1-38:0"> <li data-sourcepos="35:1-35:86">Use brainstorming with your team to research and develop <strong>public speaking topics</strong>.</li> <li data-sourcepos="36:1-36:122">Generate creative ideas for introductions, transitions, and conclusions in your <strong>professional speaking</strong> presentations.</li> <li data-sourcepos="37:1-38:0">Brainstorm innovative ways to incorporate storytelling, humor, or visuals into your speeches.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="39:1-39:190"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="39:1-39:190">While brainstorming offers numerous advantages, it's crucial to have a strong facilitator, clear objectives, and a follow-up process to evaluate and refine the generated ideas.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/brainstorming/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">brainstorming sessions, and group discussions. Post-COVID, more and more companies are moving to online whiteboards. Online whiteboards are software that provides a space where individuals across the globe can collaborate online. Many companies have moved beyond the whiteboard and started using online whiteboards for meetings and discussions.

What are the benefits of a whiteboard?

A whiteboard helps listeners better visualize thoughts, concepts, and ideas. It is also a better alternative to the blackboard for a smaller audience as it is tidier and easier to use. Online whiteboards can be used instead of traditional whiteboards without being limited by space constraints. Online whiteboards will transform virtual meetings into a collaborative experience.

With 2.86% of the votes, whiteboards stand at eight on our list.

9. Blackboard

What is a blackboard.

A blackboard (aka chalkboard) is a surface on which texts or diagrams are made using chalk made from calcium sulfate or calcium carbonate. Blackboards are typically used in classrooms for large groups of students. 

What are the benefits of blackboards?

Blackboard is one of the foremost and most popular teaching aids. Blackboard is useful for teaching as it helps instructors move from easy to complex topics in an organized manner. Diagrams, symbols, charts, and drawings can be introduced in discourse to bring life to rather dull topics. Blackboards are highly interactive, where the teacher and students can participate during a Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech . 

With 1.43% of the vote share, the blackboard stands at the bottom, along with flipcharts.

10. Flipchart

What is a flipchart.

Flipcharts consist of a pad of large sheets of paper bound together. It is typically fixed to the upper edge of a whiteboard or canvas. Flipcharts are easy to create and inexpensive fit for small groups of people.

What are the benefits of presenting using a flipchart?

Nowadays, everybody seems only interested in making presentations powered by computer-generated slide decks. However, the flip chart has its charm. Since most presentations consist of less than ten people, flip charts can be a refreshing change to the standard slide deck. Moreover, flipchart does not require electricity. No electricity and no software means fewer of those last-minute hick-ups. 

Flipchart got 1.43% of the vote and shared the bottom position with its counterpart, which we will discuss in the next section.

Master the art of Speech <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:271">A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27"><strong>Components of a Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73"><strong>Content:</strong> The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106"><strong>Delivery:</strong> The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0"><strong>Structure:</strong> The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21"><strong>Speech in Action:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88"><strong>Informing:</strong> Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119"><strong>Persuading:</strong> Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93"><strong>Motivating:</strong> Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Entertaining:</strong> Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32"><strong>Public Speaking and Anxiety:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="20:1-20:227">Many people experience <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong>, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32"><strong>Different Types of Speeches:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81"><strong>Informative speech:</strong> Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102"><strong>Persuasive speech:</strong> Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99"><strong>Motivational speech:</strong> Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0"><strong>Entertaining speech:</strong> Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33"><strong>Crafting a Compelling Speech:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106"><strong>Know your audience:</strong> Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107"><strong>Have a clear message:</strong> Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111"><strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Practice, practice, practice:</strong> Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="38:1-38:281">Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech , practice with Orai

How to make an informative speech with visual aids in presentations

If you have a presentation coming up soon, you can follow the instructions below to learn how you can take advantage of visual aids: 

Determine your overall objective

The aim of your presentations depends on you, what information is being presented, and your audience. The motivational speaker and the classroom teacher may approach the same types of visual aids differently due to differences in overall objectives. For instance, if you aim to inspire and remind your audience of salient points, a poster template should serve well; infographics work well when trying to show relationships between complex information. A chart will be quite effective if you seek to explain a given data set.

Choose appropriate visual aids in presentations.

After identifying the overall aim of your presentation, you have to match it with the right visual aids example. Will a graph, picture, or video suffice?  

If you use the PowerPoint Presenter, focus mainly on the media that best conveys your message. Make sure that the notes you add are bold and brief. Try to keep your sentence in one line of text.

Prepare thoroughly 

You will spend some time preparing your visual aids before the day of your presentation. It is good to allow yourself enough time to prepare so you can perfect your work accordingly. Take note of when, where, and how you will use your visual aids. If you discover some inconsistencies, you can compensate for them by adjusting your choice or using visual aids in presentations.

After you have a final draft of your visual aids, run a series of sessions with them. Let your friends or colleagues be your audience and ask for their honest feedback. Make appropriate adjustments where necessary.

During presentation

First, you need to be comfortable and confident. A neat and appropriate dress should boost your Confidence <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:305">In the context of <strong>public speaking</strong>, <strong>confidence</strong> refers to the belief in one's ability to communicate effectively and deliver one's message with clarity and impact. It encompasses various elements, including self-belief, composure, and the ability to manage one's <strong>fear of public speaking</strong>.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:16"><strong>Key Aspects:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-12:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:108"><strong>Self-belief:</strong> A strong conviction in your knowledge, skills, and ability to connect with your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:95"><strong>Composure:</strong> Maintaining calmness and poise under pressure, even in challenging situations.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:100"><strong>Assertiveness:</strong> Expressing your ideas clearly and concisely, avoiding hesitation or self-doubt.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-10:104"><strong>Positive self-talk:</strong> Countering negative thoughts with affirmations and focusing on your strengths.</li> <li data-sourcepos="11:1-12:0"><strong>Strong body language:</strong> Using gestures, posture, and eye contact that project confidence and professionalism.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="13:1-13:27"><strong>Benefits of Confidence:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="15:1-19:0"> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:99"><strong>Reduced anxiety:</strong> Feeling confident helps manage <strong>fear of public speaking</strong> and stage fright.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:133"><strong>Engaging delivery:</strong> Confident speakers project their voices, hold eye contact, and connect with their audience more effectively.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:137"><strong>Increased persuasiveness:</strong> A confident presentation inspires belief and motivates your audience to listen and remember your message.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-19:0"><strong>Greater impact:</strong> Confidently delivered speeches leave a lasting impression and achieve desired outcomes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="20:1-20:15"><strong>Challenges:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="22:1-26:0"> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:112">Overcoming <strong>fear of public speaking</strong>: Many people experience some level of anxiety when speaking publicly.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:101"><strong>Imposter syndrome:</strong> Doubting your abilities and qualifications, even when objectively qualified.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:92"><strong>Negative self-talk:</strong> Internalized criticism and limiting beliefs can hamper confidence.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-26:0"><strong>Past negative experiences:</strong> Unsuccessful presentations or negative feedback can erode confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="27:1-27:24"><strong>Building Confidence:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="29:1-36:0"> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-29:102"><strong>Practice and preparation:</strong> Thoroughly rehearse your speech to feel comfortable with the material.</li> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-30:101"><strong>Visualization:</strong> Imagine yourself delivering a successful presentation with confidence and poise.</li> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:100"><strong>Positive self-talk:</strong> Actively replace negative thoughts with affirmations about your abilities.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:106"><strong>Seek feedback:</strong> Ask trusted individuals for constructive criticism and use it to improve your skills.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:157">Consider a <strong>speaking coach</strong>: Working with a coach can provide personalized guidance and support to address specific challenges and confidence barriers.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-34:114"><strong>Start small:</strong> Gradually increase the size and complexity of your speaking engagements as you gain experience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="35:1-36:0"><strong>Focus on progress:</strong> Celebrate small successes and acknowledge your improvement over time.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="37:1-37:282"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="37:1-37:282"><strong>Confidence</strong> in public speaking is a journey, not a destination. By actively practicing, embracing feedback, and focusing on your strengths, you can overcome <strong>fear of public speaking</strong> and develop the <strong>confidence</strong> to deliver impactful and memorable presentations.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/confidence/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">confidence . Follow the tips below during presentations.

• Keep your face on your audience. It may help to look a little above their heads while presenting.
• Only point to or take the visual aid when needed. When you do, explain what you mean immediately.
• Do not read texts on your visual aids verbatim.
• Once a visual aid has served its purpose, you should keep it away from your audience’s view.

If you need more help boosting your Confidence <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:305">In the context of <strong>public speaking</strong>, <strong>confidence</strong> refers to the belief in one's ability to communicate effectively and deliver one's message with clarity and impact. It encompasses various elements, including self-belief, composure, and the ability to manage one's <strong>fear of public speaking</strong>.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:16"><strong>Key Aspects:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-12:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:108"><strong>Self-belief:</strong> A strong conviction in your knowledge, skills, and ability to connect with your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:95"><strong>Composure:</strong> Maintaining calmness and poise under pressure, even in challenging situations.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:100"><strong>Assertiveness:</strong> Expressing your ideas clearly and concisely, avoiding hesitation or self-doubt.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-10:104"><strong>Positive self-talk:</strong> Countering negative thoughts with affirmations and focusing on your strengths.</li> <li data-sourcepos="11:1-12:0"><strong>Strong body language:</strong> Using gestures, posture, and eye contact that project confidence and professionalism.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="13:1-13:27"><strong>Benefits of Confidence:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="15:1-19:0"> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:99"><strong>Reduced anxiety:</strong> Feeling confident helps manage <strong>fear of public speaking</strong> and stage fright.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:133"><strong>Engaging delivery:</strong> Confident speakers project their voices, hold eye contact, and connect with their audience more effectively.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:137"><strong>Increased persuasiveness:</strong> A confident presentation inspires belief and motivates your audience to listen and remember your message.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-19:0"><strong>Greater impact:</strong> Confidently delivered speeches leave a lasting impression and achieve desired outcomes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="20:1-20:15"><strong>Challenges:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="22:1-26:0"> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:112">Overcoming <strong>fear of public speaking</strong>: Many people experience some level of anxiety when speaking publicly.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:101"><strong>Imposter syndrome:</strong> Doubting your abilities and qualifications, even when objectively qualified.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:92"><strong>Negative self-talk:</strong> Internalized criticism and limiting beliefs can hamper confidence.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-26:0"><strong>Past negative experiences:</strong> Unsuccessful presentations or negative feedback can erode confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="27:1-27:24"><strong>Building Confidence:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="29:1-36:0"> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-29:102"><strong>Practice and preparation:</strong> Thoroughly rehearse your speech to feel comfortable with the material.</li> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-30:101"><strong>Visualization:</strong> Imagine yourself delivering a successful presentation with confidence and poise.</li> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:100"><strong>Positive self-talk:</strong> Actively replace negative thoughts with affirmations about your abilities.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:106"><strong>Seek feedback:</strong> Ask trusted individuals for constructive criticism and use it to improve your skills.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:157">Consider a <strong>speaking coach</strong>: Working with a coach can provide personalized guidance and support to address specific challenges and confidence barriers.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-34:114"><strong>Start small:</strong> Gradually increase the size and complexity of your speaking engagements as you gain experience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="35:1-36:0"><strong>Focus on progress:</strong> Celebrate small successes and acknowledge your improvement over time.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="37:1-37:282"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="37:1-37:282"><strong>Confidence</strong> in public speaking is a journey, not a destination. By actively practicing, embracing feedback, and focusing on your strengths, you can overcome <strong>fear of public speaking</strong> and develop the <strong>confidence</strong> to deliver impactful and memorable presentations.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/confidence/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">confidence , we have written a detailed piece on how to conquer your fear of speaking in front of people.

What is the importance of using visuals in giving a presentation?

Visual aids in presentations are invaluable to you and the audience you hope to enlighten. They make the job easier for you, and the audience leaves feeling like they learned something. Apart from their time-saving abilities, here are some reasons why you need to incorporate visual aids in your presentations:

• Visual aids can help your audience retain the information long-term. 
• The human brain processes images faster than text, so visuals make us understand things faster.
• Using visual aids makes your presentations more enjoyable, interactive, and memorable.
• Visual aids help your audience connect and relate with you better
• Presentations with visual aids are less likely to be misunderstood or misrepresented. They are usually easier to understand and leave little room for confusion
• Visual designs help stimulate cognition and they are great for people with learning disabilities.
• Visual aids act as key cards and pointers for the presenter and help you keep track of what you’re saying

What are the ideas for speech topics using visual aids?

• Use a picture or image that closely represents the topic. A one-hundred-dollar note can suggest topics revolving around money and finances.
• Use a chart showing trends or statistics that your audience finds appealing. You can use popular sayings or quotes to generate topics your audience can relate to.
• Newspaper headlines on related issues can be good starters for opinion-based topics.

Why is the use of color important in presentations, according to research?

Color plays a crucial role in presentations, boosting audience engagement with its ability to enhance motivation and create visually appealing visuals. By understanding color theory and using shades thoughtfully, presenters can ensure their work is professional and organized and accessible to a diverse audience, considering color blindness and cultural associations.

What are the key points to consider when using visual aids in a presentation?

Ensure effective and engaging visuals in your presentation by considering the space, practicing beforehand, utilizing and limiting color strategically (considering color blindness), and maintaining consistency throughout your presentation.

What are some tips for using objects or artifacts as visual aids in presentations?

Objects in presentations can captivate your audience! Choose relevant objects for demonstrations or explanations. In small groups, pass the object around but manage time. For larger audiences, move it around for clear visibility. Reveal the object at the right moment with context and explanation. If demonstrating, use deliberate movements and explain each step clearly to keep them engaged.

What are some tips for using visual aids to engage the audience and maintain their interest?

Capture and keep your audience’s attention with impactful visuals! Ensure clear visibility, maintain eye contact, and use visuals to complement your spoken words, not replace them. Explain each visual promptly and remove it seamlessly when finished to refocus attention on your message.

How can visual aids be tailored to suit the audience and make the presentation more effective?

Craft impactful presentations by tailoring visuals to your audience and goals. Choose relevant and resonant visuals, be it a graph, picture, or video, accompanied by clear, concise notes. Prepare thoroughly, refining visuals and considering timing, context, and integration. Seek feedback to fine-tune for optimal audience connection.

How should one prepare and use visual aids effectively during a presentation?

Prepare polished visuals beforehand, considering timing, context, and integration. Seek feedback. During your presentation, prioritize Clarity <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:269">In <strong>public speaking</strong>, <strong>clarity</strong> refers to the quality of your message being readily understood and interpreted by your audience. It encompasses both the content and delivery of your speech, ensuring your message resonates and leaves a lasting impact.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:16"><strong>Key Aspects:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-13:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:133"><strong>Conciseness:</strong> Avoid unnecessary details, digressions, or excessive complexity. Focus on delivering the core message efficiently.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:149"><strong>Simple language:</strong> Choose words and phrases your audience understands readily, avoiding jargon or technical terms unless you define them clearly.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:145"><strong>Logical structure:</strong> Organize your thoughts and ideas logically, using transitions and signposts to guide your audience through your message.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-10:136"><strong>Effective visuals:</strong> If using visuals, ensure they are clear, contribute to your message, and don't distract from your spoken words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="11:1-11:144"><strong>Confident delivery:</strong> Speak clearly and articulately, avoiding mumbling or rushing your words. Maintain good eye contact with your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="12:1-13:0"><strong>Active voice:</strong> Emphasize active voice for better flow and avoid passive constructions that can be less engaging.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="14:1-14:24"><strong>Benefits of Clarity:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="16:1-20:0"> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:123"><strong>Enhanced audience engagement:</strong> A clear message keeps your audience interested and helps them grasp your points easily.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:123"><strong>Increased credibility:</strong> Clear communication projects professionalism and expertise, building trust with your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-18:111"><strong>Improved persuasiveness:</strong> A well-understood message is more likely to resonate and win over your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="19:1-20:0"><strong>Reduced confusion:</strong> Eliminating ambiguity minimizes misinterpretations and ensures your message arrives as intended.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="21:1-21:15"><strong>Challenges:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="23:1-27:0"> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:129"><strong>Condensing complex information:</strong> Simplifying complex topics without sacrificing crucial details requires skill and practice.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:128"><strong>Understanding your audience:</strong> Tailoring your language and structure to resonate with a diverse audience can be challenging.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:85"><strong>Managing nerves:</strong> Nerves can impact your delivery, making it unclear or rushed.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-27:0"><strong>Avoiding jargon:</strong> Breaking technical habits and simplifying language requires constant awareness.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="28:1-28:22"><strong>Improving Clarity:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="30:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-30:117"><strong>Practice and rehearse:</strong> The more you rehearse your speech, the more natural and clear your delivery will become.</li> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:107"><strong>Seek feedback:</strong> Share your draft speech with others and ask for feedback on clarity and comprehension.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:161"><strong>Consider a public speaking coach:</strong> A coach can provide personalized guidance on structuring your message, simplifying language, and improving your delivery.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:128"><strong>Join a public speaking group:</strong> Practicing in a supportive environment can help you gain confidence and refine your clarity.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0"><strong>Listen to effective speakers:</strong> Analyze how clear and impactful others achieve communication.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:250"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="36:1-36:250"><strong>Clarity</strong> is a cornerstone of impactful <strong>public speaking</strong>. By honing your message, focusing on delivery, and actively seeking feedback, you can ensure your audience receives your message clearly and leaves a lasting impression.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/clarity/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">clarity , avoid overwhelming the audience, and use visuals purposefully to enhance, not replace, your message. Practice beforehand and maintain audience engagement through confident delivery.

The visual aid definition is very clear on how much impact using visual aids in Public Speaking <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Public speaking refers to any live presentation or speech. It can cover a variety of topics on various fields and careers (you can find out more about public speaking careers here: https://orai.com/blog/public-speaking-careers/.  Public speaking can inform, entertain, or educate an audience and sometimes has visual aids.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><br /><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Public speaking is done live, so the speakers need to consider certain factors to deliver a successful speech. No matter how good the speech is, if the audience doesn't connect with the speaker, then it may fall flat. Therefore, speakers have to use a lot more nonverbal communication techniques to deliver their message. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><br /><!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Tips for public speaking</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --><br /><!-- wp:list --> <ul> <li>Have a sense of humor.</li> <li>Tell personal stories that relate to the speech you're giving.</li> <li>Dress appropriately for the event. Formal and business casual outfits work best.</li> <li>Project a confident and expressive voice.</li> <li>Always try to use simple language that everyone can understand.</li> <li>Stick to the time given to you.</li> <li>Maintain eye contact with members of your audience and try to connect with them.</li> </ul> <!-- /wp:list --> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/public-speaking/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">public speaking has on an audience. With a great selection of visual aids, you can transform your presentations into a pleasant experience that you and your audience will always look forward to.

