which of these are advantages of using presentation aids

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Presentation Aids: A Guide for Better Slide Design

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During a speech or presentation, information is conveyed orally. When relying solely on spoken words, a speaker may confuse and make it difficult for listeners to remember key facts. Therefore, combining presentation aids with oral explanations can improve the audience’s understanding and help them retain the main points.

This article defines what presentation aids are, their uses, different types of presentation aids, and their advantages and disadvantages.

Table of Contents

What is a Presentation Aid?

Are presentation aids the same as visual aids.

Why Should we use Presentation Aids?

When Should Presentation Aids be Used When Delivering a Presentation?

Types of presentation aids, recommended ppt & google slides templates for presentation aids.

According to Leon, presentation aid refers to the tools and materials used by a speaker beyond spoken words to enhance the communicated message to the audience [1]. These tools comprise templates, multimedia, and visual elements to improve engagement and clarity. Presentation aids act as a bridge between the speaker and the audience, facilitating a presentation.

For instance, the strategic use of templates and multimedia elements can elevate a presentation from a mere speech to a compelling narrative. Integrating these aids is rooted in established practices, ensuring a comprehensive and impactful message delivery. The proper use of presentation aids can improve the quality of the presentation.

No, presentation aids differ from visual aids. Visual aid is also a type of presentation aid mainly used by speakers [1]. Examples of visual aids include images, tables, maps, charts, and graphs. In contrast, presentation aid is a broader category, including templates, 3D models, transitions, audio clips, and multimedia elements. The use of presentation aids goes beyond visuals, offering a diverse set of resources to enhance engagement and communication effectiveness [2].

Why Should we use Presentation Aids?

Presentation Aids are used for specific purposes in a presentation. To enhance audience understanding and retention can be one of the primary purposes. In addition, presentation aids guide transitions so the audience may remain focused [1]. For instance, charts and maps allow speakers to communicate complex information quickly.

Templates and multimedia elements advance the professionalism of a presentation. At the same time, using slideshows clarifies a presentation’s organization In short, a presentation aid ensures a lasting impact on the audience [3].

Presentation aids must be used when a speaker wants to emphasize critical points or evoke an emotional response from the audience. Integrate presentation aids when conveying a complex concept . The strategic use of presentation aids, in line with speech, complements spoken words without overshadowing them. Whether visualizing data or incorporating multimedia elements, presentation aids are most effective when seamlessly integrated into a presentation.

Therefore, presentation aids must be used when the speaker is presenting a specific idea relevant to an aid [4]. Consider a scenario where a speaker delivers a presentation on renewable energy sources. If one of the key points involves the efficiency of solar panels. He can use, for example, a graph or chart illustrating the comparative efficiency rates of various types of solar panels and contrast that with their average lifespan.

Some types of presentation aids can be used in various presentations to assist the speaker. Highlighted advantages and disadvantages of various presentation aids allow presenters to use these presentational aids best.

When considering visual aids for a presentation, one immediately thinks of a slideshow. Slide presentation software, such as PowerPoint, Prezi, and Google Slide, is commonly used by speakers. A slideshow consists of slides containing words, images, or a blend of both, serving as a primary presentation aid [1]. Slide and slide-show design has a greater impact on the effectiveness of conveying a message to the audience.

PowerPoint and similar slideware offer easily editable templates for a consistent slide show appearance. These PowerPoint templates provide a structured framework reorganizing the design process and ensuring a consistent visual identity. Templates are easy to use and helpful for a consistent slideshow.

When using slide templates, a presenter needs to place images or graphs according to the message, medium, and audience. Each slide reinforces the key message, so a conscious decision about each element and concept is essential [5].

Place one idea or concept per slide to keep it simple and understandable. Do not overcrowd it with images or text. However, slideshows limit the audience’s participation which may cause boredom or confusion among the audience. At the same time, the strict order of slides bounds the presenter. He won’t be able to explain the topic openly [6]. Therefore, a presenter should be aware of the background and needs of the audience. By blending different flexible techniques, a presenter can elaborate his slideware presentation.

Charts and Graphs

Graphs and charts are essential for precise data visualization. They simplify complex information for clearer communication. In business presentations , where data-driven decisions are paramount, these visual aids offer advantages in conveying key insights concisely.

Graphs and charts extract complex numerical data into accessible formats and provide precision in representation. These are used to present trends, comparisons, and relationships, particularly in contexts requiring nuanced data analysis. Different charts have distinct purposes. Choosing the one that aligns with your data is essential to ensure clarity [3]. Pie charts, for instance, depict the relationship between parts and the whole. It is ideal to present up to eight visually distinct segments. A line graph effectively illustrates trends over time, while a bar chart facilitates direct comparisons between variables [3].

When creating charts, use different colors and provide clear labels. Maintain consistency in both colors and data groupings. For clarity, refrain from using 3-D graphs and charts. Minimize background noise, such as lines and shading [7]. Ensure that all elements of your graph are distinguishable from the background color. Remove unnecessary clutter. Keep graphs straightforward. Prioritize clarity in conveying your message and visually emphasize the intended conclusion for the audience [7].

Using graphs and charts can be challenging regarding effectiveness and ethics. Therefore, a solid grasp of statistical concepts is essential, and the chosen graphs should clearly represent quantities [3].

Align visual presentation aids to the audience and topic for optimal impact. In business scenarios, the ability to convey data insights efficiently improves decision-making processes. Beyond representation, graphs, and charts enhance audience understanding [2]. Visual learners benefit from the graphical depiction of information. The choice of graph or chart type should align with the audience’s familiarity with the subject matter.

3D Modeling

3D modeling implies creating realistic or abstract representations of objects, fictional characters, environments, or concepts through digital tools [9]. 3D modeling enhances visualization, making complex concepts more accessible. It is mainly used in the Engineering and Architectural fields. It improves audience understanding and visual engagement. Presenters can use this technique to provide a clearer understanding of intricate details. It allows the audience to visualize the inner workings of machinery, architectural designs, or scientific processes [8]. The dynamic nature of three-dimensional visuals captures and sustains the audience’s attention. This engagement is particularly beneficial in holding the audience’s interest throughout the presentation and prevents attention fatigue. However, presenters should be cautious to avoid visual overload. Ensure that the 3D elements enhance rather than distract from the main message.

Creating a 3D model for a presentation requires basic skills and knowledge of 3D modeling techniques. It includes modeling, texturing, lighting, and rendering [9]. Modeling involves shaping and structuring 3D models. Texturing applies color, pattern, or material using images or shaders. Lighting incorporates light sources and shadows to build the desired mood or atmosphere. However, for basic 3D models, a presenter can use PowerPoint to create or access available designs from online sources.

3D model for explaining concepts as a presentation aid

Moreover, these models enhance communication by creating animations, simulations, or demonstrations for understanding a point or process. The versatility of 3D models allows for generating various views, angles, or perspectives of a subject, facilitating customization based on audience or purpose.

Maps are highly valuable to use when information is clear and concise [3]. Different types of maps include population, geographical, political, climate, and economic maps [3]. Therefore, select the one that aligns with the presentation. Choose a map that highlights the specific information the speaker intends to convey. If a speech necessitates geographic reference, a map is an effective tool [7].

Maps provide precise visual communication of geographical data and help convey spatial relationships effectively.

Maps communicate information with clarity [7]. They are used to present global market trends, regional analyses, or any scenario where location-based insights matter. For instance, a world map can highlight key regions of interest when presenting global market trends. It helps the audience grasp the distribution of market opportunities.

The visual appeal of maps enhances audience engagement, particularly when presenting data tied to specific locations [10]. For a marketing presentation , a map showcasing the distribution of target demographics can capture attention and reinforce the spatial context of the campaign.

However, overly complex maps can confuse the audience. Similarly, relying on maps for all data types can lead to oversimplification.

Dry-Erase Board

The Dry-Erase Board is useful for brainstorming and note-taking. It is one of the ideal presentation materials for spontaneous discussions and audience engagement. It allows the presenter to make live diagrams and emphasize key points. At the same time, it is cost-effective and user-friendly.

Suppose a presenter chooses a dry-erase board. He needs to ensure that the board is presentable, rehearsed, and clear [7]. There are a few rules to remember before using a Dry-Erase Board as a presentation aid [3]. First, ensure legible writing is large enough for everyone to see. Use clear printing instead of cursive script. Use short phrases rather than complete sentences. Avoid turning away from the audience while speaking. Use markers that are functional and clean the board afterward.

The drawback of the Dry-Erase Board is that it has limited visibility in large settings. When using a Dry-Erase board, a presenter may seem less prepared. However, many speakers effectively use these boards for interactive elements in their speeches [3]. It is great for dynamic presentations, but space and audience size should be considered.

Brochures and Handouts

Brochures and handouts are tangible takeaways for the audience. They enhance information retention and serve as lasting references [11]. These presentation materials are effective in educational presentations or seminars, offering supplementary details for in-depth understanding.

There are a few things to consider when distributing handouts to the audience [7]. Provide a handout for each audience member, avoiding the need for sharing. Never distribute a single copy to pass around, as it detracts from a professional image. Handouts should be distributed before, during, or after the presentation. If audience participation is required, distribute handouts before starting or have a volunteer distribute them. Include only essential information, organized for clarity. If the handout is meant for audience follow-along, inform them of this and mention specific references during the speech [7].

However, potential disadvantages include the timing of distribution. Handing out materials at the wrong moment can distract the audience.

