About Visual Aids
According to the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration, people retain only 10% of what they hear, 35% of what they see and 65% of what they see and hear at the same time. Because of this, a presentation that combines a speech with visual aids is more memorable than a speech alone.
Features
When you prepare your visual aid, ensure that your audience will be able to see and understand the content. Use a legible font, such as Arial or Courier New, that is easy to read. Some fonts, such as Edwardian Script, are difficult to read on a visual aid. As you type the information, restrict the content to seven or fewer words per line and employ no more than seven lines of text per aid. Add large, colorful illustrations to your visual aid if the illustrations directly relate to the information you're presenting. Don't let inappropriate images distract your audience from the message. For example, adding a large smiley face to a presentation about a grim subject, such as cancer treatment, would upset and confuse your audience.
Types
Visual aids come in many forms. Pie charts, flip charts, flow charts and bar charts are ideal for conveying comparisons of information. For example, you might use a chart to portray your company's sales fluctuations over each of the past ten years. Use slides to present photos of your product, or other images that support your presentation. Employ videos to demonstrate use your product when a live product demonstration isn't feasible. For example, an airplane manufacturer can screen a video of its planes flying and landing under various conditions. Computer presentations, utilizing software such as PowerPoint, are ideal if you make the same presentation in numerous locations simultaneously. A corporate trainer could use computer presentations to convey his message to multiple stores at the same time.
Considerations
Fully outline your presentation before preparing your visual aids. Employ visual aids to convey your main message and no more than five supporting points. Maintain your audience's attention and help them understand the material without distracting them from what you are saying. Strategically order the aids so you don't overwhelm the audience with unrelenting text or images.
Benefits
Keep your presentation from feeling crammed. If you intend to employ numerous visual aids within your presentation, distribute a full-color companion booklet to each audience member. Place any secondary visual aids in this book. Refer to the relevant pages to illustrate any minor points you must make. This saves your main visual aids for the critical points of your presentation. Audience members also can take the booklets home for review.
Potential
Three-dimensional visual aids are becoming more common, especially with the increasing popularity of virtual meetings. These advanced visual aids probably will replace traditional video for presentations, especially if the information the visual aid conveys is unlikely to change much over time. Three-dimensional imagery makes it easier to convey complex processes to an audience. On the downside, viewers may become distracted by the images and lose focus on what you are saying.
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