Become a confident speaker. Practice with Orai and get feedback on your tone,  tempo, Conciseness <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:326">In the realm of <strong>public speaking</strong>, <strong>conciseness</strong> refers to the ability to express your message clearly and effectively using the fewest possible words. It's about conveying your ideas precisely, avoiding unnecessary details and rambling while maintaining your message's essence and impact.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:33"><strong>Benefits for Public Speakers:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-11:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:137"><strong>Engaged audience:</strong> A concise speech keeps your audience focused and prevents them from losing interest due to excessive information.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:117"><strong>Increased clarity:</strong> By removing unnecessary clutter, your core message becomes clearer and easier to understand.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:137"><strong>Enhanced credibility:</strong> Concise communication projects professionalism and efficiency, making you appear more confident and prepared.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-11:0"><strong>Reduced anxiety:</strong> Knowing you have a clear and concise message can help manage <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong> by minimizing the pressure to fill time.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="12:1-12:35"><strong>Challenges for Public Speakers:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="14:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:126"><strong>Striking a balance:</strong> Knowing where to draw the line between conciseness and omitting important information can be tricky.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:115"><strong>Avoiding oversimplification:</strong> Complex topics may require elaboration to ensure clarity and understanding.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0"><strong>Overcoming natural tendencies:</strong> Some speakers naturally use more words than others, requiring a conscious effort to be concise.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:41"><strong>Strategies for Achieving Conciseness:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="20:1-25:0"> <li data-sourcepos="20:1-20:92"><strong>Identify your core message:</strong> What is your audience's main point to remember?</li> <li data-sourcepos="21:1-21:128"><strong>Prioritize and eliminate:</strong> Analyze your content and remove any information not directly supporting your core message.</li> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:133"><strong>Use strong verbs and active voice:</strong> This makes your sentences more impactful and avoids passive constructions that can be wordy.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:109"><strong>Simplify your language:</strong> Avoid jargon and technical terms unless they are essential and clearly defined.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-25:0"><strong>Practice and refine:</strong> Rehearse your speech aloud and identify areas where you can tighten your wording or eliminate redundancies.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="26:1-26:20"><strong>Additional Tips:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="28:1-31:0"> <li data-sourcepos="28:1-28:93"><strong>Use storytelling:</strong> Engaging narratives can convey complex ideas concisely and memorably.</li> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-29:110"><strong>Focus on the visuals:</strong> Powerful visuals can support your message without extensive explanation.</li> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-31:0"><strong>Embrace silence:</strong> Pausing deliberately can emphasize key points and give your audience time to absorb your message.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="32:1-32:404"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="32:1-32:404"><strong>Conciseness</strong> is a powerful tool for <strong>public speakers</strong>. By eliminating unnecessary words and focusing on your core message, you can create a more engaging, impactful, and memorable presentation for your audience. This can also help manage <strong>public speaking anxiety</strong> by reducing the pressure to fill time and enabling you to focus on delivering your message with clarity and confidence.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/conciseness/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">conciseness , and Confidence <p data-sourcepos="3:1-3:305">In the context of <strong>public speaking</strong>, <strong>confidence</strong> refers to the belief in one's ability to communicate effectively and deliver one's message with clarity and impact. It encompasses various elements, including self-belief, composure, and the ability to manage one's <strong>fear of public speaking</strong>.</p><br /><h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:16"><strong>Key Aspects:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-12:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:108"><strong>Self-belief:</strong> A strong conviction in your knowledge, skills, and ability to connect with your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:95"><strong>Composure:</strong> Maintaining calmness and poise under pressure, even in challenging situations.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:100"><strong>Assertiveness:</strong> Expressing your ideas clearly and concisely, avoiding hesitation or self-doubt.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-10:104"><strong>Positive self-talk:</strong> Countering negative thoughts with affirmations and focusing on your strengths.</li> <li data-sourcepos="11:1-12:0"><strong>Strong body language:</strong> Using gestures, posture, and eye contact that project confidence and professionalism.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="13:1-13:27"><strong>Benefits of Confidence:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="15:1-19:0"> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:99"><strong>Reduced anxiety:</strong> Feeling confident helps manage <strong>fear of public speaking</strong> and stage fright.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:133"><strong>Engaging delivery:</strong> Confident speakers project their voices, hold eye contact, and connect with their audience more effectively.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:137"><strong>Increased persuasiveness:</strong> A confident presentation inspires belief and motivates your audience to listen and remember your message.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-19:0"><strong>Greater impact:</strong> Confidently delivered speeches leave a lasting impression and achieve desired outcomes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="20:1-20:15"><strong>Challenges:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="22:1-26:0"> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:112">Overcoming <strong>fear of public speaking</strong>: Many people experience some level of anxiety when speaking publicly.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:101"><strong>Imposter syndrome:</strong> Doubting your abilities and qualifications, even when objectively qualified.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:92"><strong>Negative self-talk:</strong> Internalized criticism and limiting beliefs can hamper confidence.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-26:0"><strong>Past negative experiences:</strong> Unsuccessful presentations or negative feedback can erode confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="27:1-27:24"><strong>Building Confidence:</strong></h2> <ul data-sourcepos="29:1-36:0"> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-29:102"><strong>Practice and preparation:</strong> Thoroughly rehearse your speech to feel comfortable with the material.</li> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-30:101"><strong>Visualization:</strong> Imagine yourself delivering a successful presentation with confidence and poise.</li> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:100"><strong>Positive self-talk:</strong> Actively replace negative thoughts with affirmations about your abilities.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:106"><strong>Seek feedback:</strong> Ask trusted individuals for constructive criticism and use it to improve your skills.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:157">Consider a <strong>speaking coach</strong>: Working with a coach can provide personalized guidance and support to address specific challenges and confidence barriers.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-34:114"><strong>Start small:</strong> Gradually increase the size and complexity of your speaking engagements as you gain experience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="35:1-36:0"><strong>Focus on progress:</strong> Celebrate small successes and acknowledge your improvement over time.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="37:1-37:282"><strong>Remember:</strong></h2> <p data-sourcepos="37:1-37:282"><strong>Confidence</strong> in public speaking is a journey, not a destination. By actively practicing, embracing feedback, and focusing on your strengths, you can overcome <strong>fear of public speaking</strong> and develop the <strong>confidence</strong> to deliver impactful and memorable presentations.</p> " href="https://orai.com/glossary/confidence/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">confidence .

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

Partner Center

how to give the perfect presentation

Using visuals in your presentation, how to design memorable presentations.

Visuals can impact your presentation dramatically.These images, photos, objects, charts, diagrams, tables, graphs or illustrations have the potential to make or break your presentation. Used sloppily, they can damage your credibility and reputation. Designed wisely, they can strengthen your verbal message and enable you to achieve your objective. Why? Because a picture really is worth a thousand words.

According to research done by Professor Albert Mehrabian, a leading communications expert, we take in about 55% of visual information, versus only 7% of textual information. This means that whenever possible, you should use visuals such as photos, charts, graphs, and tables in your presentation. Also, eliminate sentences unless you are showing a quotation. Reduce the number of words or bullet points you use on your slides.They only distract your audience members and encourage them to read the slides, instead of listening to your words.

Hi-Tech or Low-Tech?

Today’s rapidly evolving technology enables us to add strong state-of-the-art audio-visual elements to our presentations. When planning a presentation before a huge audience, consult with your technical team (or, at least, your teenagers!) to come up with the best options. Yet, hi-tech technological components are not always the answer. In meeting rooms around the world, millions of people give presentations every day with or without the aid of laptops and powerpoint software. Remember the purpose of the visuals is to add interest and enhance your message. Yet, you are still the star, the primary focus. No amount of technology can cover up a poor performance.

Handling Equipment & Visuals

When you handle the equipment and visuals, you are still performing for your audience. Make sure you remain calm when using unfamiliar equipment or solving technical glitches. Remember the audience is watching and listening to the way you treat technicians and assistants. Speak respectfully to all who come up to help you. Practice, to ensure you can move confidently and seamlessly between your speech and your visuals, without fuss or delay. Rehearse the visual part of your presentation, just like other parts of your speech.

Benefits of Visuals

A study at the Wharton Research Centre also revealed that participants remembered 50% of the visual information, but only 5% of the bulleted points. Visuals can help you clarify points, reinforce your message, and create greater interest and enthusiasm for your subject. What’s more, visuals encourage audience interaction and provide a change from just hearing, to seeing and hearing.

As a presenter, you can be more relaxed and active when you show a slide. You may walk around, gesture, or point out key relationships in the information you are presenting graphically. Visuals take some of the attention off you and allow people to focus on your information. In this way, they are beneficial to you and your audience. According to research, audiences retain 10% of what was presented orally, 35% of what was presented visually alone, and 65% of what was presented visually and orally. The bottom line is that incorporating visuals can add to your bottom line.

Developing Visuals

Visuals include a variety of communication tools such as flip charts, overhead transparencies, slides, and videos. Powerpoint slide presentations are often the most popular, though not always what’s necessary. What you use depends on the size of your audience. If you are presenting for up to 50 people, you could use boards, flipcharts, overhead transparencies, handouts, and slides. If you are presenting for about 125 people, it is best to stick to overhead transparencies and slides. If you are presenting for 125 people or more, use slides alone.

When considering which type of visuals to use, take into account time and cost factors. Determine the number of times the slides can be used. Decide if professional development is necessary.

Plan a maximum of one transparency for every five minutes of your presentation. Don’t run after your visuals by trying to pack in too many in a short period of time. Let your visuals support your message and not the other way around.

If you are planning to develop your own visuals, keep the following points in mind:

• Emphasize only one thought or comparison on each slide. If you include more than one message, it may confuse your audience.
• Number your slides in case they get mixed up.
• Keep visuals brief and simple.
• Create visual material that is bold and easily seen from a distance.

Remember that research has shown that people remember most when there is only narration and graphics. In other words, they learn less when there is narration alone and they learn less when there is narration, graphics, and text. Check the effectiveness of your visuals by seeing if they can tell the story without added written information.

Environmental Influences

Lastly, remember that many of us are sleep-deprived. Try to keep some lights on during the presentation or it will be too easy for even the most well-intentioned audience members to doze off comfortably and miss all your hard work!

I put a lot of information on my slides. I need it so I won’t forget what to say, even though I’ve spoken English all my life. What can I do about that?

Start by reducing the number of words on the slides slowly. Soon, you will discover that it’s easier to speak when you don’t have to read every single word. Since you’re an English speaker, you only need a few key words to help you elaborate on the subject. Don’t get caught up in thinking you have to deliver the information only in a certain way. Accept the fact that each time you speak the words may be different but the message will come across just the same. I’m sure you can do it.

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About Presentation Prep

Being able to speak in public can change your life! Presentation Prep is your complete, free guide to delivering speeches, lectures, and presentations more successfully and confidently. Whether you're a native English-speaker who suffers from public speaking anxiety, or a non-native speaker who needs guidelines for presenting to international audiences, this site will give you everything you need. Presentation Prep is written by Rebecca Ezekiel, an experienced corporate trainer who specializes in the areas of communications, presentations, and cross-cultural skills. Her online English language training videos are watched by millions of students worldwide.

Presentation Guru

5 ways to make your presentation more visual and effective.

Visualizing slides (just a fancy word for transforming slides full of text into more visual slides) is a big part of my job, but you don’t need to be a PowerPoint expert to apply some basic visualization techniques to your presentations. Even minimal changes can make your presentations much more effective and can help people understand your messages better.

Listening to someone present, who is just reading a slide full of text, doesn’t add to understanding. It actually distracts, because the audience will end up reading the text on the slides themselves instead of listening to what the presenter is saying.

On the other hand, slides with less text and more visuals, whether it be graphs, pictures or diagrams can help the audience retain more information, because visuals and speech work hand-in-hand rather than compete for attention in the brain.

It’s a proven concept we follow at BrightCarbon, and one that we often preach about on our own blog . So, to get you started, here are 5 simple things that you can do to make your presentations more visual and more effective.

1) Cut down text on slides

Bullet-point filled slides have been plaguing audiences since PowerPoint began. But they aren’t just painfully dull: bullet points are really ineffective for communicating information to an audience.

So, the easiest way you can quickly make your presentation 1000 times better is by simply cutting out some of the text.

The easiest way to cut down text is to first break it down into chunks, then break it into key points – so, one short bullet-point per chunk – and then to get rid of filler words. This will help you take large paragraphs of text and break them into short and snappy phrases that can fit into text boxes or other shapes.

For example, let’s look at the following block of text:

Peonies are my favorite type of flower. They’re pretty to look at because they come in a range of beautiful shades of pink. They also smell amazing and make great perfume. Lastly, they are larger than a lot of other flowers and make a gorgeous, lush bouquet.

Instead of filling an entire paragraph, we could break this text into three key points:

• Peonies come in range of pink shades
• They make great perfume
• They make a gorgeous bouquet

Then, if we get rid of any filler, we are left with:

• Pink shades
• Great perfume
• Gorgeous bouquet

And voila! You have yourself some bullets that are ready to be fit into shapes. By allowing your text to fit into shapes you gain the ability to organize it in a linear way and then you can animate it on clicks, to stagger the flow of information and tell a more compelling story.

So, BEFORE :

and AFTER :

If you want to learn more about how to ditch the bullet points for good, find out more here .

2) Show locations on maps

I’ve worked on quite a few presentations at this point and I think it’s safe to say most of them include a list of locations at some point. This is because it is really common for companies to have a narrative that includes showing their impact on a national, or global, scale by showing their locations. Often, this is just presented as a list of places. But it’s a lot more interesting – and memorable – to show locations on a map.

For example, if a company has opened a couple stores per year, in different locations, they could animate icons representing these stores on a map and have information such as the year, location or size of store in a box next to the icon.

This is a good way to make the slides illustrate a story about the company’s growth, in a way that is easy for the audience to understand.

3) Add color cues

Adding color to slides in an organized way can enable you to manipulate the audience’s attention and increase their understanding of your content.

For example, if every element on your slide is blue and then you color one object yellow, people will understand that the differently colored object is important or different in some way.

The same idea of ‘color coding’ works when you want the audience to get certain ideas from colors e.g. yellow and black mean warning; green is positive; red is negative.

Keep in mind that these associations are partly based on cultural teachings, so they might not apply if the people you are presenting to have a different cultural understanding of color.

You can also use color to set a ‘mood’ for your presentation. For example, if your company is heading a green initiative then using green tones in your presentation will make it feel more environmentally friendly. Most brands already apply this theory in their logos and brand guidelines, so continuing this thought process in your slides can create even more cohesion and understanding.

Find out more about using color effectively here .

4) Use Timelines

A great way to organize text-heavy slides that involve dates and events is to divide them into a timeline.

This is similar to the map idea above, in that it requires a certain type of information to be successful, but if you have dates and information, it’s much more effective to see them organized linearly than in a list of bullet points.

A timeline is a pretty simple element to create on PowerPoint and just involves a line and some evenly aligned and distributed boxes. Create your boxes using the Insert -> Shape functionality, then use the built-in alignment tools to space everything out neatly .

5) Replace text with labelled images

The last, and arguably most important, point is to get rid of text all together, and replace it with images.

For example, if you want to talk about a new product and its features, the best way of doing this is to insert an image of the product and just label it with key words.

You can insert shapes to pin-point areas you’d like to highlight and then animate them in on clicks so you can stagger the rate at which you mention each feature, which can help the audience follow along.

It’s also useful to have images of the product being used by customers so that you can show the audience exactly how it will look and work.

Being complacent and adding tons of text or bullet points to your presentations won’t do you any favors, because people will become instantly bored and disengaged while you’re presenting, and will start reading what’s on the screen instead of listening to the important things you’re saying.

By applying a couple of easy-to-learn tips to your next presentation, you can significantly increase its effectiveness and make it much more visually appealing. Your audience will stay engaged throughout your presentation and will remember more of the content you are sharing.

It’s amazing how much visuals can do to improve communication between a presenter and an audience, so just remember that the next time you’re pasting reams of text into a 25-slide deck: there are better ways.

• Latest Posts

Latest posts by Amy Post ( see all )

• A Quick Guide to More Effective Animations - 28th February 2019
• Master the Slide Master - 20th March 2018
• 5 Ways to Make Your Presentation More Visual and Effective - 6th April 2017

Craig Hadden (@RemotePoss)

11th April 2017 at 4:05 am

These are great ideas, so thanks for sharing. Recently I’ve tried to use colour in a more systematic way, so I was especially interested to read your thoughts on that.

You might also like this makeover I did on a (real) slide. It was stuffed full of bulleted text, but ended up being far less wordy and much more visual. See what your think. (And any comments or questions are always welcome!)

15th April 2017 at 12:47 pm

Thanks for this. and if you’d like to write that piece for us, to help the thousands of designers and presenters out there, we’d love to publish that piece too. The guru is our community after all!

Abigail Lee

25th June 2019 at 12:11 pm

Great article. Prior to stumbling upon your article on Google, I have found similar another engaging article on this website https://www.slideteam.net/blog . It has a collection of enthusiastic articles on PowerPoint as well as professional slides. Feel free to explore all of them.

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Home / What is Visual Communication and How it Helps to Elevate Your Presentations

What is Visual Communication and How it Helps to Elevate Your Presentations

In a world of big data, visual communication is a vital skill to have .

Being able to present an easy-to-understand, visual version of all those facts and figures is essential to a growing number of jobs .

Add in a pandemic and our new working from home culture, and the ability to convey information in a visual format has never been more important.

Talking online, we can’t rely on the usual gestures, cues or props. Visual content can fill that gap, helping us to convey our message to better effect. 

Whatever your industry or your department, there’s a lot to be gained from good visual communication:

• Sales teams can use it to create emotive presentations that close more deals. 
• HR can improve internal communications. 
• Training teams can develop more effective instructional materials. 
• Marketers can create visual presentations that better engage their customers.

All of this is possible when you master visual communication strategies.

So, what is visual communication?

Why is visual communication important, how to use visual communication to raise your presentation game, use images and icons.

• Use visual metaphors

Master the use of color

Use geometric shapes, use charts and graphs.

• Convert complex explanations into diagrams and infographics
• Create the right mood with typography

Try using GIF and video

How to get started with communication design.

Visual communication means sharing ideas using visual elements as well as speech and text . We’re talking images, graphs, videos, infographics, and so much more .

Just imagine: if someone speaking to you reeled off a bunch of statistics, it would be very hard to put those figures into context.

Now, if that same person had a beautifully designed graph or infographic to illustrate their data, it would be much easier to understand and make sense of the numbers you were being presented with.

This is visual communication.

Because it has a number of really important benefits for audiences, presenters and brands.

It’s easier to process   

Words are obviously essential to our communication. But they’re abstract. Our brains find it much easier to process images.  

In fact, studies have shown that when text is accompanied by visuals, it improves audience memory and understanding of that text by 36%.

It’s good at creating emotion

Visuals reach your audience at a subconscious level. Color, images and other design elements evoke a range of different emotions. Pick the right ones and you can really drive home your message.

It makes content more accessible 

Not everyone is a whizz when it comes to complex words and numbers. A visual presentation offers an alternative (and more accessible) way to convey information and data.

So what are the best ways to employ it? How can you better engage with your audience? And what visual communication strategies can you apply to your PowerPoints right now?

Here are a number of tips and tricks that will help you to improve your visual communication game:

A picture speaks a thousand words . It’s a cliché. But it’s nonetheless very true. When you incorporate images and icons into your presentation slides, you can really cut down your word count.

Use images to illustrate a technical process. Summarize a paragraph of text with a preceding icon. Show rather than tell your audience what you want them to know.

Images and icons are the best tools to create a communicational shortcut — a quick and easy way to convey your message. They also never fail to engage an audience.

Use visual metaphors 

Being literal isn’t always the best approach. A metaphorical image has the power to create emotion and to get your audience thinking.

So it pays to think outside the box when you’re choosing images to accompany your text.

When looking for or creating images, think of abstract concepts — like creativity or wanderlust . Images that represent abstract concepts are much more likely to inspire and engage your audience .

Color is an essential part of any presentation. When it can be used to such great effect, it’s just plain silly to leave your presentation color palette on its default setting.

Learn the basics of color theory and you’ll discover that every color produces some kind of emotional response or subconscious association in a viewer. And that bright colors can create particularly powerful emotional responses amongst your audience.

Use this knowledge to your advantage! Add color that helps to convey your message. Or refocus an audience’s attention.