Audio Clips

Using an audio clip in a presentation introduces an auditory dimension. It evokes emotions and enhances the overall experience.

When using an audio clip, select a clip of appropriate length for your speech duration. Prior to speaking, familiarize yourself with audio or video equipment to avoid disruptions and maintain credibility. Ensure computer speakers are on and set to the right level of volume level [7].

However, potential disadvantages of audio include technical issues with sound playback. It requires presenters to ensure seamless integration. Besides, overuse of audio clips can also be overwhelming, requiring careful selection and timing.

Integrating prerecorded videos offers a dynamic means of presenting information, catering to visual learners, and capturing audience attention. Prepare short videos from platforms like YouTube or Vimeo, song segments, or podcasts before your speech [7]. Cue the clip to the right spot and ensure the browser window is open. Before playing the clip, Provide the audience with context about its relevance to the speech. Explain its connection and significance. Ensure the video enhances the message without duplicating information already conveyed [3].

A video demonstration of a complex process can significantly enhance understanding in a training session. However, presenters should be mindful of timing and integration to avoid disruptions. Technical issues during playback can also pose challenges. It requires thorough testing beforehand.

1. Price Corridor of the Target Mass Presentation Aid Template

which of these are advantages of using presentation aids

For presenters looking to implement the Blue Ocean Strategy in their organization, this presentation aid material gives emphasis on the potential pricing tiers and the difficulty of adapting that solution. Ideal for sales teams looking to innovate their pricing strategy.

Use This Template

2. Innovation Strategy Diagram Presentation Aid Material Template

Professionals seeking to introduce new strategy models can benefit from this highly visual strategy diagram template for PowerPoint & Google Slides. By using this matrix PPT slide, we can compare approaches and leverage them regarding the effort required for their implementation.

3. AIDAL Model Funnel Sales Presentation Aid

Whether your project requires brand awareness analysis or the steps that lead to customer loyalty, this funnel diagram for PowerPoint & Google Slides based on the AIDAL model is the ideal resource for your presentation. We can go stage by stage on the customer buyer journey, expanding details on the horizontal timeline shown right next to it.

4. Opportunities Solution Tree Template Presentation Aid for Product Development

Showcase your product discovery process by using our Opportunities Solution Tree PPT template. With this tree diagram presentation aid, we can easily arrange the customer pain points and streamline ideas that offer solutions to those emerging opportunities.

5. Business Brochure Aid for Presentation Handouts

Say goodbye to boring presentation handouts with this business-tailored brochure template for PowerPoint and Google Slides. In a two-sided format, companies can add relevant information about their activities, value proposals, and contact data.

6. Atlanta City Map and City Skyline Illustration Aids for Presentations

Among the multiple product offerings we have for map templates , we would like to highlight the particular style of this slide deck of Atlanta City. By accessing this product, you can get skyline silhouettes of Atlanta City, the Georgia State Capitol Building, maps in white and dark blue tones, bar charts, etc. They can be an ideal presentation aid example for users looking to deliver talks about local politics, new business venues, and more.

7. 3D Tetris Cube Visual Aid for a Presentation

How many times have you looked to create a 3D model to express an idea or concept made of different components? If so, this template ranks among the best examples of a visual aid. It’s almost instant to edit, as you just need to change the content in placeholder text areas and the colors, and that’s it.

8. Sprint Retrospective Presentation Aid Template for PowerPoint & Google Slides

This Sprint board template is the answer to the lack of clarity during sprint retrospective meetings. Scrum Masters can discuss in detail the aspects of the project covering what was considered a good job during the sprint, what was missing, what the team learned, and which are the new goals to achieve.

Turn your Agile presentations into powerful tools for action with this visual presentation aid!

[1] Leon, M., 2023. Presentation Aids. Public Speaking as Performance . https://opentext.ku.edu/publicspeakingperformance/chapter/presentation-aids/

[2] Shier, M. 2020. 11.3 Presentation Aids. Student Success . https://opentextbc.ca/studentsuccess/chapter/presentation-aids/

[3] Mapes, M. 2019. Presentation AIDS. Speak Out Call in Public Speaking as Advocacy. https://opentext.ku.edu/speakupcallin/chapter/chapter-10-presentation-aids/

[4] Functions of Presentation Aids. 2016. Public Speaking . https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/chapter/15-1-functions-of-presentation-aids/#:~:text=Presentation%20aids%20can%20help%20clarify,process%20is%20a%20complex%20one .

[5] Gruber, K. 2022. Chapter Fourteen – Presentation Aids, Principles of Public Speaking . https://mtsu.pressbooks.pub/principlesofpublicspeaking/chapter/chapter-fourteen-presentation-aids/

[6] Xingeng, D. and Jianxiang , L. 2012. Advantages and Disadvantages of PowerPoint in Lectures to ScienceStudents. I.J. Education and Management Engineering. MECS press. https://www.mecs-press.org/ijeme/ijeme-v2-n9/IJEME-V2-N9-10.pdf

[7] Goodman, Dr.L. and Amber Green, M.A. Presentation AIDS, Public Speaking . https://open.maricopa.edu/com225/chapter/need-presentation-aids/

[8] Vincenti, G. and Braman, J. 2011. Teaching through multi-user virtual environments: Applying dynamic elements to the modern classroom , Google Books. Available at: https://www.google.com.pk/books/edition/Teaching_through_Multi_User_Virtual_Envi/sekY2Iy5LdcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=3d%2Bmodelling%2Bas%2Ba%2Bpresentation%2Baid&pg=PA389&printsec=frontcover (Accessed: 27 November 2023).

[9] Mamgain, P., 2020. Autodesk 3ds Max 2020: A Detailed Guide to Modeling, Texturing, Lighting, and Rendering . Padexi Academy.

[10] 15.1 Functions of Presentation Aids. 2016. Public Speaking. Available at: https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/chapter/15-1-functions-of-presentation-aids/#:~:text=Presentation%20aids%20can%20help%20clarify,process%20is%20a%20complex%20one .

[11] Chapter 15 Presentation AIDS: Design and Usage . ( https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_stand-up-speak-out-the-practice-and-ethics-of-public-speaking/s18-presentation-aids-design-and-u.html ).

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13 Presentation Aids

Learning objectives.

Identify the advantages and disadvantages of the ways to use presentation aids.
Understand the range of choices for presentation aids.
Explain the role of careful planning and good execution when using presentation aids.

What Are Presentation Aids?

When you deliver a speech, you are presenting much more than just a collection of words and ideas. Because you are speaking “live and in person,” your audience members will experience your speech through all five of their senses: hearing, vision, smell, taste, and touch. In some speaking situations, the speaker appeals only to the sense of hearing, more or less ignoring the other senses. The speaking event can be greatly enriched by appeals to the other senses using presentation aids.

Presentation aids are the resources beyond the speech itself that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. The type of presentation aids speakers most typically use are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like. Audible aids include musical excerpts, audio speech excerpts, and sound effects. A speaker may also use fragrance samples or food samples as olfactory (smell) or gustatory (taste) aids. Presentation aids can be three-dimensional objects, animals, and people, and they can unfold over a period of time, as in the case of a how-to demonstration.

As you can see, the range of possible presentation aids is almost infinite. However, to be effective, each presentation aid a speaker uses must be a direct, uncluttered example of a specific element of the speech. It is understandable that someone presenting a speech about Abraham Lincoln might want to include a picture of him. However, because most people already know what Lincoln looked like, the picture would not contribute much to the message (unless, perhaps, the message was specifically about the changes in Lincoln’s appearance during his time in office). Other visual artifacts are likely to deliver information more directly relevant to the speech. For example, when giving a speech about Lincoln, a speaker may use a diagram of the interior of Ford’s Theater where Lincoln was assassinated, a draft of the messy and much-edited Gettysburg Address, or a photograph of the Lincoln family. The key is that each presentation aid must directly express an idea in your speech.

Moreover, presentation aids must be used at the specific time you are presenting the ideas related to the aid. For example, if you are speaking about coral reefs and one of your supporting points is about the location of the world’s major reefs, it will make sense to display a map of these reefs while you’re talking about their location. If you display it while you are explaining what coral actually is, or after you have completed your speech, the map will not serve as a useful visual aid. In fact, it’s likely to be a distraction.

Presentation aids must also be easy to use. At a conference on organic farming, one of the authors watched as the facilitator opened the orientation session by creating a conceptual map of our concerns, using a large newsprint pad on an easel. In his shirt pocket, there were wide-tipped felt markers in several colors. As he was using the black marker to write the word “pollution,” he dropped the cap on the floor, and it rolled a few inches under the easel. When he bent over to pick up the cap, all the other markers fell out of his pocket. They rolled about too, and when he tried to retrieve them, he bumped the easel, leading the easel and newsprint pad to tumble over on top of him. The audience responded with amusement and thundering applause, but the serious tone of his speech was ruined. The next two days of the conference were punctuated with allusions to the unforgettable orientation speech. Markers falling across the floor is not how you will want your speech to be remembered.

To be effective, presentation aids must also be easy for the listeners to see and understand. In this chapter, we will present some principles and strategies to help you incorporate hardworking, effective presentation aids into your speech. We will begin by discussing the functions that a good presentation aid fulfills. Next, we will explore some of the many types of presentation aids and how best to design and utilize them. We will also describe various media that can be used for presentation aids and will conclude with tips for successful preparation and use of presentation aids in a speech.

Presentation aids are the resources beyond the speech itself that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience.