Also, remember — color is important but there’s no need to use overly complicated or busy color palettes. A simple but colorful background or a colorful title text can make all the difference.   

Geometric shapes — like circles, triangles and hexagons — can be put to a number of different uses in your presentation.  

You can use shapes to group related text together. Then, by adjusting the size, color and outline of a shape, you can draw attention to key information first. A bold outline or a contrasting color, will set that information block apart from the rest of the slide.

You can also use shapes — in the form of lines and borders — to indicate the relationship or flow between different ideas . This all helps to convey concepts quickly, without lots of additional explanation from you!

Shapes will help to organize the information you’re presenting. But they also speak to an audience on a subconscious level:

• Squares and rectangles convey strength and stability
• Triangles draw the eyes upwards and suggest direction
• Circles represent completion and harmony

If you’re feeling creative, you can also use exaggerated and asymmetrical shapes to create an even more striking visual effect.

Stats, numbers and quantitative evidence create trust amongst your audience . The information you convey is important. But so is the design of your charts and graphs.

When it comes to presenting your data, it shouldn’t look like you’ve just lifted it from your Excel spreadsheet.

Instead, you should:

• Analyze the data and use it to tell a story
• Get rid of data that doesn’t illustrate your point
• Emphasize anything that’s particularly meaningful so people get the key insights 

You can then customize the appearance of your data. Colors should fit with your overall scheme. Any text should be legible. Both PowerPoint and Google Slides have the tools to make graph customization easy-peasy.

This will all help your audience to understand context and discern patterns within the data. It will also make your figures much more memorable .  

Convert complex explanations into diagrams and infographics 

Long, text-based explanations aren’t helpful. They can be daunting to a reader. And difficult to digest.

So what’s the visual alternative? Diagrams and infographics can be used to convey complex ideas, information and processes. And they do it really well !

Audiences find it easier to make sense of information and later remember it when it’s presented to them in one of these visual formats. They get both the big picture and the most important details too .

What’s more, the internet loves a useful and well-designed infographic. Feature it on your presentation but — wherever relevant — share it on the web too. Great visual communication like this will draw attention to your brand.

Create the right mood with typography 

Good visual communication extends way beyond images and charts. The fonts you choose also create a visual impact. Just think of all the different typography you see in company logos. A typeface can communicate so much!

So choose a font that complements your presentation narrative. Here’s a quick rundown of some better-known typefaces:

• Serif fonts are generally classy and elegant
• Sans serif fonts are modern, informal and sometimes a little bit techy
• Handwritten fonts help to give a personal touch — but avoid especially flouncy ones. They’re sometimes completely unreadable!
• Soft, round fonts convey a friendly and approachable tone

Play around with fonts and you’ll get to know which ones fit your context and your audience best.

The human eye is drawn towards movement. That’s why videos and GIFs attract our attention so easily!

Moving images work really well in presentations, as long as they’re used sparingly and in the right context.

GIFs are informal and often humorous. If you know your audience well, they can be used to illustrate a point or highlight an idea in just seconds .

Short videos (around 30 seconds) are also really great at conveying lots of information in a short space of time. From showing how a product works to filmed testimonials to a guided tour — a video can say so much — without you having to say a word!

If you don’t happen to have a graphic design background, you might be wondering just how you’ll put these design principles into practice.

Whilst it’s often easier than you think, a professional presentation template can really set you off on the right foot. And help to avoid long hours spent slogging over your presentation.

Using a PowerPoint template or Google Slides template means you don’t have to start from scratch. Browse our presentation template library and you’ll find lots of excellent examples of visual communication strategies at work. Our templates combine color, font, shape, image and chart best practice .

Just pick a professional template, add in your text, then customize as much or as little as you like. Whatever your approach, with a SlidesCarnival template, your presentation design is sure to be on point.

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18 Presentation Design Tips For Success

By Midori Nediger , May 15, 2023

Bad presentations. We’ve all had to sit through them.  Heck, we’ve probably all given one or two. I know I have.

You know the type: twice as long as they need to be, slides chock-full of text, no visuals in sight. 

How can you ensure you don’t fall victim to these presentation faux-pas when designing your next presentation for your team, class, or clients?

In this blog, I’ll walk you through tips on how to design an impactful presentation along with presentation templates that can help you deliver it with style to leave a lasting impression.

Tips for designing and delivering an impactful presentation

What makes a presentation memorable?

It usually comes down to three things:

• The main idea.
• The presenter.
• The visuals.

All three elements work together to create a successful presentation. Just like how different presentation styles serve different purposes, having a good presentation idea will give the audience a purpose for listening.

Here are some top tips to consider to help you design and deliver an impactful presentation:

• Include less text and more visuals in your presentation design
• Identify one core message to center your presentation design around
• Eliminate any information that doesn’t immediately support the core message
• Create a strong presentation outline to keep you focused
• Use text to reinforce, not repeat, what you’re saying
• Design your presentation with one major takeaway per slide
• Use visuals to highlight the key message on each slide
• Use scaffolding slides to orient your audience and keep them engaged
• Use text size, weight, and color for emphasis
• Apply design choices consistently to avoid distraction
• Split a group presentation by topic
• Use a variety of page layouts to maintain your audience’s interest
• Use presentation templates to help you get started
• Include examples of inspiring people
• Dedicate slides to poignant questions
• Find quotes that will inspire your audience
• Emphasize key points with text and images
• Label your slides to prompt your memory

1. Include less text and more visuals in your presentation design

According to David Paradi’s annual presentation survey , the 3 things that annoy audiences most about presentations are:

• Speakers reading their slides
• Slides that include full sentences of text
• Text that is too small to read

The common thread that ties all of these presentation annoyances is text. Audiences are very picky about the text found in presentation slide decks .

In my experiences speaking at conferences and in webinars over the past few years, audiences respond much more positively to presentations that use visuals in place of text.

Audiences are more engaged, ask more questions, and find my talks more memorable when I include lots of visual examples in my slide decks. 

I’m not the only one who has found this. We recently surveyed nearly 400 conference speakers about their presentation designs and found that 84.3% create presentations that are highly visual.

A great example of a high visual presentation is the iconic AirBnB pitch deck design , which includes no more than 40 words per slide. Instead of repeating the speaker’s script on the slides, it makes an impact with keywords, large numbers, and icons:

Learn how to customize this presentation template:

To help you take your presentations to the next level, I’d like to share my process for creating a visually-focused presentation like the one above. I’ll give you my top presentation design tips that I’ve learned over years of presenting:

• Class presentations
• Online courses

You can then apply this process to our professional presentation templates  or pitch decks , creating unique presentation decks with ease! Our user-friendly editor tools make customizing these templates a breeze.

To leave a lasting impression on your audience, consider transforming your slides into an interactive presentation. Here are 15 interactive presentation ideas to enhance interactivity and engagement.

We’ll cover the most important steps for summarizing lengthy text into a presentation-friendly format. Then we’ll touch on some presentation design tips to help you get visual with your slide decks. Read on for the best creative presentation ideas .

2. Identify one core message to center your presentation design around

We know from David Paradi’s survey that audiences are easily overwhelmed with lots of text and data, especially when presentations are long.

(You when you see a presentation with lots of text and data and it’s long)

So unlike in a white paper , report , or essay , you can’t expect to tackle many complex ideas within a single presentation.

That would be a recipe for disaster.

Instead, identify a single central message that you would like to communicate to your audience. Then build your presentation around that core message.

By identifying that core message, you can ensure that everything you include in your presentation supports the goal of the presentation .

As seen below, a great presentation tells you exactly what you’re going to learn (the core message), then gets right to the facts (the supporting information).

To ensure you create an asset that’s clear, concise, impactful, and easy to follow, design your presentation around a single core message.

3. Create a strong presentation outline to keep you focused

Think of your outline as a roadmap for your presentation. Creating a strong presentation outline straight away helps make sure that you’re hitting all of the key points you need to cover to convey a persuasive presentation .

Take this presentation outline example:

• Introduction and hellos
• Vision and value proposition
• Financial profit
• Your investment
• Thanks and questions

These are all things that we know we need to talk about within the presentation.

Creating a presentation outline makes it much easier to know what to say when it comes to creating the actual presentation slides.

You could even include your presentation outline as a separate slide so that your audience knows what to expect:

The opening moments of your presentation hold immense power – check out these 15 ways to start a presentation to set the stage and captivate your audience.

4. Eliminate any information that doesn’t support the core message

Next, use that core message to identify everything that doesn’t belong in the presentation.

Aim to eliminate everything that isn’t immediately relevant to the topic at hand, and anything remotely redundant. Cut any information that isn’t absolutely essential to understanding the core message.

By cutting these extra details, you can transform forgettable text-heavy slides:

Into memorable slides with minimal text:

Here’s a quick checklist to help you cut out any extra detail:

Get rid of:

• Detailed descriptions
• Background information
• Redundant statements
• Explanations of common knowledge
• Persuasive facts and figures
• Illustrative examples
• Impactful quotes

This step may seem obvious, but when you’re presenting on a topic that you’re passionate about, it’s easy to get carried away with extraneous detail. Use the recommendations above to keep your text in check.

Clarity is key, especially if you’re presenting virtually rather than in-person. However, Lisa Schneider (Chief Growth Officer at Merriam-Webster) has had plenty of experience making that adjustment. She recently shared her tips for adapting in-person presentations into virtual presentations on Venngage that you can check out. 

Watch: How to design a presentation [10 ESSENTIAL TIPS]

5. Use text to reinforce, not repeat, what you’re saying

According to presentation guru  Nancy Duarte , your audience should be able to discern the meaning of your slides in 6 seconds or less.

Since your audience will tend to read every word you place on each slide, you must keep your text to an absolute minimum. The text on your slides should provide support for what you’re saying without being distracting.

Never write out, word for word, what you’re going to be saying out loud. If you’re relying on text to remember certain points, resist the urge to cram them into your slides. Instead, use a tool like Venngage’s speaker notes to highlight particular talking points. These can be imported into PowerPoint — along with the rest of your presentation — and will only be viewable to you, not your audience.

For the actual slides, text should only be used to reinforce what you’re saying. Like in the presentation design below, paraphrase long paragraphs into short bulleted lists or statements by eliminating adjectives and articles (like “the” and “a”).

Pull out quotes and important numbers, and make them a focus of each slide.

6. Design your presentation with one major takeaway per slide

As I mentioned above, audiences struggle when too much information is presented on a single slide.

To make sure you don’t overwhelm your audiences with too much information, spread out your content to cover one major takeaway per slide.

By limiting each slide to a single simple statement, you focus your audience’s attention on the topic at hand.

My favorite way to do this is to pick out the core message of whatever I’m talking about and express it in a few keywords, as seen in this presentation slide below.

This helps ensure that the visuals remain the focus of the slide.

Using the text in this way, to simply state a single fact per slide, is a sure-fire way to make an impact in your presentation.

Alternatively, pull out a significant statistic that you want to stick in your audience’s minds and make it a visual focus of the slide, as seen in this popular presentation by Officevibe .

This might mean you end up with a slide deck with a ton of slides. But that’s totally ok!

I’ve talked to many professionals who are pressured by their management teams to create presentations with a specific number of slides (usually as few as 10 or 15 slides for a 30-minute presentation).

If you ask me, this approach is completely flawed. In my mind, the longer I spend sitting on a single slide, the more likely I am to lose the interest of my audience.

How many slides should I use for a 10 minute presentation?

A good rule of thumb is to have at least as many slides as minutes in your presentation. So for a 10 minute presentation you should have at least 10 slides .

Use as many slides as you need, as long as you are presenting a single message on each slide, (as seen in the lengthy presentation template below). This is especially important if you’re presenting your business, or delivering a product presentation. You want to wow your audience, not bore them.

7. Use visuals to highlight the key message on each slide

As important as having one major takeaway per slide is having visuals that highlight the major takeaway on each slide.

Unique visuals will help make your message memorable.

Visuals are a great way to eliminate extra text, too.

You can add visuals by creating a timeline infographic to group and integrate information into visual frameworks like this:

Or create a flowchart  and funnels:

Or by representing simple concepts with icons, as seen in the modern presentation design below. Using the same color for every icon helps create a polished look.

Using visuals in this way is perfect for when you have to convey messages quickly to audiences that you aren’t familiar with – such as at conferences. This would also make the ideal interview presentation template.

You can alternatively use icons in different colors, like in the presentation templates below. Just make sure the colors are complimentary, and style is consistent throughout the presentation (i.e. don’t use sleek, modern icons on one slide and whimsically illustrated icons on another). In this example, presentation clipart style icons have been used.

Any time you have important stats or trends you want your audience to remember, consider using a chart or data visualization to drive your point home. Confident public speaking combined with strong visualizations can really make an impact, encouraging your audience to act upon your message.

One of my personal favorite presentations (created by a professional designer) takes this “key message plus a visual” concept to the extreme, resulting in a slide deck that’s downright irresistible.

When applying this concept, don’t fall into the trap of using bad stock photos . Irrelevant or poorly chosen visuals can hurt you as much as they help you.

Below is an example of how to use stock photos effectively. They are more thematic than literal and are customized with fun, bright icons that set a playful tone.

The content and visual design of a presentation should be seamless.

It should never seem like your text and visuals are plopped onto a template. The format and design of the slides should contribute to and support the audience’s understanding of the content.

8. Use scaffolding slides to orient your audience and keep them engaged

It’s easy for audiences to get lost during long presentations, especially if you have lots of slides. And audiences zone out when they get lost.

To help reorient your audience every once in a while, you can use something I like to call scaffolding slides. Scaffolding slides appear throughout a presentation to denote the start and end of major sections.

The core scaffolding slide is the agenda slide, which should appear right after the introduction or title slide. It outlines the major sections of the presentation.

At the beginning of each section, you should show that agenda again but highlight the relevant section title, as seen below.

This gives audiences the sense that you’re making progress through the presentation and helps keep them anchored and engaged.

Alternatively, you can achieve a similar effect by numbering your sections and showing that number on every slide. Or use a progress bar at the bottom of each slide to indicate how far along you are in your presentation. Just make sure it doesn’t distract from the main content of the slides.

You can imagine using this “progress bar” idea for a research presentation, or any presentation where you have a lot of information to get through.

Leila Janah, founder of Sama Group, is great at this. Her  Innovation and Inspire  talk about Sama Group is an example of a presentation that is well organized and very easy to follow.

Her presentation follows a logical, steady stream of ideas. She seems comfortable talking in front of a crowd but doesn’t make any attempts to engage directly with them.

9. Use text size, weight and color for emphasis

Every slide should have a visual focal point. Something that immediately draws the eye at first glance.

That focal point should be whatever is most important on that slide, be it an important number, a keyword, or simply the slide title.

We can create visual focal points by varying the size, weight, and color of each element on the slide. Larger, brighter, bolder elements will command our audience’s attention, while smaller, lighter elements will tend to fade into the background.

As seen in the presentation template above, this technique can be especially useful for drawing attention to important words within a long passage of text. Consider using this technique whenever you have more than 5 words on a slide.

And if you really want your audience to pay attention, pick a high-contrast color scheme like the one below.

When picking fonts for your presentation, keep this technique in mind. Pick a font that has a noticeable difference between the “bold” font face and the “regular” font face. Source Sans Pro, Times New Roman, Montserrat, Arvo, Roboto, and Open Sans are all good options.

The last thing to remember when using size, weight, and color to create emphasis on a slide: don’t try to emphasize too many things on one slide.

If everything is highlighted, nothing is highlighted.

10. Apply design choices consistently to avoid distraction

Audiences are quick to pick out, and focus on, any inconsistencies in your presentation design. As a result, messy, inconsistent slide decks lead to distracted, disengaged audiences.

Design choices (fonts and colors, especially), must be applied consistently across a slide deck. The last thing you want is for your audience to pay attention to your design choices before your content.

To keep your design in check, it can be helpful to create a color palette and type hierarchy before you start creating your deck, and outline it in a basic style guide like this one:

I know it can sometimes be tempting to fiddle around with text sizes to fit longer bits of text on a slide, but don’t do it! If the text is too long to fit on a slide, it should be split up onto multiple slides anyway.

And remember, a consistent design isn’t necessarily a boring one. This social media marketing presentation applies a bright color scheme to a variety of 3-column and 2-column layouts, remaining consistent but still using creative presentation ideas.

11. Split a group presentation by topic

When giving a group presentation it’s always difficult to find the right balance of who should present which part.

Splitting a group presentation by topic is the most natural way to give everybody the chance to attempt without it seeming disjointed.

When presenting this slide deck to investors or potential clients, the team can easily take one topic each. One person can discuss the business model slide, and somebody else can talk about the marketing strategy.

Top tips for group presentations:

• Split your group presentation by topic
• Introduce the next speaker at the end of your slide
• Become an ‘expert’ in the slide that you are presenting
• Rehearse your presentation in advance so that everybody knows their cue to start speaking

12. Use a variety of page layouts to maintain your audience’s interest

Page after page of the same layout can become repetitive and boring. Mix up the layout of your slides to keep your audience interested.

In this example, the designer has used a variety of combinations of images, text, and icons to create an interesting and varied style.

There are hundreds of different combinations of presentation layers and presentation styles that you can use to help create an engaging presentation . This style is great for when you need to present a variety of information and statistics, like if you were presenting to financial investors, or you were giving a research presentation.

Using a variety of layouts to keep an audience engaged is something that Elon Musk is an expert in. An engaged audience is a hyped audience. Check out this Elon Musk presentation revealing a new model Tesla for a masterclass on how to vary your slides in an interesting way:

13. Use presentation templates to help you get started

It can be overwhelming to build your own presentation from scratch. Fortunately, my team at Venngage has created hundreds of professional presentation templates , which make it easy to implement these design principles and ensure your audience isn’t deterred by text-heavy slides.

Using a presentation template is a quick and easy way to create professional-looking presentation skills, without any design experience. You can edit all of the text easily, as well as change the colors, fonts, or photos. Plus you can download your work in a PowerPoint or PDF Presentation format.

After your presentation, consider summarizing your presentation in an engaging manner to r each a wider audience through a LinkedIn presentation .

14. Include examples of inspiring people

People like having role models to look up to. If you want to motivate your audience, include examples of people who demonstrate the traits or achievements, or who have found success through the topic you are presenting.

15. Dedicate slides to poignant questions

While you might be tempted to fill your slides with decorative visuals and splashes of color, consider that sometimes simplicity is more effective than complexity. The simpler your slide is, the more you can focus on one thought-provoking idea.

16. Find quotes that will inspire your audience

A really good quote can stick in a person’s mind for weeks after your presentation. Ending your presentation with a quote can be a nice way to either begin or finish your presentation.

A great example of this is Tim Ferriss’ TED talk:

Check out the full talk below.

17. Emphasize key points with text and images

When you pair concise text with an image, you’re presenting the information to your audience in two simultaneous ways. This can make the information easier to remember, and more memorable.

Use your images and text on slides to reinforce what you’re saying out loud.

Doing this achieves two things:

• When the audience hears a point and simultaneously read it on the screen, it’s easier to retain.
• Audience members can photograph/ screencap the slide and share it with their networks.

Don’t believe us? See this tip in action with a presentation our Chief Marketing Officer Nadya gave recently at Unbounce’s CTA Conference . The combination of text and images on screen leads to a memorable presentation.

18. Label your slides to prompt your memory

Often, presenters will write out an entire script for their presentation and read it off a teleprompter. The problem is, that can often make your presentation seem  too  rehearsed and wooden.

But even if you don’t write a complete script, you can still put key phrases on your slides to prompt jog your memory. The one thing you have to be wary of is looking back at your slides too much.

A good presentation gets things moving! Check out the top qualities of awesome presentations and learn all about how to make a good presentation to help you nail that captivating delivery.

Audiences don’t want to watch presentations with slide decks jam-packed with text. Too much text only hurts audience engagement and understanding. Your presentation design is as important as your presentation style. 

By summarizing our text and creating slides with a visual focus, we can give more exciting, memorable and impactful presentations.

Give it a try with one of our popular presentation templates:

Home Blog Design What is Visual Communication and How Can It Improve Your Presentations

What is Visual Communication and How Can It Improve Your Presentations

Look around; how is the world communicating with you? Is there music? Are your shoes pinching your heel? Are there a million visual triggers trying to get your attention? We don’t have a crystal ball to answer the first two questions, but the third is a definite YES. What’s behind it? It’s visual communication.

Visual communication is the magic behind all the visible things in the world that tell stories, share information, and attract interest. As a person who makes presentations, you own the power of visual communication to impact, inform and attract your audience with visuals. All you need is the knowledge and the tools to make it work.

In this guide, we’ll share essential facts you need to know about visual communication and how they can help improve your presentations.

Table of Contents

Visual Communication Strategy

Visual communication design.

• Why is Visual Communication Important for Presentations?

7 Types of Visual Communication Techniques in Presentation Design

• How to Use Visual Communication at Work Beyond Presentations

Final Words

What is visual communication.

Simply put, visual communication is the practice of communicating through the sense of sight. In a more profound sense, It democratizes communication in general because with visuals, there’s less need for language or translation.

But what does visual communication do? It tells stories through images, video, illustrations , and anything the audience can see.

Visual communication sits at the top of the list of effective communication strategies and designs for all industries and fields. It’s in all the conversations about marketing, community building, and the future of work. If your presentation design still hasn’t embraced the need to thrive on visual communication, it’s time to fix that.

A visual communication strategy is key to a presentation’s overall mood and message. To create a visual communication strategy, follow the same steps as any communication strategy, and develop them simultaneously. 

To give you an idea of the scope of influence of a visual communication strategy, consider all the advertisements you see regularly. Regarding the most successful ones, their visual qualities have been minutely strategized to inspire emotional reactions from you. 

Do you want to get reactions when making your presentations ? Use a visual communication strategy to create an overarching visual quality for your presentations’ slides. 

FYI: Professionals building visual communication strategies include; brand specialists, marketing strategists, content designers, UX/UI designers, publicists, art curators, and anyone that understands how important planning and strategy are for every project.

Once a visual communication strategy is in place, it’s time to take care of the visual communication design. This is the actionable part of the process; the strategy is the plan, and the design is the creation. 

Visual communication design is essential for your presentations. You’re telling a story with your information, and visual techniques will help you add interest. Even a text section can have visual communication techniques applied. For example, the font, spacing, and layout.

Your visual communication strategy will help you choose the proper visual layout, data visualizations, and graphics for the presentation slides. 

Why Is Visual Communication Important for Presentations?

If you aren’t aware, storytelling is a massive factor in effective presentation design. To achieve it, you can’t depend on text content; you need visuals to support the information and create connections with the viewer. On a presentation slide, what’s better? A bullet point list or an infographic widget composition? The answer to this question would be the most visual option, in this case, the infographics .

Surely you’ve heard of “Death by PowerPoint.” It’s the perfect example of how visual communication influences the audience. In this case, how can it go wrong and get undesired effects? Humans create emotional and memorable connections with everything they see. As soon as a presentation proves to be a drab PowerPoint, your audience clocks out and checks their phone.

Thankfully, visual communication harnesses many benefits for your presentation designs:

• Ideas and concepts are easier to understand and transmit in visual form.
• Visuals deliver information faster and more directly.
• A good visual communication strategy is attention-grabbing and engaging.
• Visual elements and characteristics make an impact on the viewer.
• A strong visual component improves the credibility of the message.

Visual communication is vital in presenting a slide deck to an audience. Your outfit, body language, and poise all matter. The audience isn’t just looking at your presentation; they’re looking at you. Take the time to expand your presenting skills by practicing, trying new things, and improving your confidence.

Visual communication techniques are the puzzle pieces of successful content. They are so important that there are psychological applications for all of them.

Here’s a quick list to give you an idea of their importance.

1. Shapes 

Shapes have subliminal, subconscious, and even cultural perceptions. The shapes you choose to include across the slides will set the tone for the entire presentation. For example, circles represent completeness, triangles represent up and forward motion, lines represent connection, and rectangles represent stability.

2. Colors 

In design, colors are the trigger for emotion in content and visualization. Each color has a meaning and an association. Combining colors to create palettes is a practice in mood and emotional communication through vision. If a presentation is all blue and gray, it feels corporate, a vibrant color combination feels happy and inspiring. Muted and desaturated colors feel calm and inviting.

3. Typography 

The way letters look brings a sense of meaning from content to the eyes—from text to visual. There are two main font types; serif and sans serif. Serifs are more serious, while sans serifs are friendlier and easygoing. On top of that, each type has a personality that emanates through the content. The visual style of the typography in your presentation must match energetically with the tone and message of both visual and textual content.

4. Infographic elements 

Infographics are the poster boy for visual communication. Data visualization and information design are at the core of data stories and exciting business communication. Data viz graphics simplify complex ideas that can take up lots of text space in a presentation slide. Your regular charts and graphs can fall through the cracks if you don’t add a good dose of visual communication strategy and design. 

5. Photography and Illustration

Photography and illustration are classic tools for storytelling. Every slide can be easily turned into a pictorial presentation to tell your story, and you have the power to structure it how you want. Be wary of stock photography; overused images will negatively affect your presentation. Custom imagery adds integrity and uniqueness that only a visual communication strategy can achieve.

When using icons in your presentation templates , remember to keep a visual unity between them. Icons can also tell a story from slide to slide in your presentation. Stay consistent in terms of style, color, size, and positioning.

7. Layout & Visual Hierarchy

Viewers use their eyes to see, read and understand your content. When the layout is designed in a way that helps them absorb the information subconsciously, engagement is seamless. It’s as simple as following visual hierarchy and placing elements in the viewer’s line of sight in a Z or F reading pattern.

How To Use Visual Communication At Work Beyond Presentations

Visual communication doesn’t stop at presentations. There are countless other ways to incorporate visual communication at work. Here’s a—not complete—list of the design practices that embody visual communication.

• Infographics
• Visual guides
• Flowcharts and processes
• Employee training
• Internal communication
• Work attire
• Body autonomy

If someone can see it and understand it, it can be communicated visually. Take advantage of that and harness the power of perception, association, and emotional response. 

In visual communication, it’s important to remember that first impressions matter. Your presentations and the message they deliver depending on the value of the visuals throughout the slides. Discover more techniques for improving your presentations in the SlideModel blog . Learn how to incorporate SlideModel templates into your PowerPoint slide decks and leave your audiences satisfied and informed.

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Design, Presentation Approaches, Presentation Skills Filed under Design

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5 Ways to Add Visual Power to Your Presentation

Presentations are a perfect way to convey information, show your ideas, guide people with data and context. But, when they are confusing or boring, they can have the opposite effect on the audience. In this text, we talk about how visuals for presentations will guarantee that you have a compelling, objective, and simple visualization for the content you want to present.

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Few things in this world are more tedious than sitting through a bad presentation. And while a big portion of its quality is up to the presenter, visuals for presentations play a more important role than most people think.

Ideally, they should be focused on effective client communication . They should complement what the speaker is talking about and create an understandable and simple connection between content and speaker .

Why your presentations should have this kind of dynamics? How can you improve visuals to boost your message and grab the audience’s attention? Let us talk about this point in the following topics:

5 ways to boost your visual power

• Reasons why you should use visuals in your presentations
• Pro tips for creating visuals for presentations

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For you to start getting these benefits, some simple tricks can boost your visuals and, with them, your message. Here are the 5 main ways you can make presentations more engaging and memorable.

1. Speak your words — don’t write them on your slides

Too many presenters add large blocks of text to their slides, thinking this helps enhance their presentation with detailed information.

That’s not true at all . Text — even bullet points — distracts your audience from listening. The human brain has a lot of difficulties listening to speech and reading something different at the same time.

Besides that, reading what is on your slide is just going to bore your audience. People read much faster than a comfortable presentation pace, so they’ll be done with the slide before you finish .

Jonathon Colman definitely knows this, and his slides in “ Why Our Content Sucks ” expertly incorporate supplementary visuals.

2. Use beautiful images to supplement your content

Beautiful visuals help people remember what you are talking about at the time. You can add to the memorability of your presentation by having compelling images that go along with what you are currently talking about.

This presentation on Digital Citizenship by Alec Couros does a great job of using attractive images to supplement the content the speaker is covering.

3. Make your diagrams interesting — but not self-explanatory

Diagrams are a great way to help explain complicated concepts, but make sure that you actually address them in an interesting way.

Diagrams for a presentation are different from those in standalone content. If it is self-explanatory, it probably gives away too much info, just like reading the text on a slide.

“ Conquest of the American West ” effectively uses diagrammatic maps to help explain several concepts about manifest destiny and the politics of moving America westward.

4. Use data visualizations to clarify information — not repeat it

Data visualization is the best way to present information. As Hans Rosling proved, well-designed data visualizations can help to enhance a great presentation and create something truly engaging .

As with diagrams, talk about the visualization in a way that helps to clarify and complement . Discuss it on a conceptual level and add context. Don’t just repeat what the visual is already showing.

5. Balance what you say with what your presentation delivers

Above all, remember that the visuals aren’t the whole show . When you’re building your presentation, don’t dump all the knowledge into the visuals. If you do that, then there’s nothing left to present.

The best presentations out there won’t make 100% sense unless you see the presenter deliver it. Many of the slides you’ll see online only give you a general idea of what was being discussed, not of the details, or even the main point.

Dan Gilbert balances visuals and actual presentation very well in “ The Surprising Science of Happiness “, with just enough visuals to augment his charismatic presentation, but not so many to draw attention away from the message he is making.

6 reasons why you should use visuals in your presentations

A funny thing to think about presentations is that everyone notices when it is bad — even if they don’t know why. Usually, the problem is in pace, content, or a combination of the two.

What a lot of presenters don’t know is that investing in great visuals help them with both aspects. It makes a presentation more dynamic and conveys its content better.

But how exactly? We listed some of the reasons why you should be investing in visual elements for your next time in front of an audience.

1. To communicate better

“A picture is worth a thousand words”. This saying is really old and worn already, but it will never cease to be true. We, humans, are visual beings. We can grasp meaning and context in a split-second looking at a photo or illustration.

Why not use that power to communicate better? With the support from visual elements, you can enrich arguments, explain points better, give examples that make more sense to your message.

Besides boredom, the worst feeling your audience can feel when watching you is a sense of being lost, not being able to follow your presentation.

In that case, visuals work like an anchor and a compass . You guide their looks and their thoughts through your whole presentation.

2. To communicate more in less time

Bringing the saying back, which is faster — looking at an image or reading a thousand words? The answer is simple and a great point here.

Presentations usually have limited time. Either because there is a tight schedule or simply because people lose their focus after a long period.

Using the right visuals, you can shorten the show or squeeze more out of the time you have. You can expose and explain arguments faster , connect, and talk about more elements simultaneously.

3. To retain the audience’s attention

If we are visual beings, we are naturally attracted by great photos and beautiful graphics. You can use that in your favor.

Visual dynamics can make a presentation less monotonous , telling a story with colors and shapes. They can be intriguing and interesting and change the audience’s point of view several times throughout its duration.

The result is a presentation that makes people feel that less time has passed than it truly has. A sense of flow that engages even makes the audience more participative than usual.

4. To make it memorable

You don’t want to impress just for 40 minutes. When you do a presentation, you want people to remember it and to think a lot about the points you exposed.

Visuals help with that too. When well done and well placed, charts, icons, and photos can create in our memories a stronger link between an image and a number, an idea, or a fact.

When the audience thinks about it later, the connection comes immediately. Not only the content but also your professional image last longer in their minds.

5. To be used in other contexts

A lot of presentations today aren’t made just for the show. With the surge of online education, webinars, and remote work, they can be used as material outside their original context.

Visuals then can help them stand by themselves — cohesive, understandable, independent. They can be shared and reused in various ways for a longer time.

6. To help your image

Yes, great presentations do a lot for their presenters. When its content can retain attention, create a better pace, and an even better delivery , all its charisma goes to you .

So using visuals for presentations will help your career. It will show how you own the matter and how ready you are to talk about it. It is a great tool to convince people of your ideas, to guide a company, and to value your worth as a professional.

Pro tips for creating your visuals for presentations

Now that you understand better why and what to do to improve visuals, we can wrap this up talking about ways you can include these elements. We listed the main approaches to kill it in your next presentation.

Think about a cohesive visual identity

Having a visual identity for presentations is not just a detail. It is the way you connect various media and form a visual cohesion, with different content speaking to each other .

It is important, for example, to reflect the company’s brand and its values. Colors, fonts, shapes. It generates a familiarity that can engage the audience from the title to the end.

Photos can be used in a lot of ways to build a better presentation. They can help exemplify, make it more personal, show people and places that matter.

Stock photos are great because of their quality and varied usage, but you can mix them with your pictures that are more direct to the points you are making.

The main thing to have in mind is again cohesiveness. Try to include photos that have similar formats, dimensions, colors, and ratios . Also, show them in a more standardized way so that none stand out and take the audience out of its immersion. 

Use illustrations and a great iconography

More than photos, great presentations are all based on the right graphics. Illustrations, icons, design elements, they all guide the audience’s gaze and build a bridge between presenter and content.

So use them a lot. Show and don’t tell. Everything that can be explained visually shouldn’t be written on the screen.

Rely on data visualization

Data visualization is important in a lot of scenarios — reports, meetings, analysis, and also presentations. Charts are great for quickly explaining a number or an indicator. So they are great for supporting your talk.

The best advice we can give is to make them as readable and simple as possible . Great charts are understood in a glance. That way, you can shorten the explanation and bring even more information to the audience with the time you have.

Hire an outsource service

Having specialized help to build data visualization and presentations can save you a lot of time and guarantee you will grab the audience’s attention.

If some people still don’t give it the importance it needs, seeing the benefits we showed you is enough to understand how beautiful and simple content can engage and stick.

So this investment results in great returns . Visuals for presentations boost your message, your arguments, and your career. Just to think more about that you are already getting ahead of the competition.

How about getting that huge help right now? Come visit Visual.ly creative services and let’s talk about how we can improve your image!

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2024’s Must-See Visual Presentation Examples to Power Up Your Deck

Anh Vu • 05 Apr 2024 • 6 min read

Keep on reading because these visual presentation examples will blow your boring decks away! For many people, delivering a presentation is a daunting project, even before it turns to hybrid and virtual displays due to the pandemic. To avoid the Death By PowerPoint phenomenon, it is time to adopt new techniques to make your presentations more visual and impressive.

This article tries to encourage you to think outside of the slide by providing essential elements of a successful visual presentation, especially for the new presenter and those who want to save time, money, and effort for the upcoming presentation deadline.

Table of Contents

What is a visual presentation.

• Types of Visual Presentation Examples

How to Create a Visual Presentation

• What Makes a Good Presentation Visual?

Frequently Asked Questions

How ahaslides supports a good visual presentation.

As mentioned before, you need a presentation tool to make your presentation more visual and engaging. The art of leveraging visual elements is all intended visual aids make sense and kick off audiences’ imagination, curiosity, and interest from the entire presentation.

The easiest way to create interaction between the presenter and the audience is by asking for rhetorical and thought-provoking quizzes and quick surveys during the presentation. AhaSlides , with a range of live polls , live Q&A , word clouds , interactive questions, image questions, creative fonts, and integration with streaming platforms can help you to make a good visual presentation in just a second.

• Types of Presentation
• College Presentation
• Creative Presentation Ideas
• AhaSlides Free Public Templates

Start in seconds.

Get free templates for your next interactive presentation. Sign up for free and take what you want from the template library!

So, what are the visual presentation examples? When providing as much information as possible, many presenters think that text-heavy slides may help, but by contrast, they may lead to distraction. As we explore the characteristics of good presentations, illustrations and graphics play an important role in delivering compelling content and turning complex concepts more clearly, precisely, and instantly to understand. A visual presentation is the adoption of a range of visual aids on presentation to ensure information is easier to understand and memorize. 

In addition, visual aids can also help to keep presenters on track, which can be used as a cue for reviving a train of thought. They build better interaction and communication between presenters and the audience, making them notice more deeply what you are saying.

Types of Visual Presentation Examples 

Some possible visual presentations include infographics , charts, diagrams, posters, flipcharts, idea board , whiteboards, and video presentation examples. 

An infographic is a collection of different graphic visual presentations to represent information, data, or knowledge intended more visually quickly and clearly to grab the audience’s attention.

To illustrate quantitative data effectively, it is important to make use of graphs and charts. For both business use and research use, graphs and charts can show multiple and complex data in a way that is easy to understand and memory.

When it comes to presenting information systematically and logically, you can use diagrams. A diagram is a powerful tool for effective communication and brainstorming processes. It also is time-saving for people to read and collect information.

A poster, especially a research project poster, provides brief and concrete information about a research paper straightforwardly. The audiences can grab all important data knowledge and findings through posters. 

A flipchart and whiteboard are the most basic presentation aids and work best to supplement lecture slides. Excellent whiteboard and flipchart composite of well-chosen words, and clear diagram will help to explain complex concepts.

A video presentation is not a new concept, it is a great way to spread ideas lively and quickly attract the audience’s attention. The advantages of a video presentation lie in its animation and illustration concepts, fascinating sound effects, and user-friendliness. 

In addition, we can add many types of visual aids in the presentations as long as they can give shapes and form words or thoughts into visual content. Most popular visual aids include graphs, statistics, charts, and diagrams that should be noted in your mind. These elements combined with verbal are a great way to engage the listeners’ imagination and also emphasize vital points more memorable.

It is simply to create more visual presentations than you think. With the development of technology and the internet, you can find visual presentation examples and templates for a second. PowerPoint is a good start, but there are a variety of quality alternatives, such as AhaSlides , Keynote, and Prezi.

When it comes to designing an effective visual presentation, you may identify some key steps beforehand:

Visual Presentation Examples – Focus on Your Topic

Firstly, you need to determine your purpose and understand your audience’s needs. If you are going to present in a seminar with your audience of scientists, engineers, business owners… They are likely to care about data under simple charts and graphs, which explain the results or trends. Or if you are going to give a lecture for secondary students, your slides should be something fun and interesting, with more colourful pictures and interactive questions.

Visual Presentation Examples – Animation and Transition

When you want to add a bit of excitement to a slideshow and help to keep the listener more engaged, you use animation and transition. These functions help to shift the focus of audiences between elements on slides. When the transition style and setting are set right, it can help to give fluidity and professionalism to a slideshow.

Visual Presentation Examples – Devices for Interactivity

One of the approaches that improve communication between audiences and the use of visual aids is using technology assistance. You don’t want to take too much time to create well-designed visual aids while ensuring your presentation is impressive, so why not leverage a presentation app like AhaSlides ? It properly encourages participant engagement with interactive visual features and templates and is time-saving. With its help, you can design your presentation either formally or informally depending on your interest.

Visual Presentation Examples – Give an Eye-catching Title

Believe it or not, the title is essential to attracting audiences at first sight. Though don’t “read the book by its cover”, you still can put your thoughts into a unique title that conveys the topic while piquing the viewer’s interest. 