Functions of Presentation Aids

Presentation aids can fulfill several functions: they can serve to improve your audience’s understanding of the information you are conveying, enhance audience memory and retention of the message, add variety and interest to your speech, and enhance your credibility as a speaker. Let’s examine each of these functions.

Improving Audience Understanding

Human communication is a complicated process that often leads to misunderstandings. If you are like most people, you can easily remember incidents when you misunderstood a message or when someone else misunderstood what you said to them. Misunderstandings happen in public speaking just as they do in everyday conversations.

As a speaker, one of your basic goals is to help your audience understand your message. To reduce misunderstanding, presentation aids can be used to clarify or to emphasize.

Clarification is important in a speech because if some of the information you convey is unclear, your listeners will come away puzzled or possibly even misled. Presentation aids can help clarify a message if the information is complex or if the point being made is a visual one.

If your speech is about the impact of the Coriolis effect on tropical storms, for instance, you will have great difficulty clarifying it without a diagram because the process is a complex one. The diagram in Figure 1: The Coriolis Effect would be helpful because it shows the audience the interaction between equatorial wind patterns and wind patterns moving in other directions. The diagram allows the audience to process the information in two ways: through your verbal explanation and through the visual elements of the diagram.

Figure 1: The Coriolis Effect

Figure 2: Model of Communication is another example of a diagram that maps out the process of human communication. In this image, you clearly have a speaker and an audience (albeit slightly abstract), with the labels of the source, channel, message, receivers, and feedback to illustrate the basic linear model of human communication.

Figure 2: Model of Communication

Another aspect of clarifying occurs when a speaker wants to visually help audience members understand a visual concept. For example, if a speaker is talking about the importance of petroglyphs in Native American culture, just describing the petroglyphs won’t completely help your audience to visualize what they look like. Instead, showing an example of a petroglyph, as in Figure 3: Petroglyph , could help your audience form a clear mental image of your intended meaning.

Figure 3: Petroglyph

Emphasizing

When you use a presentational aid for emphasis, you impress your listeners with the importance of an idea. In a speech on water conservation, you might try to show the environmental proportions of the resource. When you use a conceptual drawing like the one in Figure 4: Planetary Water Supply , you show that if the world water supply were equal to ten gallons, only ten drops would be available and potable for human or household consumption. This drawing is effective because it emphasizes the scarcity of useful water and draws attention to this important information in your speech.

Figure 4 : Planetary Water Supply

Planetary Water Supply. For every one cup of polluted water, there are ten drops of usable water.

Another way to visually emphasize information in your speech is to zoom in on a specific aspect of interest within your speech. In Figure 5: Chinese Lettering Amplified, we see a visual aid used in a speech on the importance of various parts of Chinese characters. On the left side of the visual aid, we see how the characters all fit together, with an emphasized version of a single character on the right.

Figure 5: Chinese Lettering Amplified

Wikimedia Commons – public domain.

Aiding Retention and Recall

The second function that presentation aids can serve is to increase the audience’s chances of remembering your speech. A 1996 article by the US Department of Labor summarized research on how people learn and remember. The authors found that “83% of human learning occurs visually, and the remaining 17% through the other senses—11% through hearing, 3.5% through smell, 1% through taste, and 1.5% through touch” (United States Department of Labor, 1996). Mostly, people learn through seeing things, so the visual component of learning is very important. The article goes on to note that information stored in long-term memory is also affected by how we initially learn the material. In a study of memory, learners were asked to recall information after a three day period. The researchers found that they retained 10 percent of what they heard from an oral presentation, 35 percent from a visual presentation, and 65 percent from a visual and oral presentation (Lockard & Sidowski, 1961). It’s amazing to see how the combined effect of both the visual and oral components can contribute to long-term memory.

For this reason, exposure to a visual image can serve as a memory aid to your listeners. When your graphic images deliver information effectively, and when your listeners understand them clearly, audience members are likely to remember your message long after your speech is over.

Moreover, people can remember information that is presented in sequential steps more easily than if that information is presented in an unorganized pattern. When you use a presentation aid to display the organization of your speech, you will help your listeners to observe, follow, and remember the sequence of information you conveyed to them. This organization is why some instructors display a lecture outline for their students to follow during class.

An added plus of using presentation aids is that they can boost your memory while you are speaking. Using your presentation aids while you rehearse your speech will familiarize you with the association between a given place in your speech and the presentation aid that accompanies that material. For example, if you are giving an informative speech about diamonds, you might plan to display a sequence of slides illustrating the most popular diamond shapes: brilliant, marquise, emerald, and so on. As you finish describing one shape and advance to the next slide, seeing the next diamond shape will help you remember the information about it that you are going to deliver.

Adding Variety and Interest

The third function of presentation aids is to make your speech more interesting. While it is true that a good speech and a well-rehearsed delivery will already include variety in several aspects of the presentation, in many cases, a speech can be made even more interesting by the use of well-chosen presentation aids.

For example, you may have prepared a great speech to inform a group of gardeners about several new varieties of roses suitable for growing in your local area. Although your listeners will undoubtedly understand and remember your message very well without any presentation aids, wouldn’t your speech have greater impact if you accompanied your remarks with a picture of each rose? You can imagine that your audience would be even more enthralled if you could display an actual flower of each variety in a bud vase.

Similarly, if you were speaking to a group of gourmet cooks about Indian spices, you might want to provide tiny samples of spices that they could smell and taste during your speech. Taste researcher Linda Bartoshuk has given presentations in which audience members receive small pieces of fruit and are asked to taste them at certain points during the speech (Association for Psychological Science, 2011).

Enhancing a Speaker’s Credibility

Misspellings and poorly designed presentation aids can damage your credibility as a speaker. Conversely, a high-quality presentation will contribute to your professional image. Additionally, make sure that you give proper credit to the source of any presentation aids that you take from other sources. Using a statistical chart or a map without proper credit will detract from your credibility, just as using a quotation in your speech without credit would.

If you focus your efforts on producing presentation aids that contribute effectively to your meaning, and look professional and are well handled, your audience will most likely appreciate your efforts and pay close attention to your message. That attention will help them learn or understand your topic in a new way and will thus help the audience see you as a knowledgeable, competent, credible speaker.

Types of Presentation Aids

As we saw in the example of the presentation at the organic farming conference, using presentation aids can be risky. However, with a little forethought and adequate practice, you can choose presentation aids that enhance your message and boost your professional appearance in front of an audience.

One principle to keep in mind is to use only as many presentation aids as necessary to present your message or to fulfill your classroom assignment. Although the maxim “less is more” may sound like a cliché, it really does apply in this instance. The technical sophistication of your presentation aids should never overshadow your speech.

Another important consideration is technology. Keep your presentation aids within the limits of the working technology available to you. Whether or not your classroom technology works on the day of your speech, you will still have to present. What will you do if the computer file containing your slides is corrupted? What will you do if the easel is broken? What if you had counted on stacking your visuals on a table that disappears right when you need it? You must be prepared to adapt to an uncomfortable and scary situation. These scenarios are why we urge students to go to the classroom at least fifteen minutes ahead of time to test the equipment and ascertain the condition of things they’re planning to use. As the speaker, you are responsible for arranging the items you need to make your presentation aids work as intended. Carry a roll of duct tape so you can display your poster even if the easel is gone. Find an extra chair if your table has disappeared. Test the computer setup, and have an alternative plan prepared in case there is some glitch that prevents your computer-based presentation aids from being usable. The more sophisticated the equipment is, the more prepared you should be with an alternative, even in a “smart classroom.”

More important than the method of delivery is the audience’s ability to see and understand the presentation aid. It must deliver clear information, and it must not distract from the message. Avoid overly elaborate presentation aids because they can distract the audience’s attention from your message. Instead, simplify as much as possible, emphasizing the information you want your audience to understand.

Although there are many useful presentation tools, you should not attempt to use every one of these tools in a single speech. Your presentation aids should be designed to look like a coherent set. For instance, if you decide to use three slides and a poster, all four of these visual aids should make use of the same type font and basic design.

Now that we’ve explored some basic hints for preparing visual aids, let’s look at the most common types of visual aids: charts, graphs, representations, objects/models, and people.

A chart is a graphical representation of data (often numerical) or a sketch representing an ordered process. Whether you create your charts, or do research to find charts that already exist, it is important for them to exactly match the specific purpose in your speech. In the rest of this section, we’re going to explore three common types of charts: statistical charts, sequence-of-steps chart, and decision trees.

Statistical Charts

For most audiences, statistical presentations must be kept as simple as possible, and they must be explained. Unless you are familiar with statistics, a chart may be very confusing. When visually displaying information from a quantitative study, you need to make sure that you understand the material and can successfully explain how one should interpret the data. If you are unsure about the data yourself, then you should probably not use this type of information. Figure 6: Effects of Smoking on Different Body Systems is surely an example of a visual aid that, although it delivers a limited kind of information, does not speak for itself.

Figure 6: Effects of Smoking on Different Body Systems

Wikimedia Commons – public domain; and Wikimeida Commons – public domain.

Sequence-of-Steps Charts

Charts are also useful when you are trying to explain a process that involves several steps. The visual aid in Figure 7: Steps in Cell Reproduction depicts the process of cell division called mitosis using a sequence-of-steps chart. The chart labels the phases, which can help your audience understand the process.

Figure 7: Steps in Cell Reproduction

Wikipedia – public domain

DecisionTrees

Decision trees are useful for showing the relationships between ideas. The example in Figure 8: To Play or Not to Play shows how a decision tree could be used to determine the appropriate weather for playing baseball. As with the other types of charts, you want to be sure that the information in the chart is relevant to the purpose of your speech and that each question and decision is clearly labeled.