Visual Presentation Examples – Play a Short Video

Creative video presentation ideas are always important. “Videos evoke emotional responses”, it will be a mistake if you don’t leverage short videos with sound to reel in and captivate the audience’s attention. You can put the video at the beginning of the presentation as a brief introduction to your topic, or you can play it as a supplement to explain difficult concepts. 

Visual Presentation Examples – Use a Prop or Creative Visual Aid to Inject Humour

It is challenging to keep your audience interested and engaged with your audience from the whole presentation. It is why to add a prop or creative visual aid to pull your audience’s focus on what you say. Here are some ideas to cover it:

• Use neon colour and duotones
• Tell a personal story
• Show a shocking heading
• Use isometric illustrations
• Go vertical

Visual Presentation Examples – Rehearsal and Get Feedback

It is an important step to make your visual presentation really work out. You won’t know any unexpected mirrors may come out on D-day if you don’t make the rehearsal and get feedback from a reliable source. If they say that your visual image is in bad-quality, the data is overwhelming, or the pictures are misunderstood, you can have an alternative plan in advance.

What Makes a Good Visual Presentation?

Incorporate visual or audio media appropriately. Ensure you arrange and integrate suitable data presentation in your slides or videos. You can read the guidelines for visual aids applications in the following:

• Choose a readable text size about the slide room and text spacing in about 5-7 doubted-spaced.
• Use consistent colour for overall presentation, visual aids work better in white yellow and blue backgrounds.
• Take care of data presentation, and avoid oversimplification or too much detail.
• Keep the data shown minimum and highlight really important data points only.
• Choose font carefully, keep in mind that lowercase is easier to read than uppercase
• Don’t mix fonts.
• Printed text is easier to read than handwritten text.
• Use the visual to emphasize punctuation in your verbal presentation.
• Say no to poor-quality images or videos.
• Visual elements need to be strategic and relevant.

What well-designed visual aids should have?

To make an effective visual aid, you must follow principles of design, including contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity.

Why is it important to keep visual aids simple?

Simple ads help to keep things clear and understandable, so the message can be communicated effectively.

What is the purpose of visual aids in the classroom?

To encourage the learning process and make it easier and more interesting so students would want to engage in lessons more.

More from AhaSlides

How to make visual presentations: 7 types of visuals you can use in your presentation slides right now

Are you ready to make visual presentations?

I’m so happy to hear that!

If I had to sum up the cause of #DeathByPowerpoint in a few words it would be: Too much text, too few good visuals.

If you’re an academic, scientists, or educator who wants to make better presentations, then you need to use good visuals in your presentations.

Using great visuals is one of the easiest and most effective ways to get your audience to:

pay attention

remember, and

use the information you share.

Giant walls of text do not help you achieve any of those goals.

Hi! I’m Dr. Echo Rivera and I help academics, scientists, and educators create engaging presentations.

Although this post is exclusively about visuals, it’s important that you reduce the amount of text you have on your slides, so you have room for great visuals .

But you probably know that presentations need visuals, right? That’s why you’re here, reading this post.

So here’s something you might not know: It’s not just about having any visual in your slides—you need to have good visuals.

A bad visual doesn’t achieve those goals, either.

Let’s talk more about the difference between good vs. bad visuals, and then I’ll share ideas for 7 types of visuals you can use in your presentations.

In this blog post, you’re going to learn:

What makes a visual “good” or “bad”?

Seven types of visuals you can use in your presentations.

This blog post was written specifically for academics, scientists, educators, and similar presenters.

In other words, this blog post is for people who share educational information using slides.

Before I get started, I want to make sure you know about my FREE training video.

Good visuals vs. bad visuals—what is the difference?

A good visual is one that makes it more likely for you to achieve those above goals.

What goals, you ask? Getting your audience to pay attention, understand, remember, and use your information.

A bad visual is one that makes it less likely for you to achieve those goals.

Sounds easy enough, right?

Let’s talk specifics.

Visuals DON’T make an impact when they are:

Formatted or cropped improperly

Distracting

Forgettable (aka “meh”)

A mismatch with the slide content

Evoking the wrong emotion

I’m guessing you’re nodding your head in agreement. All of those things sound like they would hurt your chances of making an impact, right?

Well, most academics, scientists, and educators are using visuals that don’t make an impact. That includes me, several years ago.

Chances are high that you are, too, and you don’t even realize it.

Most people think I’m talking about things like cheesy stock photos.

And, they’re not wrong—those are bad visuals.

But during my presentation workshops, professionals are always shocked at the examples I provide of “bad” visuals.

Many participants share that some of their favorite visuals are on my list of visuals to avoid.

Examples of bad visuals:

PowerPoint SmartArt

Word clouds

Slide template designs

Most modern forms of vector/digital clip art

Bubble people

Humans coming together to form shapes

Disembodied hands shaking

Cheesy stock photos

Did you see something on the list that you use?

Don’t feel embarrassed. I’ve used every single one of those visuals in my presentations before.

How were we supposed to know what visuals to use in our presentations? It’s not like we get trained on this in grad school!

Plus, until 2014 or so we had one of two options:

Pay a lot of money for cheesy stock photos of white people, or

Use Office clip art and PowerPoint SmartArt.

So, I’m not making fun of you (it’s not my style). I just want to make sure you’re able to go through your presentations and delete the bad visuals you have in there.

I’ll focus on one as an example: word clouds.

I remember when I first saw word clouds. I thought they were the coolest things ever. I used them every chance I could.

Until I realized they were just a way to cram even more text into my slides.

Take a look at this slide with a word cloud:

What emotions do you feel while looking at hundreds of words, in multiple colors, forming the shape of a coffee cup?

Nothing probably.

And you’re going to forget this image the second it leaves the screen.

Word clouds are forgettable, at best. At their worst, they’re distracting, confusing, and stressful.

That’s what makes them such a bad visual.

But it’s more than that.

Let’s think about this. What is the visual here. Do we even have one?

I argue we don’t.

Stylized words is still just that: words . It’s still text.

That is still a text-heavy slide, in my professional opinion.

So, what would a good visual look like?

Something like this:

Now you probably had much more of an emotional reaction. If you’re a coffee drinker like I (obviously) am, then you probably can almost feel the warmth of that cup.

You can picture yourself wrapping your hands around the warm cup and taking a sip. Feeling that rush of caffeine…

Plus, do you see how something like this good visual will be more memorable than the word cloud.

That’s what you want.

Do you see how choosing the wrong visual can ruin a slide?

And I didn’t even cheat.

I actually tried to design a nice slide using a word cloud. I could have done what most people do, which is throw a word cloud on top of a template with some bullet points!

Slide templates are never the solution. They will never help you end #DeathByPowerpoint, and one of the first things to do when you’re ready to make better presentations is to stop using them.

And PowerPoint SmartArt is a type of template—you shouldn’t use those either. I’ve written an entire blog post (with before and after makeovers) about why PowerPoint’s SmartArt is not a good visual.

It’s really important to consider all of the elements on your slides and only keep the ones that help achieve our key goal (getting our audience to pay attention, understand, remember, and use the information we share).

Ok. Enough about bad visuals, let’s talk about good ones!

Visuals DO make an impact when they are:

Formatted properly

A match with the slide content

Evoking the right emotion

Now that you have an idea of good vs. bad visuals, let’s talk about 7 types of visuals you can use in your presentation.

  1. Use stock photos for your presentation slides

When I’m giving a presentation training workshop, I ask people what types of visuals they should avoid, and a lot of them say “stock photos!”

I see where they’re coming from. The term "stock photo” has become synonymous with “cheesy stock photo of white people smiling at the camera.”

That’s because, until 2014 or so, that’s what stock photos were.

But things have changed. A lot.

And for the better.

So erase everything you thought you knew about stock photos and let’s start from scratch.

All “stock photo” means is that it’s a photograph taken by someone else, so others could use it for something.

That’s it. That’s all it means.

And stock photos are the #1 type of visual you should use in your educational presentation.

As of 2021, is actually pretty easy to find stock photos that are:

High quality

Memorable in a good way (i.e., not cheesy or forgettable)

Here are four examples of how I’ve used stock photos to create engaging presentation slides.

These are actual slides I’ve used for either educational presentations, doing before/after makeovers, or when sharing evaluation data results.

Tip: Royalty free does NOT mean free to use

I've noticed that a lot of people incorrectly use the terms " royalty free" as interchangeable with " cost free."

Royalty free means you don't have to pay the creator each time you use it or make money from it, but you usually still have to pay for the initial license.

Cost free or free to use means you never had to pay for it, but there may be other license requirements, like giving credit (attribution) every time you use it.

Tip: Copyright still applies to you even when you use photos for non-profit, educational purposes

A lot of researchers, academics, and scientists think that just because they're using photos for education (i.e., non-profit use), they're exempt from copyright laws.

Or, they know the law applies to them but think copyrighted pictures are considered under “fair use.”

Tip: Stop using Google Images to find stock photos

Most people are still using Google Images to find stock photos, so I need to talk about that for a second.

Using Google Images is actually one of the slowest, least efficient ways to find stock photos for your presentations.

It’s also the most risky in terms of copyright violations.

I describe a faster and safer way to find visuals and to create what I call a Visual Database.

If you feel like it takes you forever to find visuals and/or add them to your presentations, then make sure you read that blog post next.

2. Use icons for your presentation slides

Icons are one the easiest and fastest ways to add visuals to your slides. They’re a great place to start if your slides are mostly text.

You can find icons at flaticon.com, but I just use PowerPoint’s built-in icons.

There are tons of them, and they all meet the modern standards for good icons. That’s important because if you aren’t careful, your icons will start to look like clip art.

You want clean, simple, and modern icons—that’s exactly what the built-in icons in PowerPoint are.

I use them to accompany large numbers or single percentages. This isn’t real data here, just a mock up I made for a blog post about how to visualize this type of data.

I use them for teaching purposes, too. For example, in my presentation training, people learn the #1 enemy in presentations — the ONE thing you must avoid.

I use the icon of a wrench to symbolize that “enemy” and create a theme for the entire presentation.

It works well because it sets up a simple, common visual (wrench) that we can all use and reference throughout the training.

I also love to use icons for interactive moments, like this one.

One reason I love PowerPoint icons so much is because it’s easy to do some “icon hacking” and make them even better. The visuals you see above are a combination of PowerPoint icons.

If you have not tried using PowerPoint icons, then I strongly encourage you to start using them in your next presentation.

3. Use your own photos for presentation slides

I see a lot of people using stock photos, so you probably already knew about them.

One thing I rarely see is presenter's own photos, and that's a huge missed opportunity.

Some of the best photos I use are ones I took myself.

And, no, I'm not an expert photographer and many of my photos would not look good on a slide. But, when I do take a gem, I try to use it in my slides.

One of my favorite examples is this pic I snapped of my two dogs -- Biscuit (left) and Sage (right) -- that I used to explain inter-rater reliability to a group of practitioners. 

It was a hit!

After that presentation about validity and reliability, I heard from non-researchers that the presentation was engaging and interesting. A loose quote was, “I know all this academic stuff should be complicated, but the way Echo explains make it easy to understand.”

If that’s what you want to hear from your audience, then using great visuals will help get you there.

Has this post been helpful so far? If so, I bet you’ll LOVE my free training!

4. use your own drawings & illustrations for presentation visuals.

Don’t skip over this section!

Let me bust a few myths about this one right now:

MYTH: I can’t do this because I suck at drawing

Your audience doesn’t want to see an elaborate masterpiece on the slide, anyway.

The scrappier the drawing, the better.

MYTH: I can’t do this because I’m not “a creative”

First of all, you are absolutely creative.

Second, not that it matters because it doesn’t take any creativity to draw a square or a stick figure saying something.

Finally, being able to take your text-heavy slides and create your own visuals for it is a skill that you can develop with training, support, and practice.

MYTH: I can’t do this because it’s unprofessional

Yeah? Says who?

Because in my experience, audiences LOVE when the presenter uses their own drawings.

I mean, yeah, don’t do this for your job talk . But other than that, go for it.

Look . This whole myth of "being professional" seriously gets in the way of my peaceful protest against #DeathByPowerpoint.

Hand drawings are more likely to catch the attention of your audience than a great stock photo or any other type of visual.

They’re also fantastic at helping your audience understand and remember the material.

I'm still waiting for a legitimate argument that being ineffective and boring at presenting is somehow professional .

MYTH: I can’t do this because I don’t have professional software or can’t afford Adobe Illustrator!

Good news: You can draw directly in PowerPoint!

Also: We don’t use Adobe Illustrator.

We use the MUCH more affordable (and easier to use) app called Affinity Designer (bonus: members of my course get a discount on it, too).

Example drawings and illustrations

Sometimes, it's impossible to find a visual that works for your slide.

When it's an important point you want to make, or when you want to connect/resonate with your audience, then your own doodles can come to the rescue.

Here is a very simple set of 2 slides. I was making the point that watching presentations—even if they’re really great presentations—does not effectively teach you how to create effective presentations.

I drew a couple stick figures, then added speech bubbles.

I also combine my own illustrations with icons. I drew the brain using professional illustration software, and then everything else (pencil, paperclip, gear) is a built-in icon from PowerPoint.

Notice the icons aren’t all black—that’s because you can change the colors of PowerPoint icons easily, which is another reason I love them so much!

5. Use emotion-focused Gifs on your presentation slides

Gifs are a great way to add some fun and surprise in your presentation. Use a gif when you want to evoke an emotion from your audience.

For example, use gifs when you want your audience to laugh out loud.

Maybe you know you’re going to tell them something they don’t want to hear. Something that might be hard and will conflict with what they’ve heard before.

You can use a funny gif to both lighten the mood while also letting them know you understand them.

What you would do is state the information upfront, and then maybe you use a gif like this (below) to say something like “I know! I know what you’re thinking. This conflicts with what you’ve heard before. Hear me out.”

If you can get them to laugh (while showing them you understand them), they’ll be more likely to hear your difficult message.

Use gifs when you want the audience to understand how YOU feel (or felt).

For example, maybe you hypothesized that X would happen, but Y happened instead. Or, maybe you designed your study one way but then something happened where you needed to change the design.

Or, maybe this isn’t your study, but instead you’re teaching students about research others have done.

Give your audience a visual clue about whether that is:

Amazing news!

Not great, but also not the end of the world.

A complete and utter disaster that made you (them) want to burn it all down.

There are gifs for all of the above.

Not only will using gifs for this purpose humanize the information you’re sharing, it will be memorable. If you can ignite your audience’s emotions while sharing educational information, they are much more likely to remember it later on.

Use gifs when you want to let the audience know you understand how they feel right now (or give them a cue about how they should feel about the information you just shared).

For example, a lot of people are worried that visual presentations are “unprofessional” or they will be called unprofessional for having a lot of visuals.

So, to debunk that idea, I go into detail (with examples) of what a “professional” presentation would be, then. After going through all the detail and showing the audience terrible slides, I end with this gif:

By the way, you can also create your own gifs using your illustrations! Here is one I made that makes it into most of my presentation training webinars. This is really easy to do in PowerPoint now!

We all relate to gifs, so there is no reason to avoid it as a teaching tool.

Ok, one reason: job talks. Don’t use them in a job talk.

6. Use memes on your presentation slides

Use memes in a similar way to how you would use gifs—to evoke emotions and connect with your audience..

You can find memes online easily. This is the only time I ever use google images, because memes don’t have the same copyright concerns as regular photos do.

Plus it really is the fastest way to find a meme. They’re highly searchable because they’re so specific.

You can also create your own—just search “meme generator” and you’ll find one. You can usually find the image of a meme without the text, so you can add your own, too.

There are some classics that still tend to get people to laugh and make your point:

But you’ll want to be careful about using memes that are too outdated.

There is no universal list of “memes are outdated” and this is not something everyone will agree on. One meme that I think should be shelved is the “winter is coming” memes. But then again, I’m sure there’s someone out there who thinks the Liam Neeson memes are outdated.

If you start noticing confused faces instead of smiles and head nods, then it’s time to switch to something new.

A word of caution when using memes.

Gifs are great because they show a very clear and strong emotion. It’s really hard to misinterpret a gif and the audience doesn’t need any background knowledge to understand a gif.

For example, even if you’ve never seen Schitts Creek ( omg, why would you do that yoursel f), you could still understand that gif I used above.

A meme, however, can sometimes require background knowledge of the content of the meme.

Have you ever had to google what a meme meant?

Did you ever see this meme?

I had absolutely no idea what this meme meant and, even after looking it up, didn’t quite understand how to use it properly.

I was missing something, I didn’t get it.

And I loved the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movies! But, I missed a handful as they were coming out, including the movie that meme is from.

It wasn’t until COVID-19 hit and we decided to watch all of the movies, that I finally saw this scene and understood the meme.

So, go ahead and still use a meme. Just do your best to make sure it:

isn’t too outdated

doesn’t require background knowledge*

*if that background knowledge isn’t the point of your presentation and if you won’t be explaining it in another way

7. Use videos on your presentation slides

Finally, you can use videos in your presentations.

You can show:

Videos found online (YouTube, Vimeo, Tik Tok, etc)

Regular video files

I don’t show videos from the internet during my presentation, and I strongly encourage clients to avoid this when possible.

When you plan on watching a video from the internet during your presentation, you’re:

Slowing down the momentum of your presentation

Assuming the internet connection will be stable enough to show the video

Assuming there will be internet at all

Sure, you could download the video from YouTube and embed it into your slides…but that’s actually kind of rude to do. When you do that, the YouTube creator does not get those views, and views are really important to YouTube creators.

If you need people to watch a YouTube video (or some other video found online), consider having them watch it from home before or after your presentation.

So how do I use videos?

I create my own and then embed them into the presentation.

I do this a lot when I want to include a quick step by step tutorial in my presentation. I do it in a lot of my YouTube videos , and I do it during live presentation workshops.

What I do is I’ll create a short screencast video ahead of time and add that video into PowerPoint.

Then, during the presentation, I’ll narrate as the video plays.

This allows me to:

Keep up the momentum of my presentation

Ensure I don’t forget an important step

Avoid the risk of running into a glitch while doing it live

Continue using PowerPoint’s live subtitles features, even when showing how to use another program

There you go!

You now know more about the difference between good vs. bad visuals AND you have 7 ideas for what types of visuals to include in your next presentation.

Thank you for reading and for using more visuals in your presentations! Your future audience thanks you :)

If you found this post on the different types of visuals to use in your presentation helpful, then you’re going to LOVE my free presentation training!

with joy, Dr. Echo Rivera

Links mentioned in this article >>

6 reasons you need to use good visuals in your presentation

Stop using Google Images + why copyrighted pictures aren’t fair use

Create a visual database (the fast and safe way to find stock photos)

How to draw in PowerPoint

My old slides

Please stop using SmartArt (2 makeovers)

Yes, you have too much text in your presentation slides

Icons in PowerPoint + example of using pre-recorded video in a PPT presentation

Job talk and teaching demo tips

Replacing slide templates

Why we use Affinity Designer instead of Adobe Illustrator

Flaticon.com

PowerPoint live subtitles

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A Short Guide To Making An Outstanding Visual Presentation

Using PowerPoint or any form of visual presentation is key to attracting potential business. A good picture or visual can attract and keep attention almost like nothing else. Keep reading to see how you can own these visual presentation skills.

The easiest exact procedure to follow to get your message through to your audience and have your brand stand out from the rest is to have amazing visual presentations.

Visual presentations will almost certainly lead to positive feedback and great responses from your audience. We’ve all been through one of those presentations that you wish would end already. So let’s learn how to avoid situations like that.

The purpose of a PowerPoint presentation is to, well, make your point powerfully . And how do you do that? By being visually compelling and, accordingly, making the viewing process enjoyable.

Why Are Visuals The Stepping Stone For An Impactful Presentation? 💁🏻‍♀️

So how can you make the most of your presentation 🗒, take away 💁🏻‍♂️.

Important disclosure: we're proud affiliates of some tools mentioned in this guide. If you click an affiliate link and subsequently make a purchase, we will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you (you pay nothing extra).

Visuals Are Attention-Grabbers 👀

We all know the saying— Show, don't tell.

It's a common mistake to include a lot of text in your presentation but rather include meaningful visuals (make sure the picture conditions are great to better the viewing experience) for a higher rate of participation in your presentation.

Carefully selected imagery is the key to engaging with your public. Sometimes, it's significantly easier to explain complex concepts through a short video or an infographic .

Overall, shorter presentation times can often lead to your audience understanding complex ideas, even if they have no prior background knowledge of the subject.

The normal viewing times of videos or presentations of your audience are decreasing day by day, which is why the visual display of your presentation is so important to keep their attention.

The pair of images that you choose to use isn't there to undermine your point. Their purpose is to make your audience attentive and to emphasize what you have to say.

Images Are Action-Inspiring 🙌

Using a visual display in your presentation will make your audience react. You can use them to raise awareness about a certain topic or to inspire your public to take a specific action.

More often than not, messages delivered visually receive a more powerful reaction and a higher rate of participation from people.

Is All That Text Necessary? 🧐

You can try to follow the 6 x 6 guidelines for one slide as a general rule. This means you should have a maximum of 6 key points, each with six words. This way, you can keep everything succinct, organized, and easy to understand.

Even when you're preparing an audio-visual presentation (which can be a better choice for people with learning difficulties), your focus should still be to keep the text short and sweet on each of the individual images.

Having no more than 140 characters on your slide will leave you with a lot of white space. This will make your presentation look more clean and organized. But also, it will help your audience focus on the key points you're trying to make.

Make sure that your background color combinations emphasize the key points and don't take attention away from them.

Use Straightforward And Precise Fonts 𝘼𝙖

While you might be tempted to break the mold with your presentation, fonts are not the place to do this. Try to use standard sans serif fonts, like Open Sans, Tahoma, Verdana .

These are easily recognizable and look good on the viewing window. Try not to use more than 2 or 3 different fonts in your presentation. The key to having an outstanding slide deck is organization and consistency.

Using too many different elements will distract and confuse your audience.

Any feedback activity from your audience will also result in this conclusion, and if your audience is confused, your rate of participation from the audience declines.

Say No To Poor Quality Images 🙅🏽‍♂️

Needless to say, high-quality images will make your presentation look professional . Try as much as possible to color-coordinate your visuals with the color scheme you’ve chosen for your slide deck.

Their purpose is to enhance and underline, not to overwhelm the slide, so make sure the picture conditions in your presentation are top-notch! Using binary image classification might also be a good idea to simplify complex concepts.

To avoid bad quality on your pair of images used in your presentation, make sure that your laptop display resolution agree with your presentation.

Another thing you should keep in mind: not using too many individual images . Generally, it’s good to try and use a single picture—or 2, if they’re relevant. Your presentation isn’t a photo album.

Use Contrast For Emphasis And Grabbing Attention 💁🏻‍♀️

You can use contrast cleverly in your presentation. First of all, it can help your message "pop" with a high-level contrast between your background and your text.

You can also add a bar of color behind your text —to make it more legible and bring it to the center of attention. Binary image classification is also a great way to emphasize the contrast between concepts.

Contrast can also be used to highlight your key points . Choose a color from your palette to emphasize important text on your slide. Make sure that your key points are a few times larger than the supplementary information given.

By making your key points a few times larger than supplementary info, you're creating contrast and thus pointing your viewers into the right direction of where to look, helping those with possible learning difficulties.

Nevertheless, it will lose its power if you use this trick too often. So use it wisely. Using an arrow symbol during your presentation will also emphasize the important points.

Limit Your Color Palette 👈🏽

Yes, rainbows are really pretty, but not in your presentation . Be mindful of what colors you choose and if they come together harmoniously.

There's no need to go overboard—you can grab attention without using complex textures or gradients. You can, for example, use a background of blocks to emphasize the message in front of it.

Even though it's tempting to make an art-inspired presentation, keep this for a more fitting audience and not for business proposals.

To choose the right colors for your presentation, you can use tools like Kuler or coolors.co . Using these can help you learn a bit about which colors go together and which ones don't.

Additionally, suppose you want to do this right. In that case, you can even look at an analysis of color theory to see how your palette can influence your audience's emotions.

Doing this avoids the risk of presenting a pair of images and evoking the wrong response from your audience.

Data Visualization Is Your Salvation 📊

Project management presentations or anything with a lot of numbers and data to present can be dreadful.

Luckily, you can use a lot of elements to make your life easier in your individual images — charts, graphs, radials , binary image classification, and more.

By doing this, you can simplify complex information or even a lot of information in a short period of time, even if the audience doesn't have prior background knowledge of the subject.

Shorter presentation times often work better for explaining complex ideas. Additionally, you can always look online for some free timeline templates to showcase progress or presumptions, or learn how to make your own timelines in PowerPoint.

The key is taking all the data and putting it into individual images that are easy to remember and understand.

Skip The Bullet Points 📝

Ideally, you should focus on a single idea for each slide. This means that instead of having five bullet points, you should have five slides focusing on each key point to do an in-depth analysis.

This way, you can make sure that people remember what you say, and your audience will be able to draw comparisons between the five slides. Also, bullet points are kind of old , aren’t they?

Surely, you can find more attractive ways to structure information within a slide. Try content boxes, bubbles, all sorts of frames—just don’t go overboard with your elements.

Mind The Visual Hierarchy 🎨

Even if you have no background knowledge in graphic design , you can still organize elements on your slide or picture, depending on their importance.

The purpose of this procedure is to let your audience know where their eyes should go first on each picture, and then second, and so forth.

You can do this by making use of size, the correct laptop display resolutions, white space between elements, or proximity between elements. Another smart thing to do is to use repetition to your advantage in your visual display.

Having only one element in your viewing window will make it pop—so your audience will know that is the main point. When your audience is viewing your presentation, they shouldn't wonder where to look on your PowerPoint.

Audio And Video Elements 🎙📹

Choosing tasks using video and audio elements can help you explain complex concepts so much easier. An audio-visual presentation is also a great way to create interaction with your public.

Using these gives you a break from talking and your audience a new point of focus. Embedding a video into a PowerPoint presentation is not hard if you decide to go this route.

However, make sure not to pick a 10-minute video, but rather use shorter presentation times.

You should use these items as a short, fresh breath of air—not let them have the presentation for you.

Additionally, make sure this content is relevant not only to your content but also to the audience— or you will lose their attention, as this is a big feedback influence.

What Do You Think About Interactivity? 👨🏾‍💻

No matter how good your presentation is, there is always going to be a low-energy moment . A good way to recover from this is to directly interact with your audience and strive for a high rate of participation.

For example, you can make them vote on subject comparisons, stand up for some reason, or conduct a short quiz.

To make this more interesting, you can add links to your presentation —either between slides, on the middle image of the presentation, or elements.

This way, when they choose and answer, something happens. Creating a unique slideshow can help you keep your audience attentive and create longer viewing times for your audience.

Transitions And Animations

You either love transitions, or you hate them. There’s no in-between. The safest route is to go all static and grab attention through colors, textures, and so forth.

This way, nobody gets distracted, and we all remember something at the end of your presentation.

However, if you want some pizzaz on your slides, you can use animations and transitions to become memorable.

However, keep them consistent and don’t get too excited . Not every element on your slide has to move. Use motion as an emphasis, not as a distraction.

Have An Interesting Cover Style 😍

The cover slide should be the one to grab your public’s attention and curiosity. It should say something about the subject but still be mysterious.

You can think of it as a movie trailer—you give people a taste of what’s to come, but without spoiling the whole thing. These slides are your chance to be creative and inventive. You can’t afford to be boring on this one.

Here, you should draw inspiration from an art-inspired presentation. However, as with any part of your art-inspired presentation — don’t go overboard.

Using too many elements or too many colors can put your whole slide deck in a bad light.

Reserve A Couple Of Slides At The End To Summarize Your Main Points

By doing this, you emphasize them and make sure that they will be remembered.

You don’t have to go through everything once more — just some keywords to jolt the memory of your public.

However, be careful. If your presentation is already quite lengthy— you might want to skip this one or make it short. If your speech is too long, the only thing your public will want is to escape and go home as fast as possible.

Accordingly, the attention span and the desired viewing times of the audience will be low.

It might sound easy, but building a visually compelling presentation is not that simple. There are a lot of factors and small details that can either make or break your whole work.

For example—using colors, but too many of them, a pair of images, but making sure the picture conditions are great, using the right type of font, but at the wrong sizes, and so forth.

However, if you check all the points made in the article—and maybe do a little research and analysis on your own , you’ll be just fine, and your feedback will surely be positive. Most rules are basic common sense for anyone who has seen a presentation before.

The most important thing here is to feel comfortable with your presentation in a way that it seems as though you have background knowledge on the subject.

If you’re happy about it—and passionate about the subject you’re talking about, then you can’t go wrong. Feelings are contagious, so your audience will sense your happiness.

If you find yourself pressed for time or lacking the necessary expertise to create a visually stunning presentation, you can explore options such as SketchBubble to access professionally designed PowerPoint templates that you can download.

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14.2 Incorporating Effective Visuals into a Presentation

Learning objectives.

• Recognize the characteristics of effective visual aids.
• Analyze different types of visual aids and appropriate ways to use them.
• Determine how to create original visual aids and how to locate visual aids created by others.

Good communication is a multisensory experience. Children first learning how to read often gravitate toward books with engaging pictures. As adults, we graduate to denser books without pictures, yet we still visualize ideas to help us understand the text. Advertisers favor visual media—television, magazines, and billboards—because they are the best way to hook an audience. Websites rely on color, graphics, icons, and a clear system of visual organization to engage Internet surfers.

Bringing visuals into a presentation adds color, literally and figuratively. There is an art to doing it well. This section covers how to use different kinds of visual aids effectively.

Using Visual Aids: The Basics

Good writers make conscious choices. They understand their purpose and audience. Every decision they make on the page, from organizing an essay to choosing a word with just the right connotations, is made with their purpose and audience in mind.

The same principle applies to visual communication. As a presenter, you choose the following:

• When to show images or video for maximum impact
• Which images will best produce the effect you want
• When to present information using a table, chart, or other graphic
• How much text to include in slides or informational graphics
• How to organize graphics so they present information clearly

Your goal is to use visual media to support and enhance your presentation. At the same time, you must make sure these media do not distract your audience or interfere with getting your point across. Your ideas, not your visuals, should be the focus.

As you develop the visual side of your presentation, you will follow a process much like the process you follow when you write. You will brainstorm ideas, form an organizational plan, develop drafts, and then refine and edit your work. The following sections provide guidelines to help you make good decisions throughout the process.

What Makes Visual Aids Effective?

To help you get a sense of what makes visual media work, think about what does not work. Try to recall occasions when you have witnessed the following visual media failures:

• Websites crammed with so many images, flashing phrases, and clashing colors that they are almost unreadable
• Assembly instructions with illustrations or diagrams that are impossible to follow
• Photographs that are obviously (and badly) altered with photo-editing software
• Distracting typos or other errors in signs, advertisements, or headlines
• Tables, charts, or graphs with tiny, dense text or missing labels

In each case, the problem is that the media creator did not think carefully enough about the purpose and audience. The purpose of images, color, or flashing text on a website is to attract attention. Overusing these elements defeats the purpose because the viewer may become overwhelmed or distracted. Tables, charts, and graphs are intended to simplify complex information, but without clear labels and legible text, they will confuse the audience.

In contrast, effective visual elements are chosen or created with the purpose and audience in mind. Although a photo shoot for a magazine article might result in dozens of images, editors choose those few that work best with the article. Web designers and video game creators have an audience test their products before they are released, to ensure that people will understand how to use them. Understanding the function of different visual aids will help you use them with purpose.

Types of Visual Aids

Visual aids fall into two main categories—images and informational graphics. Images include photographs, illustrations and clip art, and video footage. Informational graphics include tables, charts, bar graphs, and line graphs.

These visual aids serve two purposes: to add emotional impact to your presentation and to organize information more clearly. With that in mind, read to find out how specific types of visual aids achieve those purposes.

Photographs

A striking photograph can capture your audience’s attention far more successfully than words can. Consider including photographs at the beginning or end of your presentation to emphasize your main ideas or to accompany a particularly important point in the body of your presentation. Remember that, as with other types of graphics, less is often more. Two or three well-chosen photographs are more effective than a dozen mediocre ones.

When you choose photographs, ask yourself these questions:

• What purpose does this image serve? Will it surprise the audience? Will it provoke a strong emotional response? Does it support an important point?
• Will this photograph be more effective if shown with only a caption, or does it need additional text?
• Will the audience understand what is happening in the photograph? Is the meaning immediately evident, or does the photo need some context?
• Would editing the image make it more effective? Consider using image-editing software to crop the photo, change the brightness, or make other cosmetic changes. (Do not go overboard, though. A slightly imperfect but authentic image is preferable to one that has been obviously altered.)

To illustrate the sense of helplessness people felt in the midst of tragedy, a student could use a photograph that shows fear, weariness, or defeat on the face of the photograph’s subject.

Figure 14.3

Neil Moralee – On The Scrap Heap . – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Illustrations

Illustrations, such as editorial or political cartoons, serve much the same purpose as photographs. Because an illustration does not capture a moment in time the way a photo does, it may have less impact. However, depending on your topic and the effect you want to achieve, illustrations can still be very useful. Use the same criteria for choosing photographs to help you choose illustrations.

Figure 14.4

Humor Blog – Political Cartoon about Budget Cuts – CC BY 2.0.

The style of an illustration or photograph affects viewers just as the content does. Keep this in mind if you are working with the stock images available in office software programs. Many of these images have a comical tone. This may be fine for some topics—for instance, a presentation on television shows for children. However, if you need to project a more serious tone, make sure you choose images to suit that purpose. Many free (or reasonably priced) image banks are available online.

Video Footage

Even more than photographs, video footage can create a sense of immediacy, especially if your video includes sound. Showing a brief video clip can help your audience feel as if they are present at an important event, connect with a person being interviewed, or better understand a process. Again, ask yourself the following questions to ensure you are using the footage well:

• What purpose does this video serve? (Never rely on video clips just to fill time.)
• How much footage should be shown to achieve your purpose?
• What will need to be explained, before or after showing the video, to ensure that your audience understands its significance?
• Will it be necessary to edit the video to stay within time requirements or to focus on the most important parts?

Informational graphics, such as tables, charts, and graphs, do not provoke the same response that images do. Nevertheless, these graphics can have a powerful impact. Their primary purpose is to organize and simplify information.

Tables are effective when you must classify information and organize it in categories. Tables are an especially good choice when you are presenting qualitative data that are not strictly numerical. Table 14.1 “Example of Qualitative Data Table” was created for a presentation discussing the subprime mortgage crisis. It presents information about people who have held powerful positions both in the government and at one of the investment banking firms involved in the subprime mortgage market.

Table 14.1 Example of Qualitative Data Table

Sources: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/%3Bkw=%5B3351,11459%5D ; http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/business/19gold.html ; http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/henry_m_jr_paulson/index.html?inline=nyt-per ; http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/robert_e_rubin/index.html?inline=nyt-per , http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/13/us/man-in-the-news-economic-adviser-from-other-side-of-the-deficit-stephen-friedman.html ; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/342086.stm .

If you are working with numerical information, consider whether a pie chart, bar graph, or line graph might be an effective way to present the content. A table can help you organize numerical information, but it is not the most effective way to emphasize contrasting data or to show changes over time.

Pie charts are useful for showing numerical information in percentages. For example, you can use a pie chart to represent presidential election results by showing what percentage of voters voted for the Democratic presidential candidate, the Republican candidate, and candidates from other political parties.

Figure 14.5

Source: http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/2008presgeresults.pdf

Bar graphs work well when you want to show similarities and differences in numerical data. Horizontal or vertical bars help viewers compare data from different groups, different time periods, and so forth. For instance, the bar graph in Figure 14.6 allows the viewer to compare data on the five countries that have won the most Olympic medals since the modern games began in 1924: Norway, the United States, the former Soviet Union, Germany, and Austria. Bar graphs can effectively show trends or patterns in data as well.

Figure 14.6

Source: http://www.nbcolympics.com/medals/all-time-standings/index.html

Line Graphs

Like bar graphs, line graphs show trends in data. Line graphs are usually used to show trends in data over time. For example, the line graph in Figure 14.7 shows changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average—an economic index based on trading information about thirty large, US-based public companies. This graph shows where the Dow closed at the end of each business day over a period of five days.

Figure 14.7

Source: http://www.google.com/finance/historical?cid=983582&startdate=May+17%2C+2010&enddate=May+21%2C+2010

In this exercise, you will begin to refine your ideas for incorporating media into your presentation. Complete the following steps on your own sheet of paper.

• Revisit the list you brainstormed for Note 14.12 “Exercise 3” in Chapter 14 “Creating Presentations: Sharing Your Ideas” , Section 14.1 “Organizing a Visual Presentation” and the annotated outline you developed for Note 14.17 “Exercise 4” .
• Analyze the two different types of visual aids: images and informational graphics. Identify at least two places in your presentation where you might incorporate visual aids.
• Evaluate the purpose of the visual aid. Does it create emotional impact, or does it organize information? Is the visual effective?
• Determine whether you will be able to create the visual aid yourself or will need to find it.

Creating Original Visual Aids

You will include original visual aids in your presentation to add interest, present complex information or data more clearly, or appeal to your audience’s emotions. You may wish to create some visual aids by hand—for instance, by mounting photographs on poster board for display. More likely, however, you will use computer-generated graphics.

Computer-generated visual aids are easy to create once you learn how to use certain office software. They also offer greater versatility. You can print hard copies and display them large or include them in a handout for your audience. Or, if you are working with presentation software, you can simply insert the graphics in your slides.

Regardless of how you proceed, keep the following guidelines in mind:

• Create visual aids with purpose. Think carefully about how they will enhance your message, and choose a form that is appropriate for your content.
• Strive for quality. You do not need the skills of a professional photographer or designer, but do take time to make sure your visual aids are neat, attractive, and legible. Proofread for errors, too.

Using Software to Create Visual Aids

You can use standard office software to create simple graphics easily. The following guidelines describe how to work with word-processing software and presentation software.

Working with Photographs

Most personal computers come equipped with some basic image-editing software, and many people choose to purchase more advanced programs as well. You can upload photographs from a digital camera (or in some cases, a cell phone) or scan and upload printed photographs. The images can then be edited and incorporated into your presentation. Be sure to save all of your images in one folder for easy access.

Creating Tables

To create a table within a word-processing document consult your software program’s help feature or an online tutorial. Once you have created the table, you can edit and make any additional changes. Be sure that the table has no more than six to seven rows or columns because you do not want to compromise the size of the text or the readability. Aligning with precision will help your table look less crowded. Also, the row and column titles should spell out their contents.

Creating Graphs

Figure 14.8

Pie charts and bar and line graphs can also be created using standard office software. Although you can create these graphics within a document, you will need to work with both your word-processing application and your spreadsheet application to do so. The graph should visually explain the data using colors, titles, and labels. The use of color will help the audience distinguish information; however, avoid colors that are hard on the eyes, such as lime green or hot pink. The title should clearly state what the graph explains. Lastly, avoid using acronyms in the titles and other labels.