Figure 8: To Play or Not to Play

Strictly speaking, a graph may be considered a type of chart, but graphs are so widely used that we will discuss them separately. A graph is a pictorial representation of the relationships of quantitative data using dots, lines, bars, pie slices, and the like. Graphs show the variation in one variable in comparison with that of one or more other variables. Where a statistical chart may report the mean ages of individuals entering college, a graph would show how the mean age changes over time. A statistical chart may report the number of computers sold in the United States, while a graph will show the breakdown of those computers by operating systems such as Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Public speakers can use graphs from a range of different formats. Some of those formats are specialized for various professional fields. Very complex graphs often contain too much information that is not related to the purpose of a student’s speech. If the graph is cluttered, it becomes difficult to comprehend.

In this section, we’re going to analyze types of graphs speakers frequently utilize in their speeches: line graphs, bar graphs, and pie graphs.

A line graph is designed to show trends over time. In Figure 9: Enron’s Stock Price , we see a line graph depicting the fall of Enron’s stock price from August 2000 to January 2002. Notice that although it has some steep rises, the line has an overall downward trend clearly depicting the plummeting of Enron’s stock price. Showing such a line graph helps the audience see the relationships between the numbers. The audience can also understand the information by seeing the graph much more easily than they could if the speaker just read the numbers aloud.

Figure 9: Enron’s Stock Price

Enron's Stock Price has plummeted from August of 2000 to December of 2001

Wikimedia Common – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Bar graphs are useful for showing the differences between quantities. They can be used for population demographics, fuel costs, math ability in different grades, and many other kinds of data. The graph in Figure 10: Natural Death vs. Homicide is well designed. It is relatively simple and is carefully labeled, making it easy for you to guide your audience through the quantities of each type of death. The bar graph is designed to show the difference between natural deaths and homicides across various age groups. When you look at the data, the first grouping clearly shows that eighteen to twenty-four-year-olds are more likely to die because of a homicide than any of the other age groups.

Figure 10: Natural Death vs. Homicide

Pie graphs should be simplified as much as possible without eliminating important information. As with other graphs, the sections need to be plotted proportionally. In the pie graph shown in Figure 11: Causes of Concussions in Children , we see a clear and proportional chart that has been color-coded. Color-coding is useful when it’s difficult to fit the explanations in the actual sections of the graph. In this case, you need to include a legend, or key, to indicate what the colors in the graph mean. In this graph, audience members can see very quickly that falls are the primary reason children receive concussions.

Figure 11: Causes of Concussions in Children

Causes of Concussions in Children. 44.5% Fall, 22.9% struck by object, 17.2% collision, 11.1% struck by person, 3.1% assault, 1.2% unknown

The pie graph in Figure 12: World Populations is jumbled, illegible, confusing, and overwhelming in every way. The use of color coding doesn’t help. Overall, this graph simply contains too much information and is more likely to confuse an audience than help them understand something.

Figure 12: World Populations

Representations

In the world of presentation aids, representation is the word used to classify a group of aids designed to represent real processes or objects. Often, speakers want to visually demonstrate something that they cannot physically bring with them to the speech. Maybe you’re giving a speech on the human brain, and you don’t have access to a cadaver’s brain. Instead of bringing in a real brain, you could use a picture of a brain or an image that represents the human brain. In this section, we’re going to explore four common representations: diagrams, maps, photographs, and video or recordings.

Diagrams are drawings or sketches that outline and explain the parts of an object, process, or phenomenon that cannot be readily seen. Like graphs, diagrams can be considered a type of chart, as in the case of organization charts and process flow charts.

When you use a diagram, be sure to explain each part of the phenomenon, paying special attention to elements that are complicated or prone to misunderstanding. In the example shown in Figure 13: The Human Eye , you might wish to highlight that the light stimulus is reversed when it is processed through the brain or that the optic nerve is not a single stalk as many people think.

Figure 13: The Human Eye

Maps are useful if the information is clear and limited. There are all kinds of maps, including population, weather, ocean current, political, and economic maps. You should be able to find the right type for the purpose of your speech. Choose a map that emphasizes the information you need to deliver.

The map shown in Figure 14: African Map with Nigerian Emphasis is simple. It clearly shows the geographic location of Nigeria. This map can be valuable for some audiences who might not be able to name and locate countries on the continent of Africa.

Figure 14: African Map with Nigerian Emphasis

Figure 15: Rhode Island Map is a map of the state of Rhode Island, and it emphasizes the complicated configuration of islands and waterways that characterize this state’s geography. Although the map does not list the names of the islands, it is helpful in orienting the audience to the direction and distance of the islands to other geographic features, such as the city of Providence and the Atlantic Ocean.

Figure 15: Rhode Island Map

Source: Map courtesy of the National Atlas of the United States.

Photographs and Drawings

Sometimes a photograph or a drawing is the best way to show an unfamiliar but important detail.

The photograph of the tall ship in Figure 17: Ship’s Rigging could be used to emphasize the sheer amount and complexity of the ship’s rigging.

Figure 17: Ship’s Rigging

Video or Audio Recordings

Another useful type of presentation aid is a video or audio recording. Whether it is a short video from a website such as YouTube or Vimeo, a segment from a song, or a piece of a podcast, a well-chosen video or audio recording may be a good choice to enhance your speech.

Imagine, for example, that you’re giving a speech on how “Lap-Band” surgeries help people lose weight. One of the sections of your speech could explain how the Lap-Band works, so you could easily show the following forty-three-second video to demonstrate the medical part of the surgery ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPuThbFMxGg ). Maybe you want to include a recording of a real patient explaining why they decided to get the Lap-Band surgery. Then, you could include a podcast like this one from the Medical University of South Carolina ( http://medicaluniversc.http.internapcdn.net/medicaluniversc_vitalstream_com/podcasts/2007/1_Treado_June_22_final.mp3 ).

There is one major caveat to using audio and video clips during a speech: do not forget that they are supposed to be aids to your speech, not the speech itself! Additionally, be sure to avoid these three mistakes that speakers often make when using audio and video clips:

Avoid choosing clips that are too long for the overall length of the speech. If you are giving a five-minute speech, then any audio or video clip you use should be under thirty seconds in length.
Don’t fail to practice with the audio or video equipment before speaking. If you are unfamiliar with the equipment, you’ll have a hard time trying to figure out how it works. Fiddling around with the technology will not only take your audience out of your speech, but it will also have a negative impact on your credibility.
Don’t fail to cue the clip to the appropriate place before beginning your speech. We cannot tell you the number of times we’ve seen students spend valuable speech time trying to find a clip on YouTube or a DVD. You need to make sure your clip is ready to go before you start speaking.

Objects or Models

Objects and models are other forms of presentation aid that can be very helpful in getting your audience to understand your message. Objects refer to anything you could hold up and talk about during your speech. If you’re talking about the importance of not using plastic water bottles, you might hold up a plastic water bottle and a stainless steel water bottle as examples. If you’re talking about the percussion family of musical instruments and you own (and can play) several different percussion instruments, you can show your audience in person what they look like and how they sound.

Models , on the other hand, are re-creations of physical objects that you cannot have readily available with you during a speech. If you’re giving a speech on heart murmurs, you may be able to show how heart murmurs work by holding up a model of the human heart.

Animals and People

The next category of presentation aids is people and animals. We can often use animals and people , whether it be an animal, ourselves, or another people, to adequately demonstrate an idea during our speeches.

Animals as Presentation Aids

When giving a speech on a topic relating to animals, it is often tempting to bring an animal to serve as your presentation aid. While this can sometimes add a very engaging dimension to the speech, it carries some serious risks that you need to consider.

The first risk is that animal behavior tends to be unpredictable. You may think this won’t be a problem if your presentation aid animal is a small enough to be kept confined throughout your speech like a goldfish in a bowl or a lizard or bird in a cage. However, even caged animals can be very distracting to your audience if they run about, chirp, or exhibit other agitated behavior. The chances are great that an animal will react to the stress of an unfamiliar situation by displaying behavior that does not contribute positively to your speech.

The second risk is that some audience members may respond negatively to a live animal. In addition to fears and aversions to animals like snakes, spiders, and mice, many people have allergies to various animals.

The third risk is that some locations may have regulations about bringing animals onto the premises. If animals are allowed, the person bringing the animal may be required to bring a veterinary certificate or may be legally responsible for any damage caused by the animal.

For these reasons, before you decide to use an animal as a presentation aid, ask yourself if you could make your point equally well with a picture, model, diagram, or other representation of the animal in question.

Speaker as Presentation Aid

Speakers can often use their own bodies to demonstrate facets of a speech. If your speech is about ballroom dancing or ballet, you might use your body to demonstrate the basic moves in the cha-cha or the five basic ballet positions.

Media to Use for Presentation Aids

The venue of your speech should suggest the appropriate selection of presentation aids. In your classroom, you have several choices, including some that omit technology. If you are speaking in a large auditorium, you will almost certainly need to use technology to project text and images on a large screen.

Many students feel that they lack the artistic skills to render their own graphics, so they opt to use copyright-free graphics on their presentation aids. You may do this as long as you use images that are created in a consistent style. For instance, you should not combine realistic renderings with cartoons unless there is a clear and compelling reason to do so. Being selective in this way will result in a sequence of presentation aids that look like a coherent set, thereby enhancing your professionalism.