Creating Graphics in an Electronic Presentation

If you plan to work only with hard copy graphics during your presentation, you may choose to create them as word-processing documents. However, if you are using presentation software, you will need to choose one of the following options:

• Create your graphics using the presentation software program.
• Create your graphics within another program and import them.

Standard office presentation software allows you to create informational graphics in much the same way you would create them within a word-processing application. Keep the formatting palette, a menu option that allows you to customize the graphic, open while you use the software. The formatting menu provides options for inserting other types of graphics, such as pictures and video. You may insert pictures from an image bank available within the program, or insert images or video from your own desktop files. Shape your use of multimedia in accordance with the message your presentation is trying to convey, the purpose, and your audience.

Creating Visual Aids by Hand

Most of the time, using computer-generated graphics is more efficient than creating them by hand. Using office software programs helps give your graphics a polished appearance while also teaching you skills that are useful in a variety of jobs. However, it may make sense to use hand-created visual aids in some cases—for instance, when showing a 3-D model would be effective. If you follow this route, be sure to devote extra time to making sure your visual aids are neat, legible, and professional.

Flip charts are inexpensive and quick visual aids used during face-to-face presentations. The flip chart can be prepared before, as well as during, the presentation. Each sheet of paper should contain one theme, idea, or sketch and must be penned in large letters to be seen by audience members farthest away from the speaker.

Writing Captions

Any media you incorporate should include a caption or other explanatory text. A caption is a brief, one- to two-sentence description or explanation of a visual image. Make sure your captions are clear, accurate, and to the point. Use full sentences when you write them.

Captions should always be used with photographs, and in some cases, they can be useful for clarifying informational graphics, which represent qualitative data visually. However, informational graphics may not require a caption if the title and labels are sufficiently clear. For other visual media, such as video footage, providing explanatory text before or after the footage will suffice. The important thing is to make sure you always include some explanation of the media.

In this exercise, you will begin to develop visual aids for your presentation. Complete the steps in this exercise—and enjoy the chance to be creative. Working with visuals can be a pleasant way to take a break from the demands of writing.

• Revisit the ideas you developed in Note 14.24 “Exercise 1” . Choose at least two ideas that you can create. ( Note: If you are using software to develop a slideshow presentation, count this as one of your self-created visual aids. Include at least one other self-created visual aid, such as an original photograph, within your slideshow.)
• Get creative! Take your photographs, construct a 3-D model, create informational graphics, or work on your presentation slides. Develop good working drafts.
• After you have completed drafts of your visual aids, set them aside for a while. Then revisit them with a critical eye. First, check any text included with the graphic. Make sure your facts are correct, your words are clear and concise, and your language is free of errors.
• Next, evaluate how well your aids work visually. Are they large enough to be seen and read from a distance? Are captions and labels easy to find? Are photographs of reasonably high quality? Ask someone else for feedback, too.
• Begin making any needed changes. As you proceed through the rest of this section, continue to revisit your work to improve it as needed.

Collaboration

Please share the first version of your visual aids with a classmate. Examine what they have produced. On a separate piece of paper, note both the elements that catch your attention and those that would benefit from clarification. Return and compare notes.

Testing and Evaluating Visual Aids

Regardless of how you create your visual aids, be sure to test-drive them before you deliver your presentation. Edit and proofread them, and if possible, show them to someone who can give you objective feedback. Use the following checklist.

Checklist 14.1

Visual Aid Evaluation Checklist

• Visual aids are clearly integrated with the content of the presentation
• Photographs and illustrations suit the overall tone of the presentation
• Images and text are large and clear enough for the viewer to see or read
• Images are shown with explanatory text or a caption
• Informational graphics include clear, easy-to-read labels and headings
• Text within informational graphics is easy to read (Watch out for wordiness and crowded text or a font that is too small and hard to read.)
• Formatting choices (color, different fonts, etc.) organize information effectively
• Any text within graphics is free of errors
• Hyperlinks within slides function properly
• Display text for hyperlinks is concise and informative (Never paste a link into a slide without modifying the display text.)

Writing at Work

Office software includes many options for personalizing a presentation. For instance, you can choose or create a theme and color scheme, modify how one slide transitions to the next, or even include sound effects. With so many options, students and employees sometimes get carried away. The result can seem amateurish and detract from, rather than enhance, your presentation.

Remember, you are delivering a presentation, not producing a movie. Use the customization options to help give your presentations a consistent, polished, appearance. However, do not let these special effects detract from the substance of your slides.

Using Existing Visual Media

Depending on your topic, you may be able to find images and other graphics you can use instead of creating your own. For instance, you might use photographs from a reputable news source or informational graphics created by a government agency. If you plan to use visual aids created by others, keep the following guidelines in mind:

• Set a purpose before you begin your search. You will search more efficiently if you start with a general idea of what you are looking for—a line graph of unemployment rates for the past twelve months, for example, or a video clip of the most recent State of the Union address.
• Filter out visual aids that are not relevant. You may come across eye-catching graphics and be tempted to use them even if they are only loosely related to your topic, simply because they are attention getting. Resist the temptation. If the graphic is not clearly connected to your point, it does not belong in your presentation.
• Read carefully. In addition to reading labels, headings, and captions, read any text that accompanies the visual. Make sure you understand the visual in its original context. For informational graphics, make sure you understand exactly what information is being represented. (This may seem obvious, but it is easy to misread graphic information. Take the time to examine it carefully.)
• Evaluate sources carefully and record source information. When you look for visual media to complement your presentation, you are conducting research. Apply the same standards you used for your research paper. Choose reliable sources, such as reputable news organizations, government and nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions. Verify data in additional sources. Finally, be sure to document all source information as you proceed.

Searching Efficiently for Visual Media

You will probably find it most efficient to use the Internet to search for visual aids. Many students begin by typing keywords into a search engine to locate related images. However, this search technique is not necessarily efficient, for several reasons:

• It often pulls up hundreds or even thousands of images, which may be only loosely related to your search terms.
• It can sometimes be difficult to understand the image in its original context.
• It can be hard to find copyright information about how you may use the image.

A more efficient strategy is to identify a few sources that are likely to have what you are looking for, and then search within those sites. For instance, if you need a table showing average life expectancy in different countries, you might begin with the website of the World Health Organization. If you hope to find images related to current events, news publications are an obvious choice. The Library of Congress website includes many media related to American history, culture, and politics.

Searching this way has the following advantages:

• You will often find what you are looking for faster because you are not wasting time scrolling through many irrelevant results.
• If you have chosen your sources well, you can be reasonably certain that you are getting accurate, up-to-date information.
• Images and informational graphics produced by reputable sources are likely to be high quality—easy to read and well designed.

If you do choose to use a search engine to help you locate visual media, make sure you use it wisely. Begin with a clear idea of what you are looking for. Use the advanced search settings to narrow your search. When you locate a relevant image, do not download it immediately. Read the page or site to make sure you understand the image in context. Finally, read the site’s copyright or terms of use policy—usually found at the bottom of the home page—to make sure you may use the material.

If you are unable to find what you are looking for on the Internet consider using print sources of visual media. You may choose to mount these for display or scan them and incorporate the files into an electronic presentation. (Scanning printed pages may lower the quality of the image. However, if you are skilled at using photo-editing software, you may be able to improve the quality of the scanned image.)

Inserting Hyperlinks in an Electronic Presentation

If you are working with images, audio, or video footage available online, you may wish to insert a link within your presentation. Then, during your presentation, you can simply click the link to open the website in a separate window and toggle between windows to return to your presentation slides.

To insert a hyperlink within your presentation, click on insert in the toolbar and then select hyperlink from the menu. Doing so will open a dialogue box where you can paste your link and modify the accompanying display text shown on your slide.

Copyright and Fair Use

Before you download (or scan) any visual media, make sure you have the right to use it. Most websites state their copyright and terms of use policy on their home page. In general, you may not use other people’s visual media for any commercial purpose without contacting the copyright holder to obtain permission and pay any specified fees.

Copyright restrictions are somewhat more ambiguous when you wish to download visual media for educational uses. Some educational uses of copyrighted materials are generally considered fair use —meaning that it is legally and ethically acceptable to use the material in your work. However, do not assume that because you are using the media for an educational purpose, you are automatically in the clear. Make sure your work meets the guidelines in the following checklist. If it does, you can be reasonably confident that it would be considered fair use in a court of law and always give credit to the source.

Checklist 14.2

Media Fair Use Checklist

• You are using the media for educational purposes only.
• You will make the work available only for a short period and to a limited audience. For instance, showing a copyrighted image in a classroom presentation is acceptable. Posting a presentation with copyrighted images online is problematic. In addition, avoid any uses that would allow other people to easily access and reproduce the work.
• You have used only as much of the work as needed for your purposes. For video and audio footage, limit your use to no more than 10 percent of the media—five minutes of an hour-long television show, for example. Image use is harder to quantify, but you should avoid using many images from the same source.
• You are using the media to support your own ideas, not replace them. Your use should include some commentary or place the media in context. It should be a supporting player in your presentation—not the star of the show.
• You have obtained the material legally. Purchase the media if necessary rather than using illegally pirated material.
• Your use of the media will not affect the copyright holder or benefit you financially.

By following these guidelines, you are respecting the copyright holder’s right to control the distribution of the work and to profit from it.

In some fields, such as teaching, job applicants often submit a professional portfolio to a prospective employer. Recent college graduates may include relevant course work in their portfolios or in applications to graduate school. What should you do if your course work uses copyrighted visual media?

This use of media is acceptable according to fair use guidelines. Even though you are using the work for your personal professional advancement, it is not considered an infringement on copyright as long as you follow the additional guidelines listed in the previous checklist.

Crediting Sources

As you conduct your research, make sure you document sources as you proceed. Follow the guidelines when you download images, video, or other media from the Internet or capture media from other sources. Keep track of where you accessed the media and where you can find additional information about it. You may also provide a references page at the end of the presentation to cite not only media and images but also the information in the text of your presentation. See Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” for more information on creating a reference page.

Write captions or other explanatory text for visual media created by others, just as you would for media you created. Doing so helps keep your audience informed. It also helps ensure that you are following fair use guidelines by presenting the media with your commentary, interpretation, or analysis. In your caption or elsewhere in your presentation, note the source of any media you did not create yourself. You do not need to provide a full bibliographical citation, but do give credit where it is due.

In this exercise, you will locate visual aids created by others and continue developing the work you began earlier. Complete these steps.

1. Revisit the ideas you developed in Note 14.24 “Exercise 1” . Choose at least two ideas for which it would make more sense to find the visual aid than to create it yourself. 2. Use the search tips provided in this section to locate at least two visual aids from reputable sources that you can use. Prepare them for your presentation by adding clarifying text as needed. Be sure to credit your source. 3. Incorporate the visual aids you created in Note 14.26 “Exercise 2” and Note 14.32 “Exercise 3” into your presentation. This may involve preparing physical copies for display or inserting graphic files into an electronic presentation.

4. Take some time now to review how you will integrate the visual and verbal components of your presentation.

• If you are working with presentation software, refine your slides. Make sure the visual approach is consistent and suits your topic. Give your text a final proofread.
• If you are not using presentation software, review the annotated outline you created in Note 14.24 “Exercise 1” . Update it as needed to reflect your current plan. Also, determine how you will physically set up your visual aids.

Key Takeaways

• Visual aids are most effective when they are chosen with the purpose and audience in mind. They serve to add emotional impact to a presentation and to organize information more clearly.
• Visual aids should always be clearly related to the presenter’s ideas. Captions, labels, and other explanatory text help make the connection clear for the audience.
• Like writing, developing the visual components of a presentation is a process. It involves generating ideas, working with them in a draft format, and then revising and editing one’s work.
• Visual aids can be divided into two broad categories—image-based media and informational graphics.
• Widely available software programs make it relatively easy to create visual aids electronically, such as photo images, charts, and graphs.
• When using visual aids created by others, it is important to apply good research skills, follow guidelines for fair use, and credit sources appropriately.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Using visual aids during a presentation or training session

June 21, 2018 - Gini Beqiri

Visual aids can enhance your presentations – they can increase the audience’s understanding of your topic, explain points, make an impact and create enthusiasm. It has become more important to make information visual:

“Something is happening. We are becoming a visually mediated society. For many, understanding of the world is being accomplished, not through words, but by reading images” – ( Lester, 2006 )

In this article, we discuss how to use visual aids for presentations or training sessions.

What are visual aids?

Visual aids are items of a visual manner, such as graphs, photographs, video clips etc used in addition to spoken information. Visual aids are chosen depending on their purpose, for example, you may want to:

• Summarise information.
• Reduce the amount of spoken words, for example, you may show a graph of your results rather than reading them out.
• Clarify and show examples.
• Create more of an impact, for example, if your presentation is on the health risks of smoking, you may show images of the effects of smoking on the body rather than describing this. You must consider what type of impact you want to make beforehand – do you want the audience to be sad, happy, angry etc?
• Emphasise what you’re saying.
• Make a point memorable.
• Enhance your credibility .
• Engage the audience and maintain their interest.
• Make something easier for the audience to understand.

Preparation and use of visual aids

Once you have decided that you want to use a visual aid, you must ensure that the audience is able to quickly understand the image – it must be clear. They can be used throughout your speech but try to only use visual aids for essential points as it can be tiring for the audience to skip from one visual to another.

Preparation

• Think about how can a visual aid can support your message. What do you want the audience to do?
• Ensure that your visual aid follows what you’re saying or this will confuse the audience.
• Avoid cluttering the image as it may look messy and unclear.
• Visual aids must be clear, concise and of a high quality.
• Keep the style consistent, such as, the same font, colours, positions etc
• Use graphs and charts to present data.
• The audience should not be trying to read and listen at the same time – use visual aids to highlight your points.
• One message per visual aid, for example, on a slide there should only be one key point.
• Use visual aids in moderation – they are additions meant to emphasise and support main points.
• Ensure that your presentation still works without your visual aids in case of technical problems.
• Practice using the visual aids in advance and ask friends and colleagues for feedback. Ask them whether they can clearly see the visual aid and how they interpret it.

During the presentation

• Ensure that the visual aids can be seen by everyone in the audience.
• Face the audience most of the time rather than the image.
• Avoid reading from the visual aid.
• As soon as you show the visual aid the audience’s attention will be drawn to it so you must immediately explain it. You will be ignored if you talk about something else.
• Make it clear to the audience why you are using it.
• When you no longer need the visual aid ensure that the audience can’t see it.

Tailor to your audience

Choose your visual aids tactically so you appeal to your audience. This means finding images your audience can relate to, images they will find familiar and images they will like. Also think about what style of visual aid is suitable for the audience; is it quite a serious presentation? Can you be humorous? Is it more formal or informal?

Example of using visual aids

When watching this video, notice how the presenters:

• Talk to the audience while writing
• Turn their body to the audience while writing
• Don’t spend too long writing in one session

Types of visual aids

There are a variety of different types of visual aids, you must decide which will suit your presentation and your audience.

Microsoft PowerPoint is widely used for presentations because it’s easy to create attractive and professional presentations and it’s simple to modify and reorganise content compared to other visual aids. You can  insert a range of visual items  into the slides which will improve the audience’s focus. Also, the audience can generally see slideshows better than other visual aids and you don’t have to face away from them. However, your presentation can look unprofessional if this software is used poorly.

• Have a clear and simple background.
• Avoid using too many different types of fonts or font sizes.
• Only use animations for a purpose, such as, to reveal the stages of a process, otherwise this can be distracting and look amateurish.
• Use a large font size – a minimum of 24pt.
• Use bullet points to summarise key points.
• Consider providing handouts of diagrams because the audience will find the diagrams easier to read.
• Avoid putting too much text on a slide.
• Avoid using red or green text as it’s difficult to read.
• There should only be one key point for each slide.
• Always have a back-up plan in case there is a technical issue and you cannot show the visuals on the day, for example, bring handouts or a poster.

Whiteboards

Whiteboards are great for providing further explanations, such as, showing the order of a process, creating diagrams or explaining complex words or phrases. They’re often used to display headings and write down audience suggestions. Whiteboards are also ideal for displaying important information for the entire duration of the presentation, such as, key definitions, because the audience can just glance at the whiteboard for a reminder.

• Ensure that enough time has passed for the audience to take notes before rubbing something off of the whiteboard.
• Write concisely to avoid facing away from the audience for too long.
• Handwriting must be large and legible.
• Practice beforehand as you may feel nervous about writing in front of an audience at the time.

Handouts are papers that contain key information from your presentation or they may provide further information. They prevent you from overwhelming the audience as there will be less information on the slides and therefore less information they need to write down.

You must consider when you want to give the audience the handouts:

• If given at the beginning and middle of your presentation the audience may be reading rather than listening to you or they might not pay attention to what you’re saying as they already have the information.
• If given at the end of your presentation the audience may be trying to take lots of notes which may reduce the amount of information they are actually understanding.

To manage this, provide the audience with partially completed handouts so they will have to listen to what you’re saying to be able to fill in the gaps. Providing the audience with graphs and charts beforehand is also beneficial because the audience will find them easier to read than, for example, from a slide.

• Tips on creating handouts for your presentation

Video clips

Using videos are a great wait to  engage the audience  and increase their interest. Use video to bring motion, images and audio into your presentation.

• Ensure that any videos used are relevant to the presentation’s content.
• Only show as much of the video as necessary.
• Never show a really long clip.
• Videos can be difficult to fit into the structure of a presentation so ensure that you tell that audience why you’re showing them a clip and tell them what to look for.
• Inform the audience how long the video will last.

Flip charts offer a low cost and low tech solution to record and convey information as you speak. They’re more beneficial for smaller audiences and they are favoured for brainstorming sessions as you can gather ideas easily. Flip charts are also widely used for summarising information and, like with a whiteboard, you can use them to show permanent background information.

• Before your presentation, place the flip chart in a location that you can easily access.
• Prepare any sheets you can in advance, even if you can only write down the headings.
• Flip charts can be moved so you can avoid facing away from the audience – stand next to it and continue to face the audience.
• Have only one main idea per sheet.
• Write legibly, largely and in block capitals so it’s more visible.
• Check with the audience that they can read the text – do not use a flipchart if there is a large audience.
• Only write in black and blue ink. Red ink is good for circling or underlining.
• Using a pencil write notes to yourself beforehand so you remember what to include – the audience will not see this writing. Also drawing lines in pencil beforehand can keep your handwriting straight.
• Flip back through the sheets to consolidate points.
• Practice writing on the flip chart advance as you may feel nervous at the time of presenting.

Poster boards can be created using a variety of visual devices, such as graphs and images. They’re generally quite portable and you can make them as elaborate as you want. However, they can be expensive to produce if the poster is quite complex.

• One poster per message or theme
• Use block capitals
• Avoid using posters when presenting to large audiences as they will not be able to see the content

Product, objects or artefacts

Objects can be useful tools for making an impact or even for making a dull topic more interesting. Sometimes they’ll be needed for technical and practical reasons, such as, showing a model or conducting an experiment.

• If you are presenting to a small audience consider passing the object around but provide enough time so they won’t have to divide their attention between the object and what you’re saying.
• If the audience is large ensure that you move the object around so everyone sees it.
• The audience will be more distracted from what you’re saying when they’re looking at the object so keep it hidden until the right time and provide the background information before revealing it.
• Explain why you’re using the object.
• If you are conducting an experiment or demonstration, move slowly with exaggerated movements so the audience can follow. Also explain precisely what’s going on.