In keeping with careful choices and effective design, we also have to do a good job in executing presentation aids. They should never look hastily made, dirty, battered, or disorganized. They do not have to be fancy, but they do need to look professional. In this section, we will discuss the major types of media that can be used for presentation aids, which include computer-based media, audiovisual media, and low-tech media.

Computer-Based Media

In most careers in business, industry, and other professions for which students are preparing themselves, computer-based presentation aids are the norm. Whether the context is a weekly department meeting in a small conference room or an annual convention in a huge amphitheater, speakers are expected to be comfortable with using PowerPoint or other similar software to create and display presentation aids.

If your public speaking course meets in a smart classroom, you have probably had the opportunity to see the computer system in action. Many such systems today are nimble and easy to use. Still, “easy” is a relative term. Don’t take for granted someone else’s advice that “it’s self-explanatory.” Instead, make sure to practice ahead of time. It is also wise to be prepared for technical problems, which can happen to even the most sophisticated computer users. When Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple and co-founder of Pixar, introduced a new iPhone 4 in June 2010, his own visual presentation froze (Macworld, 2010). The irony of a high-tech guru’s technology not working at a public presentation did not escape the notice of news organizations.

The world was first introduced to computer presentations back in the 1970s, but these software packages were expensive and needed highly trained technicians to operate the programs. Today, there are many presentation software programs that are free or relatively inexpensive and that can be learned quickly by nonspecialists. Figure 18: Presentation Software Packages lists several of these options.

Figure 18: Presentation Software Packages

The user needs to take responsibility for the technology used to support the speech. They should not get carried away with the many special effects the software is capable of producing.

When creating your presentation aid, rely on the universal principles of good design. These principles include unity, emphasis or focal point, scale and proportion, balance, and rhythm (Lauer & Pentak, 2000). As we’ve mentioned earlier, it’s generally best to use a single font for the text on your visuals so that they look like a unified set. In terms of scale or proportion, it is essential to make sure the information is large enough for the audience to see. Also, since the display size may vary according to the monitor you are using, practice in advance with the equipment you intend to use. The rhythm of your slide display should be reasonably consistent. You would not want to display a dozen different slides in the first minute of a five-minute presentation and then display only one slide per minute for the rest of the speech.

In addition to presentation software such as PowerPoint, speakers sometimes have access to interactive computer-based presentation aids. These are often called “clickers.” Clickers are handheld units that audience members hold and that are connected to a monitor to which the speaker has access. These interactive aids are useful for tracking audience responses to questions, and they have the advantage over asking for a show of hands in that they can be anonymous. A number of instructors in various courses use “clickers” in their classrooms.

Using computer-based aids in a speech brings up a few logistical considerations. In some venues, you may need to stand behind a high-tech console to operate the computer. You need to be aware that this will physically isolate you from the audience you with whom you are trying to establish a relationship in your speech. When you stand behind presentation equipment, you may feel more comfortable, but you end up limiting your nonverbal interaction with your audience.

If your classroom is not equipped with a computer and you want to use presentation software media in your speech, you may bring your computer, or you may be able to schedule the delivery of a computer cart to your classroom. In either case, check with your instructor about the advance preparations that will be needed. At some schools, there are very few computer carts, so it is important to reserve one well in advance. You will also want to see if you can gain access to one ahead of time to practice and familiarize yourself with the necessary passwords and commands to make your slides run properly. On the day of your speech, be sure to arrive early enough to test out the equipment before class begins.

Audiovisual Media

Although audio and video clips are often computer-based, they can be (and, in past decades, always were) used without a computer.

Audio presentation aids are useful for illustrating musical themes. For instance, if you’re speaking about how the Polish composer Frederick Chopin was inspired by the sounds of nature, you can convey that meaning through playing an example. If you have a smart classroom, you may be able to use it to play an MP3. Alternatively, you may need to bring your music player. In that case, be sure the speakers in the room are up to the job. The people in the back of the room must be able to hear it, and the speakers must not sound distorted when you turn the volume up.

A video that clarifies, explains, amplifies, emphasizes, or illustrates a key concept in your speech is appropriate, as long as you do not rely on it to do your presentation for you. There are several things you must do. First, identify a specific section of the video that delivers meaning. Second, “cue up” the video so that you can just push play, and it will begin at the right place. Third, tell your audience where the footage comes from. You can tell your audience, for instance, that you are showing them an example from the 1985 BBC documentary titled “In Search of the Trojan War.” Fourth, tell your audience why you’re showing the footage. For instance, you can tell them, “This is an example of storytelling in the Bardic tradition.” You can interrupt or mute the video to make a comment on it, but your total footage should not use more than 20 percent of the time for your speech.

Low-Tech Media

In some speaking situations, of course, computer technology is not available. Even if you have ready access to technology, there will be contexts where computer-based presentation aids are unnecessary or even counterproductive. And in still other contexts, computer-based media may be accompanied by low-tech presentation aids. One of the advantages of low-tech media is that it is very predictable. There’s little that can interfere with using it. Additionally, low-tech media can be inexpensive to produce. However, unlike digital media, it can be prone to physical damage in the form of smudges, scratches, dents, and rips. It can be difficult to keep a poster professional looking if you have to carry it through a rainstorm or blizzard. You will need to take steps to protect it as you transport them to the speech location. Let’s examine some of the low-tech media that you might use with a speech.

Chalk or Dry-Erase Board

If you use a chalkboard or dry-erase board, you are not using a prepared presentation aid. Your failure to prepare visuals ahead of time can be interpreted in several ways, mostly negative. If other speakers carefully design, produce, and use attractive visual aids, yours will stand out by contrast. You will be seen as the speaker who does not take the time to prepare even a simple aid. Do not use a chalkboard or marker board and pretend it’s a prepared presentation aid.

However, numerous speakers do utilize chalk and dry-erase boards effectively. Typically, these speakers use the chalk or dry-erase board for interactive components of a speech. For example, maybe you’re giving a speech in front of a group of executives. You may have a PowerPoint all prepared, but at various points in your speech you want to get your audience’s responses. Chalk or dry-erase boards are very useful when you want to visually show information that you are receiving from your audience. If you ever use a chalk or dry-erase board, follow these three simple rules:

Write large enough so that everyone in the room can see.
Print legibly; don’t write in cursive script.
Write short phrases; don’t take time to write complete sentences.

It is also worth mentioning that some classrooms and business conference rooms are equipped with smartboards or digitally enhanced whiteboards. On a smartboard, you can bring up prepared visuals and then modify them as you would a chalk or dry-erase board. The advantage is that you can keep a digital record of what was written for future reference. However, as with other technology-based media, smartboards may be prone to unexpected technical problems, and they require training and practice to be used properly.

A flipchart is useful when you’re trying to convey change over a number of steps. For instance, you could use a prepared flipchart to show dramatic population shifts on maps. In such a case, you should prepare highly visible, identical maps on three of the pages so that only the data will change from page to page. Each page should be neatly titled, and you should actively point out the areas of change on each page. You could also use a flip chart to show stages in the growth and development of the malaria-bearing mosquito. Again, you should label each page, making an effort to give the pages a consistent look.

Organize your flip chart in such a way that you flip pages in one direction only, front to back. It will be difficult to flip large pages without damaging them, and if you also have to “back up” and “skip forward,” your presentation will look awkward and disorganized.

Additionally, most flip charts need to be propped up on an easel of some sort. If you arrive for your speech only to find that the easel in the classroom has disappeared, you will need to rig up another system that allows you to flip the pages.

Foam Board or Poster Board

Foam board consists of a thin sheet of Styrofoam with heavy paper bonded to both surfaces. It is a lightweight, inexpensive foundation for information, and it will stand on its own when placed in an easel without curling under at the bottom edge. Poster board tends to be cheaper than foam board, but it is flimsier, more vulnerable to damage, and can’t stand on its own.

If you plan to paste labels or paragraphs of text to foam or poster board, for a professional look you should make sure the color of the poster board matches the color of the paper you will paste on. You will also want to choose a color that allows for easy visual contrast so your audience can see it, and it must be a color that’s appropriate for the topic. For instance, hot pink would be the wrong color on a poster for a speech about the Protestant Reformation.

Avoid producing a presentation aid that looks like you simply cut pictures out of magazines and pasted them on. Slapping some text and images on a board looks unprofessional and will not be viewed as credible or effective. Instead, when creating a poster you need to take the time to think about how you are going to lay out your aid and make it look professional. You do not have to spend lots of money to make a very sleek and professional-looking poster.

Some schools also have access to expensive, full-color poster printers where you can create a large poster for pasting on a foam board. In the real world of public speaking, most speakers rely on the creation of professional posters using a full-color poster printer. Typically, posters are sketched out and then designed on a computer using a program like Microsoft PowerPoint or Publisher (these both have the option of selecting the size of the printed area).

Handouts are appropriate for delivering information that audience members can take away with them. As we will see, handouts require a great deal of management if they are to contribute to your credibility as a speaker.

First, make sure to bring enough copies of the handout for each audience member to get one. Having to share or look on with one’s neighbor does not contribute to a professional image. Under no circumstances should you ever provide a single copy of a handout to pass around. There are several reasons this is a bad idea. You will have no control over the speed at which it circulates or the direction it goes. Moreover, only one listener will be holding it while you’re making your point about it and by the time most people see it, they will have forgotten why they need to see it. In some case, it might not even reach everybody by the end of your speech. Finally, listeners could still be passing your handout around during the next speaker’s speech.