Two examples of live product demos:

Key points for using visual aids

Try to find out what the presentation room is like beforehand, such as, the layout of the room, the equipment etc, so you can see if your visual aids are appropriate and whether they will work there but always have a contingency plan regardless. Also remember that the audience should be able to understand an image almost immediately.

Before your presentation, ensure that you  practice with your visual aids  so you know how to operate the equipment. If something goes wrong you’ll have a better chance of solving the problem.

Research suggests that using colour increases people’s motivation to read and their enthusiasm for a presentation. Software like PowerPoint is great for producing colour visuals.

Using the colour wheel can help when choosing your presentation’s colours:

• Colours opposite each other in the wheel are complementary and they create contrast. Using complementary colours makes your text more readable.
• Colours next to each other are analogous and they are harmonious. Using analogous colours makes your presentation more unified.

The  Adobe colour wheel , which helps you pick complementary colours for your presentation design.

Avoid using too many colours in your presentation as this can look cluttered and unprofessional and keep your colour themes continuous, for example, if you highlight all the key words on one slide in blue, continue to do this throughout the presentation. Also be careful with colour associations, for example, in many cultures red is linked to danger. Try to represent your words and topics with colours that make sense and are appropriate.

Many people are blue-green or red-green colour-blind so avoid putting these colours next to each other’s in, for example, a graph. If you cannot avoid placing these colours next to each other then use text to clearly label items.

Research suggests that information displayed visually is well remembered: “retention of information three days after a meeting or other event is six times greater when information is presented by visual and oral means than when the information is presented by the spoken word alone.” ( U.S. Department of Labor OSHA Office of Training and Education, 1996 )

There is also significant evidence suggesting that most learning occurs visually – some researchers suggest that 83% of human learning happens visually. The psychologist Bruner conducted multiple studies which suggest that people remember 80% of what they see and do, 20% of what they read and only 10% of what they hear.

Visual aids are worth including in your presentations because they can help you explain information more coherently which makes presenting easier for you and learning easier for the audience. They also help add variety to your presentation thus making it more interesting for the audience. If the audience understand what you’re saying and they are more engaged, they’re more likely to be persuaded by you.

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Visual Aids Presentations: How to Make a Powerful Impact

When you step up to give a presentation, you want to make sure that your message won’t get lost in translation. Enter the power of Visual Aids.

Whether you’re giving a business presentation to a room of colleagues, or speaking to a hundred people at a seminar, using visual aids can really help capture their attention. When used effectively, visual presentations are like taking a mental roller coaster—you start with a few warm-up slides , then you’re off to the races, and by the time you finish, it feels as if you’ve been on an unforgettable journey.

But how do you make sure your visual presentation sticks the landing? In this blog post, we’ll discuss the key components of creating a powerful visual aid presentation that will have the impact you desire. So, warm up the engines, get ready for takeoff and let’s learn how to make a powerful visual presentation!

Why Use Visual Aids for Presentations?

As technologies and audiences continually evolve, visual aids play an increasingly vital role in how presenters engage with their audience. Visuals can stimulate the audience’s interest, help them stay focused, and ultimately make a far more powerful impression. Below are some of the key reasons why presenters should incorporate visuals into their presentations: 1. Enhance Comprehension: It has been shown that visuals can significantly enhance comprehension by up to 89%. This is because visuals provide a clear, easy-to-understand way of displaying complex concepts and data that would take far longer to explain using words alone. Additionally, presenting information with visuals reinforces key points and encourages viewers to remember the main message of the presentation. 2. Attention Grabbing: Because visuals can quickly capture the attention of a viewer they make it easier for presenters to focus their audience’s attention on the most important parts of the presentation. This means presenters do not need to rely solely on verbal explanations and often dramatic charts or results can draw audiences in at just the right moment. This can be especially effective during board meetings or high-level projects when stakeholders need to quickly grasp important information. 3. Improved Memorability: In an age where most of us are bombarded with information from screens, emails and text messages, simply reading aloud from a script often loses its impact over time. By leveraging visuals such as graphs, infographics and compelling images, it is much easier for speakers to keep their audience interested and engaged for extended periods of time. This helps both parties maintain a clear understanding of what is being presented and makes it easier for attendees to remember crucial facts months down the road. The potential downsides of visual aids presentations include clutter, distraction and a lack of engagement if visuals are poorly executed or there is too much discussion around individual slides that gets away from the core message or goal of each slide. To avoid this problem it is critical that the presenter prepares visuals carefully so that each one reinforces the message being conveyed without becoming overly focused on data points or causing distraction. Visual aids offer numerous benefits for improving communication , engagement, engagement and memorability when used correctly within presentations, which will be discussed further in the next section on “Improved Communication and Engagement.

Improved Communication and Engagement

For a presentation to be truly successful, communicative and engaging elements are essential. Through the use of visuals, communication during presentations can be greatly enhanced and interactive dialogue can easily be spurred. The simple addition of visual aids can help attendees pay closer attention to the speaker and better understand the main points of the presentation. This helps prevent confusion as attendees are drawn to different slides as topics transition throughout the presentation. Arguments have been raised that visual aids have a higher potential for confusing rather than clarifying content when used inappropriately. It is possible for some presenters to place too much focus on their slides, taking away from their own storytelling or providing additional and unnecessary information than what is needed. Although there is potential for visuals to obscure communication, the counter argument suggests that with appropriate preparation, visual aids can lead to deeper understanding rather than confusion. With careful preparation and understanding of one’s audience and material, presentations can be influential tools to educate attendees and draw them in with captivating visuals that engage. By understanding engagement patterns, presenters should strive for adding visuals as supplements to chosen content that further illustrate topics of discussion rather than subtracting from them. With this approach in mind, presenters should ensure they are engaging with their audience while using visuals as an extra layer of communication, rather than a distraction from their main message. The thoughtful consideration of these aspects during preparation is integral for making a powerful impact during visual aid presentations. This leads into the next section which will discuss tips on how to prepare effectively before giving a presentation with visuals.

Preparation for Visual Aids Presentations

Prior to giving a visual aid presentation, there are some key steps to ensure optimum success. An important aspect of any presentation is preparation and proper planning . Planning entails organizing the information one wishes to impart as well as understanding who the audience is and what they need or expect from the presentation. Preparation helps identify weaknesses before the day of the presentation so they can be addressed beforehand. The other key element is the content itself. When creating a presentation, it’s important to ensure that all material is accurate, relevant, and well-researched. If using graphical elements such as diagrams and images, assess their relevance and accuracy in order to make sure the visuals add value instead of detracting from your message. Furthermore, find a way to explain complex concepts in simple terms using visuals as an aid rather than relying solely on a lengthy explanation. It might also be beneficial to choose a tool that allows for interactivity with attendees . This could come in the form of an audience poll or game that engages participants and allows them to gain more insight into your topic during the presentation. When constructing the slides themselves, keep them simple with minimal text and use appropriate colors that coordinate with each other while allowing different aspects of your visuals to stand out. Also avoid long paragraphs; instead, break up content into chunks within separate slides. As a general rule of thumb, fewer slides usually means more successful presentations. Lastly, time spent rehearsing will pay off during the live performance; if you feel comfortable enough presenting to coworkers or peers beforehand, do so in order to receive feedback and perfect your craft ahead of time. In this way, you can be confident in knowing what to expect once standing in front of a larger crowd about to deliver your presentation with visual aids. Having gone through these preparatory steps for a powerful visual aid presentation, the next step is determining exactly how these visuals will communicate your message effectively: What are you trying to communicate?

What Are You Trying to Communicate?

When determining the goal of a presentation , it is important to consider what one is trying to communicate. Visual aids can be used to demonstrate an idea or concept , show relationships between data, uncover social trends and patterns, or illustrate complex information in an easier-to-understand way. Depending on the type of visual aids, presenters may opt for a straightforward approach or choose methods designed to evoke emotion from their audience. For analytical presentations where technical visuals such as graphs are used, precision and accuracy are paramount. Presenters need to ensure that their data is accurate and their visuals clearly convey the message they are trying to communicate. On the other hand, when creating emotional visuals geared towards storytelling, identifying the right images or videos to represent the story can help ensure viewers understand the desired message. Both analytical presentations using technical visuals and emotional storytelling visuals are essential tools in making an impactful and powerful presentation. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses that should be taken into consideration when deciding which format best suits the presented materials and content. With this knowledge, speakers can leverage both types of visual aids to create powerful presentations tailored to their unique needs. Finally, as a presenter, you should have a clear understanding of what you are trying to communicate in your presentation before selecting any visual aides. With this knowledge in mind, you can move forward to the next section about Visual Aids Tools and Examples for helpful tips on choosing the right tools for your presentation.

Visual Aids Tools and Examples

Visual aids – such as pictures, charts, and graphs – can be powerful tools for making presentations more effective. They are essential for helping people understand the concept being discussed, and for creating a more engaging experience. However, when used improperly, visual aids can distract from the main message or become a crutch. In order to maximize their impact, it is important to understand which types of visual aids are most appropriate for different kind of presentations. Commonly used visual aid tools include infographics, diagrams, photos, slideshows, videos, and other multimedia. Smartly designed diagrams can help simplify complex information into a graphic representation that is easier to understand and remember. Infographics are useful when you want to convey data in a visually appealing way while keeping the focus on the key points. Photos create an emotional connection with the audience and can be used to strengthen your point. Slideshows are popular options for making PowerPoint presentations more dynamic, while videos can upgrade any presentation by providing an entertaining yet informative way to engage listeners. On one hand, visuals help audiences remember information better by giving them something concrete to relate to and take away after the presentation is over. On the other hand, too many visuals may make it difficult for them to focus on what’s being said or cause confusion about which points are most important. Thus it is important to choose visuals thoughtfully and judiciously when designing a presentation in order to both capture attention and effectively convey the message intended. To make your presentation even more powerful, consider incorporating graphic design elements into the visuals you choose. Graphic design techniques such as color theory and typography can be used to help viewers recognize patterns or relationships among ideas being presented that would otherwise remain hidden beneath words alone. These techniques also create visual interest which engages viewers for longer periods of time and keeps them actively taking in new information as opposed to simply passing through it without learning anything along the way. So with careful consideration given toward both content and context of visuals selected for a presentation, combined with an understanding of how graphics design principles work together; massive impact can be created through effective visual aids. This brings us now to examine PowerPoint and graphic design in greater detail as part of our next section.

PowerPoint and Graphic Design

When considering visuals within presentations, few tools can rival the popularity of PowerPoint. Much of its success is due to its ease of use – slides are easy to create, and the program has a wealth of features that make it suitable for all levels of users. For example, the ready-made slide designs and templates can help even inexperienced presenters to create visually appealing slides in no time with minimal effort. At the same time, however, it is important to recognize that there are times when PowerPoint may be ill suited for a particular scenario. For example, when giving a lecture or seminar on a complex topic, or when wanting to engage an audience with creative visuals. In addition, though PowerPoint contains tools for incorporating graphics into slides, those tools are limited in scope and power. Creating advanced graphics and animated images often requires access to more sophisticated graphic design software. Enterprising presenters should consider taking advantage of both PowerPoint and graphic design skills when planning a presentation. When used together in tandem they can create amazing visuals that engage an audience while also conveying complex information in simple terms. With such powerful visuals it is possible to craft presentations that make lasting impressions on your audience and leave them inspired by what they have seen and heard. Having established how effective combination of PowerPoint and graphic design can be in creating presentations that make a powerful impact, the next section will discuss how to incorporate engaging visuals into a presentation so that it is truly memorable.

Engaging Visuals

Visuals can often be the most powerful and engaging element of a presentation . Using a variety of visuals, such as charts, graphs, or images, can help capture an audience’s attention in ways that words alone might not. However, some debates exists as to when and how often visuals should be used in a presentation. Those who prioritize visuals believe that they are essential in conveying a message or idea quickly and effectively. They argue that a good visual aids presentation will leave a lasting impression on the audience. Good visuals allow the presenter to focus on delivering information in an engaging manner, rather than wasting time with factual reciting. Additionally, visuals can also act as memorable reminders for what was covered during the presentation. Others point out that too many visuals can detract from the impact of each one. In overloaded presentations, each individual visual will be viewed less seriously and thus have less influence overall. The importance of visuals may also vary depending on the desired outcome for the presentation. Some audiences need more detailed factual data than others, and therefore visuals may not always be necessary. Overall, there is no single way to use visuals – every presenter needs to decide what makes the most sense for their audience and goals. But when done strategically and thoughtfully, using visuals in presentations can lead to more powerful and impactful experiences overall. As we move on to our next section about Examples and Graphic Design, let’s discuss how you can design your own unique visuals for maximum impact.

Examples and Graphic Design

The visual content in a presentation can be nearly as vital as the words. After all, a good graphic illustration can communicate complex data quickly and effectively. As such, it is important to choose your design elements and examples carefully when creating a visual aid. When it comes to examples, experts suggest keeping them to relevant, evidence-based statements that support the key points of your argument. For example, if you are making the case for why a new software system should be adopted by your company, include specific figures related to cost savings or increased productivity to back up your claim. With this type of evidence strongly displayed in graphics, it will more easily resonate with the audience and make an impact. It is also important to pay attention to the overall graphic design. That means selecting vivid colors, bold fonts, and interesting infographics. Too many images or bright colors can seem overwhelming though, so strike a balance between clear points communicated effectively and eye-catching visuals. This will help keep your audience engaged while still providing necessary information. When it comes to using visual aids effectively, there are certain tools and strategies that can make a powerful impact on how well data is received. In the next section we will discuss some of those tips for successful visual presentations.

Using Visual Aids Effectively

Using visual aids effectively is essential for a successful presentation. Visual aids can capture the audience’s attention and engage them in the material. When used correctly, visual aids can also give ideas more clarity and help to reinforce key points. Many speakers debate just how effective visual aids actually are in helping to convey a message. On one hand, many people believe that visuals are helpful to conveying a message because viewers are able to clearly understand what’s being said better than if it were presented through words alone. According to research done by the University of Minnesota, visual aids can increase the amount of information retained by viewers in comparison to solely verbal presentations. Plus, visuals can draw on viewers’ emotions, which helps them stay engaged throughout a presentation. The other side of the argument is that overusing visual aids can be distracting and take away from the primary purpose—the speech itself. Too much emphasis on visuals may lead viewers to focus solely on the graphics instead of absorbing the actual content of the presentation. Also, if visuals are too complex, viewers may not pay attention due to having trouble understanding or deciphering the data being presented. Visual aids play an important role in making a powerful impact during a presentation. It’s imperative that presenters use them effectively and strive for balance between words and visuals for a successful outcome. To learn more about how to use visual aids with professionalism, continue reading for further details in the next section.

How to Use Visual Aids With Professionalism

Visual aids can be an important component of any successful presentation; they make it easier to understand specialized topics, tell stories , and draw the audience in. When used correctly, visual aids can greatly amplify the impact of a message and help any speaker deliver a memorable lecture or speech . It is important to consider how using visual aids affects the professionalism of a presentation. Too many elements can detract from the focus or cause confusion among the audience, while too few can leave them lacking in interest or engagement. That said, some types of visuals may not be suitable for certain settings. Political cartoons, for example, could be deemed inappropriate in professional contexts. It is wise for speakers to exercise discretion when deciding what visuals are appropriate within their field. Good visual design is critical for effective presentations. Visuals should be chosen carefully based on their purpose and should follow a consistent color scheme, font size, and typographical conventions. Engaging visuals are easy to read and visually appealing, with limited use of text. Speakers should also ensure that any graphics are formatted properly so that elements do not get cut off or appear scrunched together during the presentation. When using multimedia technologies in live presentations such as slideshows or videos, it pays to plan ahead and practice using the technology beforehand. This will allow the speaker to be confident in handling technical issues should they arise during the event. Additionally, set-up steps and plugging in cables should be done before beginning a presentation as they can be disruptive if done mid-presentation. In conclusion, visual aids can go a long way toward making a powerful impact provided they are used wisely and professionally. To make sure everything looks good and works correctly before delivering a presentation with visuals, speakers should carefully plan their content and rehearse with any hardware and software prior to presenting. This will ensure that the visuals remain engaging throughout the presentation, adding to its impact instead of distracting from it. Moving on from this section about how to use visual aids with professionalism, let us now move to our conclusion which will cover key takeaways from this article:

In conclusion, visual aids are powerful tools in presentations, helping to make a lasting impression on both internal and external stakeholders. Visual aids present information effectively, allowing your audience to learn more efficiently and retain more information long-term. They can help to clarify complex concepts and bring life to otherwise mundane slides. Using visuals can also create a positive energy in the room that helps strengthen engagement among attendees. However, there are some downsides to using visuals that you should be aware of before deciding to use them in your presentation. Visual aids can take up more time during the presentation in terms of creation and incorporation into the deck, while they can also detract from the overall content if they are poorly designed or used excessively. It is important that you have a plan for incorporating visuals into your presentation and keeping it efficient instead of overwhelming the audience. Furthermore, depending on the context, you may need to consider the impact of accessibility for visual assets – for example, if you’re presenting remotely or on different devices. This is particularly important if you’re sharing sensitive or confidential information. Visual aids can be extremely beneficial when used correctly – as long as you plan ahead and manage expectations with your audience, there is no limit to how great of an impact visuals can have on your presentation and its results!

Answers to Common Questions with Detailed Explanations

What types of visual aids are most effective for a presentation.

The most effective visual aids for a presentation depend on the type of information you are presenting and your audience. For example, if you are presenting facts or data, graphs or charts are great ways to communicate that information quickly and efficiently. Animations (e.g. videos) can be used to break up monotony and add visuals that captivate the audience. Infographics can also be highly effective for summarizing complex ideas in a single image. If you have access to more sophisticated technology, 3D models and augmented reality may also be used as visual aids during presentations. Ultimately, it’s important to use visuals that will catch your audience’s attention and keep them engaged throughout the presentation.

How should visual aids be used to most effectively support the presenter’s message?

Visual aids should be used to enhance the presenter’s message, rather than overwhelm or overshadow it. Doing so effectively means including visuals that are easy to understand and relevant to the content of the presentation. This could come in the form of graphs, videos, tables, photographs, illustrations and more. The key is to ensure that the visual element is integral to the underlying message; it should complement and enhance messages as opposed to distract from them. Visuals should also be used to support key facts and figures that may be difficult for an audience to easily take on board, as well as providing an interesting talking point for further discussion with attendees during question time. In short, visuals should be used strategically to help make the presentation more memorable, engaging and informative.

What tips and tricks will help me create engaging visual aids for my presentation?

When creating visual aids for a presentation, it’s important to keep in mind how they will contribute to your overall goal. Here are some tips that can help you make engaging and effective visual aids: 1. Be aware of the environment. The size, brightness and color of the room, or even the lighting, can all affect how well your visuals pop. Take into account the physical setting when designing your visuals. 2. Keep it simple. Too much clutter on your slides can be distracting and impede understanding. Instead, keep visuals clean, with plenty of white space. Choose legible fonts and use colors sparingly—stick to 1-2 colors at most. 3. Focus on one idea per slide. Don’t try to cram too much information onto each slide; instead, break down complex topics into simple graphics or bullet points that focus on one concept at a time. That way, viewers will be more likely to comprehend what you’re presenting. 4. Get creative! Visuals don’t have to be limited to charts and graphs—think out of the box and consider incorporating multimedia elements such as videos or animations into your slides to make them more dynamic and engaging. 5. Test your visuals ahead of time. Make sure that any content you plan on displaying is optimized for the platform you’ll be using–whether it’s a laptop, projector, or something else–and test it out beforehand so you know what works best for the room setup and audience size.