There are three possible times to distribute handouts: before you begin your speech, during the speech, and after your speech is over. Naturally, if you need your listeners to follow along in a handout, you will need to distribute it before your speech begins. If you have access to the room ahead of time, place a copy of the handout on each seat in the audience. If not, ask a volunteer to distribute them as quickly as possible while you prepare to begin speaking. If the handout is a “takeaway,” leave it on a table near the door so that those audience members who are interested can take one on their way out. In this case, don’t forget to tell them to do so as you conclude your speech. It is almost never appropriate to distribute handouts during your speech, as it is distracting and interrupts the pace of your presentation.

Like other presentation aids, handouts should include only the necessary information to support your points, and that information should be organized in such a way that listeners will be able to understand it. For example, in a speech about how new health care legislation will affect small business owners in your state, a good handout might summarize key effects of the legislation and include the names of state agencies with their web addresses where audience members can request more detailed information.

If your handout is designed for your audience to follow along, you should tell them to do so. State that you will be referring to specific information during the speech. Then, as you’re presenting your speech, ask your audience to look, for example, at the second line in the first cluster of information. Read that line out loud and then go on to explain its meaning.

As with any presentation aid, handouts are not a substitute for a well-prepared speech. Ask yourself what information your audience needs to be able to take with them, and how it can be presented on the page in the most useful and engaging way possible.

Types of Low Tech Media

Foam board or poster board

Tips for Preparing Presentation Aids

As we’ve seen earlier in this chapter, impressive presentation aids do not take the place of a well-prepared speech. Although your presentation aids should be able to stand on their own in delivering information, do not count on them to do so. Work toward that goal, but also plan on explaining your presentation aids so that your audience will know why you’re using them.

One mistake you should avoid is putting too much information on an aid. You have to narrow down the topic of your speech, and likewise, you must narrow down the content of your presentation aids to match your speech. Your presentation aids should not represent every idea in your speech. Whatever presentation aids you choose to use, they should fulfill one or more of the functions described at the beginning of this chapter: to clarify or emphasize a point, to enhance retention and recall of your message, to add variety and interest to your speech, and to enhance your credibility as a speaker.

As a practical matter regarding producing presentation aids, you may not be aware that many college campuses have a copy service or multimedia lab available to students for making copies, enlargements, slides, and other presentation aids. Find out from your instructor or a librarian what the resources on your campus are. In the rest of this section, we will offer some tips for designing good-quality presentation aids.

Easily Seen or Heard by Your Audience

The first rule of presentation aids is that they must be accessible for every audience member. If those in the back of the room cannot see, hear, or otherwise experience a presentation aid, then it is counterproductive to use it. Graphic elements in your presentation aids must be large enough to read. Audio must be loud enough to hear. If you are passing out samples of a food item for audience members to taste, you must bring enough for everyone.

Do not attempt to show your audience a picture by holding up a book open to the page with the photograph. Nobody will be able to see it. It will be too small for your listeners in the back of the room, and the light will glare off of the glossy paper usually used in books with color pictures so that the listeners in front won’t be able to see it either.

Text-based visuals, charts, and graphs need to be executed with strong, clean lines and blocks of color. Weak lines in a graph or illustration do not get stronger with magnification. You must either strengthen those lines by hand or choose another graphic element that has stronger lines. On a poster or a slide, a graphic element should take up about a third of the area. This leaves room for a small amount of text, rendered in a large, simple font. The textual elements should be located closest to the part of your graphic element.

Carefully limit the amount of text on a presentation aid. If a great deal of text is absolutely necessary, try to divide it between two slides or posters. Many students believe that even small text will magnify amply when it’s projected, but we find that this is rarely the case. We can’t recommend a specific point size because that refers to the distance between the baselines of two lines of text, not to the size of the type itself.

We recommend two things: First, use a simple, easy-to-read font style. It doesn’t have to be utterly devoid of style, but it should be readable and not distracting. Second, we recommend that you print your text in three or four sizes on a sheet of paper. Place the printed sheet on the floor and stand up. When you look at your printed sheet, you should be able to make a choice based on which clusters of font you are able to read from that distance.

Easily Handled

You should be able to carry your presentation aids into the room by yourself. In addition, you should be skilled in using the equipment you will use to present them. Your presentation aids should not distract you from the delivery of your speech.

Aesthetically Pleasing

For our purposes, aesthetics refers to the beauty or good taste of a presentation aid. Earlier we mentioned the universal principles of good design: unity, emphasis or focal point, scale and proportion, balance, and rhythm. Because of wide differences in taste, not everyone will agree on what is aesthetically pleasing. You may be someone who does not think of yourself as having much artistic talent. Still, if you keep these principles in mind, they will help you to create attractive, professional-looking visuals.

Aesthetics refers to the beauty or good taste of a presentation aid.

The other aesthetic principle to keep in mind is that your presentation aids are intended to support your speech, not the other way around. The decisions you make in designing your visuals should be dictated by the content of your speech. If you use color, use it for a clear reason. If you use a border, keep it simple. Whatever you do, make certain that your presentation aids will be perceived as carefully planned and executed elements of your speech.

Tips for Text Aids

Use text only when you must. For example, if you’re presenting an analysis of the First Amendment, it is permissible to display the text of the First Amendment, but not your entire analysis. The font must be big, simple, and bold. It needs white space around it to separate it from another graphic element or cluster of text that might be on the same presentation aid. When you display text, you should read it out loud before you go on to talk about it. That way, you won’t expect your listeners to read one thing while trying to listen to something else. However, under no circumstances should you merely read what’s on your text aids and consider that a speech.

Tips for Graphic Aids

If you create your graphic images, you will have control over their size and the visible strength of the lines. However, you might want to show your listeners an illustration that you can’t create yourself. For instance, you might want to display a photograph of a portion of the Dead Sea Scrolls. First, find a way to enlarge the photograph. Then, to show integrity, cite your source. You should cite your source with an added caption, and you should also cite the source out loud as you display the graphic, even if your photograph is considered to be in the public domain. The NASA photograph “Spaceship Earth” is such an example. Many people use it without citing the source, but citing the source boosts your credibility as a speaker, and we strongly recommend doing so.

Rules for Computer Presentations

Mark Stoner, a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Sacramento, has written a useful assessment of the uses and abuses of PowerPoint. Stoner observes that

PowerPoint is a hybrid between the visual and the written. When we pay attention to the design of our writing—to whether we are putting key word at the beginning or end of a sentence, for instance—we are likely to communicate more effectively. In the same way, it makes sense to understand the impact that PowerPoint’s design has on our ability to communicate ideas to an audience (Stoner, 2007).

While this article is specifically about PowerPoint, Stoner’s advice works for all presentation software formats. Presentation aids should deliver information that is important or is difficult to present with spoken words only. Although many speakers attempt to put their entire speech on PowerPoint slides or other visual aids, this is a bad idea for several reasons. First, if you try to put your entire speech on PowerPoint, you will lose contact with your audience. Speakers often end up looking at the projected words or directly at the computer screen instead of at their audience. Second, your vocal delivery is likely to suffer, and you will end up giving a boring reading, not a dynamic speech. Third, you will lose credibility, as your listeners question how well you know your topic. Fourth, you are not using the presentation aids to clarify or emphasize your message, so all the information may come across as equally important.

No matter what presentation software package you decide to utilize, there are some general guidelines you’ll need to follow.

Watch Your Font

One of the biggest mistakes novice users of presentational software make is thinking that if you can read it on the screen, your audience will be able to read it in their seats. While this may be the case if you’re in a close, intimate conference room, most of us will be speaking in situations where audience members are fifteen feet away or more. Make sure each slide is legible from the back of the room where you will be speaking.

Don’t Write Everything Out

In addition to watching your font size, you also need to watch how you use words on the screen. Do not try to put too much information on a slide. Make sure that your slide has the appropriate information to support the point you are making and no more. We strongly recommend avoiding complete sentences on a slide unless you need to display a significant direct quotation.

Don’t Bow Down to the Software

Remember, presentation software is an aid, so it should aid and not hinder your presentation. We have seen too many students who only end up reading the slides right off the screen instead of using the slides to enhance their presentations. When you read your slides right off the projector screen, you’re stopping your eye contact. As a general word of advice, if you ever find yourself being forced to turn your back to the audience to read the screen, then you are not effectively using the technology. On the flip side, you also shouldn’t need to hide behind a computer monitor to see what’s being projected.

Slide Color

Color is very important and can definitely make an impact on an audience. However, don’t go overboard or decide to use unappealing combinations of color. For example, you should never use a light font color (like yellow) on a solid white background because it’s hard for the eye to read.

You should also realize that while colors may be rich and vibrant on your computer screen at home, they may be distorted by a different monitor. While we are in favor of experimenting with various color schemes, always check your presentation out on multiple computers to see if the slide color is being distorted in a way that makes it hard to read.

Slide Movement

Everyone who has had an opportunity to experiment with PowerPoint knows that animation in transitions between slides or even on a single slide can be fun, but often people do not realize that too much movement can distract audience members. While all presentation software packages offer you very cool slide movements and other bells and whistles, they are not always very helpful for your presentation. If you’re going to utilize slide transitions or word animation, stick to only one or two different types of transitions in your whole presentation. Furthermore, do not have more than one type of movement on a given slide. If you’re going to have all your text come from the right side of the screen in a bulleted list, make sure that all the items on the bulleted list come from the right side of the screen.

Practice, Practice, Practice

It is vital to practice using the technology. Nothing is worse than watching a speaker stand up and not know how to turn on the computer, access the software, or launch their presentation. When you use technology, audiences can quickly see if you know what you are doing, so don’t give them the opportunity to devalue your credibility because you can’t even get the show going.

Always Have a Backup Plan

Lastly, always have a backup plan. Unfortunately, things often go wrong. One of the parts of being a professional is keeping the speech moving in spite of unexpected problems. Decide in advance what you will do if things break down or disappear right when you need them. Don’t count on your instructor to solve such predicaments; it is your responsibility. If you take this responsibility seriously and checked the room where you will be presenting, you will have time to adapt. If the computer or audiovisual setup does not work on the first try, you will need time to troubleshoot and solve the problem. If an easel is missing, you will need time to experiment with using a lectern or a chair to support your flip chart. If you forgot to bring your violin for a speech about music—don’t laugh, this actually happened to a friend of ours!—you will need time to think through how to adapt your speech so that it will still be effective.

Association for Psychological Science. (2011, May 28). Miracle fruit and flavor: An experiment performed at APS 2010 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/obsonline/miracle-fruit-and-flavor-an-experiment-performed-at-aps-2010.html

Lockard, J., & Sidowski, J. R. (1961). Learning in fourth and sixth graders as a function of sensory mode of stimulus presentation and overt or covert practice. Journal of Educational Psychology, 52 (5), 262–265. doi: 10.1037/h0043483

Stoner, M. (2007). Uncovering the powers within PowerPoint. Communication Currents , 2 (4). Retrieved from http://www.natcom.org/CommCurrentsArticle.aspx?id=819

United States Department of Labor. (1996). Presenting effective presentations with visual aids . Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2017 by Josh Miller; Marnie Lawler-Mcdonough; Megan Orcholski; Kristin Woodward; Lisa Roth; and Emily Mueller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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10 Presentation Aids To Enhance Your Presentation

Table of contents.

You’re putting together a presentation and you’ve considered using presentation aids but don’t know where to begin?

Whether you’re a seasoned veteran presenter or new to the industry and looking on how to become a better presenter , we’ve got you covered with tips and tricks and everything you need to know about presentation aids.

We’ve put together this comprehensive list of 10 presentation aids you should incorporate in your next presentation, seminar, public speaking event or any other audience engagement to ensure your key messages are retained and you remain at the forefront of people’s minds.

Whether it’s visual aids, creative design or new ideas you wouldn’t necessarily think of to use in your line of work, we’ve broken down the bias to help give you a fresh mind on some presentation aids you should use.

What Are Presentation Aids?

A presentation aid is a complementary tool you can and should use in order to have your presentation stand out and enhance it.

They are sensory aids to help elevate your speech, performance or powerpoint presentation.

Where words fail, presentation aids come in to support.

A presentation aid can be used alone or in combination with other presentation aids. More often than not, it is encouraged to combine a couple of presentation aids to target the different senses – hearing, vision, smell, & taste.

The more senses you target, the more likely your presentation will be remembered.

For example, audio and video clips might be sprinkled throughout your presentation slide deck. Although these are all different presentation aids, using them in a combined way will enhance the overall presentation and increase audience engagement.

Presentation aids work because they tap into the presentation psychology ; the underpinning of our minds and how we perceive and remember great presentations. Whether someone is an auditory or visual learner, using additional presentation aids that target these senses will help take your presentation from average to phenomenal.

Why Do Presenters Use Presentation Aids?

Every presenter has their reasoning for selecting the presentation aids they use.

With the advancement of technology, presenters have been using more and more visual aids in their presentations in order to enhance the overall audience experience and create a great visual presentation .

Whether your presentation is in-person or instead a virtual presentation , the objective is always the same. Get your key messaging across with minimal miscommunication. Getting your key message across to your audience members can be done with the help of effective presentation aids.

Both informal and formal presentations incorporate some degree of presentation aids.

Presentation aids provide many benefits to a presenter. A presenter may use a combination of both visual aids and auditory aids to increase audience engagement and to help deliver their message.

Let’s break it down as to why a presenter would use visual aids and why a presenter would use auditory aids.

At a high level, it first depends on the audience. You should always begin crafting your presentation by understanding who your audience is and what you want them to take away from your presentation. This will help define the aids you select.

If your audience has a shorter attention span such as young adults or children, consider using more visual aids like videos or imagery. You may do this by adding videos into your PowerPoint presentation or adding images.

Perhaps you want your audience to remember things or act on something after the presentation has already concluded. A brochure or presentation handout might be a great aid to use as it leaves a physical, tangible item with the audience.

Trying to get funding or convert audience members into sales? A demonstration or live performance of the product can help people envision themselves using the product.

Presentation aids are used to help deliver your message and influence people. Understand your audience and the message you want them to take away and you’re halfway done deciding which complementary presentation tool you should use.

10 Types Of Presentation Aids

Before we begin going through the list of presentation aids you should use, we want to first preface with a word of caution.

Don’t overdo it.

As tempting as it may be to incorporate all 10 presentation types of presentation aids into your allotted time, don’t. You may be doing yourself a disservice.

Too many presentation aids may begin to distract your audience rather than support your messaging.

If you give your audience a handout, have them glance at an image with some written text all on one slide all the while you’re speaking over everything, there is too much going on. Your audience won’t know where to place their attention.

Also, some presentation aids don’t work in the environment in which the presentation is being held.

For example, if your presentation is virtual with absolutely no in-person audience members, a demonstration or live performance might not make practical sense.

Use these tools sparingly.

With that being said, let’s dive into the top 10 types of presentation aids we believe you should incorporate into your next presentation based on presentation feedback we’ve received over the years as presentation designers.

1 – PowerPoint Slides, Google Slides & Prezi Slides

One of the very first presentation aids we’ve all been taught to use and have more than likely used at least once in a school or work environment is a presentation slide deck.

Almost all presentations nowadays have a slide deck accompanying the presentation since it has been engrained in our minds as an essential for every presentation.

Whether it’s a motivational speech, client pitch presentation , RFP presentation , virtual presentation or an investment pitch presentation , they typically always use a slide deck.

Slide decks are great because they’re often easily customizable and there are plenty of well designed templates you can find online.

Slide decks such as PowerPoint Slides, Google Slides and Prezi Slides also allow a presenter to incorporate additional presentation aids such as videos, images or graphs seamlessly. Rather than having to jump back and forth between tabs, monitors or computers, a presentation slide deck consolidates all the information into one place.

When presenting to a large audience, a slide deck also allows audience members who are seated at the back of the venue to still take away the key points you’re trying to highlight. When highlighting key points, they will often be mentioned in the slide deck which is often displayed using a large projector and screen or video monitor.

Lastly, a presentation slide deck is a great tool to use as a reference.

The key details should be illustrated in the slide deck. Once the presentation is over, the slide deck can be a stand alone takeaway the audience or client can reference at a later date once the presentation has long past.

2 – Visual Aids, Audio And Video Clips

At a minimum, you should have at least one of the following presentation aids – imagery, audio or video.

Imagery can be more than just a photo. Imagery encompasses your slide deck, the color theory you use such as brand colors, how you embellish quotes and more.

For example, rather than sticking a text block on your slide deck with a quote, try enhancing the quote with the some visual appeal. You may consider adding a photo of the person who said the quote, stylizing the font with script writing so it seems more humanized and lastly using colors to highlight key words you want to bring to the audience’s attention.

Audio is another great tool to use, especially if you plan on incorporating motion graphics in your presentation. It also adds a layer of depth.

Since the audience will likely be hearing you speak for a majority of the presentation, having a pre-recorded narration over motion graphics will help create a “unique moment” in your presentation – almost like a bookmark. This will help your audience segment your presentation and retain information better.

Finally, videos have continued to grow in popularity as it is a combination of both visual aids and auditory aids.

Your video can be a live action video with real actors or it can be a stop motion animation. Whatever video style you decide, a video clip will help get your message across and enhance audience memory.

By combining all three aids, you’re targeting a combination of both visual and auditory senses. This combination will help your presentation stick out as human learning occurs visually and through auditory.

3 – Sizzle Reels

Although similar to videos, sizzle reels add a bit of flair traditional videos often lack.

Sentiment wise, videos can be positive, neutral or even negative while a sizzle reel’s sentiment is usually always positive.

Sizzle reels are very promotional in the sense that they are created with an intended purpose to have the audience act or feel in a certain way.

Unlike a video which may be used to support an argument or provide raw, unfiltered visual dialogue, a sizzle reel is typically created with a specific purpose for persuasion or selling.

Oftentimes, a sizzle reel is used to demonstrate or highlight a specific idea, product or sample of work usually presented with positive connotation. The presenter is trying to get the audience to be on the same page as them.

Like a video, a sizzle reel can be live action or animated – it is the intention of the video which makes it a sizzle reel or not.

4 – Motion Graphics

Keep your audience’s eyes stimulated by incorporating motion graphics into your presentation.

Motion graphics use the illusion of motion or rotation to make something which is typically stationary to appear as though it’s moving.

Motion graphics are great when they are used effectively. Too much motion graphics or improperly used motion graphics takes away your presentation’s credibility as it may begin to appear too animated and comical.

Depending on your presentation niche, motion graphics can really help enhance your presentation.

If your presentation primarily deals with lots of text, consider using motion graphics to help liven things up.

PresGeek Portfolio - Flowmill Explainer Video from Presentation Geeks on Vimeo .

You may be thinking to yourself, “Well, why not just use video?”. To that we say video isn’t for every industry. Although video may seem like the best option, it can often hurt your presentation more than it benefits it.

Consider a historical speech, one with a powerful message. Would you rather just watch a video of the person speaking, or perhaps a carefully curated kinetic typography motion graphic?

In this instance, although a video is still acceptable, you would be better off with motion graphics.

Motion graphics aren’t to be confused with animation. The difference between motion graphics and animation is motion graphics convert a typically stationary object into a moving one. Motion graphics don’t follow a typical storytelling narrative.

Animation on the other hand takes the audience on an emotional journey through storytelling which is an additional presentation aid we will discuss.

5 – 3D Modeling & Animation

If motion graphics aren’t enough, try using 3D Modeling and animation to bring your ideas to life and help tell a story!

3D Modeling and animation help bring hard to conceptualize ideas into a more tangible reality.

For example, if you’re presenting a prototype of a car, home or the latest piece of tech, spending money into developing a fully functional or full-scale product may not be feasible – especially if you’re merely pitching the idea to get funding in the first place.

3D modeling allows your audience to see how the product will look and perform if it were real.

Animation helps connect your messaging to your audience through the art of storytelling. Animation allows you to tell stories far beyond the scope of what is in our reality and can really help emphasize your brand’s essence.

For example, Red Bull did a great job with their advertising using the art of animation. Red Bull’s slogan of “Red Bull gives you wings” is personified through animation as their animated characters are given wings after drinking their product. They’re also put in high-intensity situations. Although often comical, animation helped bring the brand essence to life.

This could still be done with live-action actors and CGI, but the cost is far more than animation.

Animation is a cost-effective storytelling tool to bring even the most extremes of situations into a digestible reality.

6 – Maps

Our world has shifted to become a global village.

It is almost impossible to go about your day without hearing a piece of international news.

Whether it’s news, politics, culture or business, we are connected to different nations around the world. As you progress in your life, you’ll soon encounter yourself presenting to people around the world whether virtually or in-person.

If you are presenting to people around the world whether it be for politics, culture or business, adding a map is another great presentation aid to help visualize the interconnectedness between each other.

A map can be used to highlight geographical hotspots, geographical trends and more.

Here are some examples we’ve put together of when you would use a map.

Planning to expand your business? Why not include a map pinpointing all your existing locations relative to your new expansion.

Planning to show how diseases spread throughout the world and relative hotspots of infections? Consider adding a map with varying degrees of color to highlight infection densities.

Maps don’t need to be international either depicting every country – they can be used for small businesses showcasing a localized region.

Lastly, maps help put things into perspective. Tying back to presentation psychology, people are more likely to express emotions or feel connected to something the closer they are to it, physically. By using a map, you can put your message into perspective for your audience.

7 – Infographic Charts & Graphs

Rather than simply putting a few numbers up on a slide deck and calling it a day, try inputting these numbers in a chart or graph.

You have to consider your audience and not everyone learns or absorbs information by simply reading. They need to visualize comparisons and differences. Charts and graphs are one great way to do this.

Let’s take a look at the example above. It could’ve been easy enough to show there was a 280% increase in energy saving, but we were missing a big chunk of the story which was expenses were declining. You also don’t see the scale of energy savings relative to expenses with just words.

Instead, opting to put numbers into a visual format, the audience members can easily understand the advantages and compare it to the change over time.

Remember – try and avoid very complex graphs. When you start to input complex graphs into a presentation, you’ll begin to lose the audience as they will be too busy focusing on understanding the graph.

If possible, leave the audience with resources they can look back to after the presentation such as a brochure or handout where they can take as much time as they need to digest more robust graphs.

8 – Infographic Diagrams

Unlike charts and graphs which primarily focus on data and numbers, a diagram focuses on the appearance, structure, flow or workings of something.

A diagram is a great presentation aid to use as it helps break complex ideas into step-by-step sections the audience can follow along with.

Not only does it provide clear steps, but it can help speak to key points of a product or timeline.

For example, this diagram goes over the structure of an EV charger.

Rather than just showing an image of the charger with bullet points off to the side, a diagram provides clear connection lines from the point being made and where it’s located on the final product.

Diagrams also help illustrate flow. Whether it be the customer journey, your product development or your company’s growth, diagrams are great ways to show consistent progression in a logical, step-by-step pattern.

9 – Brochures & Presentation Handouts

One way to really connect with your audience and almost guarantee they’ll leave the presentation remembering something is with a brochure or handout.

A brochure or handout is a physical printout which could be a combination of images, written text and diagrams.

Oftentimes, brochures and handouts are used to elaborate on information already being presented but in further detail. Depending on the scope of your presentation, you may want to opt to have a brochure or presentation handout.

If the nature of your presentation requires thorough research, data and insight such as business or healthcare, a handout can allow your audience to review the information at their own pace at a later time.

A brochure or handout also allows audience members to jot down information.

This is important if you’re trying to encourage audience participation.

By enabling the audience to jot down their own notes and have time near the end of your presentation for them to collaborate and speak to points throughout your presentation, you’ll be engaging in a discourse with your audience.

10 – Demonstration or Live Performance

The last presentation aid we recommend is also one of the hardest to pull off – a demonstration or live performance.

A demonstration or live performance is when you’re presenting the truth and validity of something. For example, you might do a demonstration of how your product performs. Or, instead of playing music, you could have a live performance.

One of the most well-known presenters to do demonstrations or live performances is Steve Jobs. At the unveiling of any new Apple product, Steve Jobs was there on stage with the product in-hand ready to demonstrate its state of the art capabilities.

Demonstration or live performances are one of the best presentation aids to use as they often go hand in hand with public relations. Whether the performance goes well or bad, you can almost be sure there will be press coverage of it afterwards.

A great example of a demonstration which went south was Tesla’s Cybertruck and their armored windows . What was supposed to be strong, armored glass came to a shattering end when a Tesla employee threw a steel ball at not just one window, but both the front and rear window leaving both of them shattered. The hope was for the steel ball to ricochet off the window to demonstrate their durability, but instead they failed.

Although this might seem like a failure, the coverage it got after the presentation was a complete publicity success.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of Using Presentation Aids

As with everything in life, there are always two sides of the coin – positives and negatives.

The same goes for using presentation aids.

Rather than experimenting yourself and learning the hard way of advantages and disadvantages, we’ve put together this short yet informative section to help guide your decision making.

Presentation aids are great complementary tools you should use in every presentation. They allow you to connect with audience members in new and unique ways.

One of the advantages of using presentation aids is to appeal to different audiences.

Everyone has a different attention span. Everyone also learns and absorbs information differently. By disseminating your key message using new and unique methods, you’re able to appeal to a larger audience.

Secondly, presentation aids allow the lifespan of your presentation to be extended.

Imagine your presentation was only you speaking. The moment you’re done talking, the presentation is over and it begins to fade from people’s memory. With the help of presentation aids, you avoid this outcome and extend how long your presentation is remembered for.

For example, if you used a slide deck to accompany your presentation, the slide deck can be made available to audience members after the presentation to reference.

Lastly, presentation aids help reduce the attention that’s put on you and allow you to take breaks while presenting.

If you’re a beginner, it can be intimidating to be the center of attention. With the added use of presentation aids, you can break up your presentation to allow the aids to do the work. If you have a video, once you begin to play it, the audience’s attention will be redirected to the video. This will allow you time to pause, recollect your thoughts, take a drink of water if needed and continue on with the presentation afterwards.

Disadvantages

Presentation aids are not the miracle solution.

If you don’t have a solid foundation on which your presentation is built upon, it doesn’t matter how many or which presentation aids you decide to use. You need to ensure your presentation is properly structured from the beginning.

Presenters can also get carried away with using too many presentation aids.

When you don’t take the time to reflect on the presentation aids you are using and just begin spitballing every presentation aid into your presentation just because you know of these tools, doesn’t mean you should. They begin to become a distraction and takeaway from the messaging you’re trying to get across.

Conclusion – Should You Use Presentation Aids?

The short and sweet answer is yes. You should absolutely use presentation aids.

Unless your plan is to only be a storyteller letting the audience create an image in their mind, then you should consider using at least one of the presentation aid types mentioned above.

Not only will presentation aids help your audience learn and retain the information better, it may actually help you!

Presentation aids require you to contribute more work to the final product. It requires you to carefully think of the story you’re trying to convey to your audience and which best method to do so. By taking this extra bit of time to sit down and reflect on your presentation and actually produce well-crafted aids, you’ll be setting yourself up as a thought-leader on the topic.

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Aesthetics and Delivery

Learning Objectives

Explain reasons why presentation aids are important in public speeches;
Detail how presentation aids function;
Discuss strategies for implementing and integrating presentation aids.

When you give a speech, you are presenting much more than just a collection of words and ideas. Because you are speaking live, your audience members will aesthetically experience your speech through all five of their senses: hearing, vision, smell, taste, and touch. In addition to your verbal and nonverbal embodiment, presentation aids assist in amplifying your content for the audience’s overall experience.

Presentation aids are the resources beyond the speech itself that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. The type of presentation aids that speakers most typically make use of are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like. Audible aids include musical excerpts, audio speech excerpts, and sound effects. A speaker may also use fragrance samples or food samples as olfactory (sense of smell) or gustatory (sense of taste) aids. Finally, presentation aids can be three-dimensional objects or they can change over a period of time, as in the case of a how-to demonstration. As you can see, you have a range of presentation aids at your disposal.

Effective presentation aids are guided by two questions:

How can I best represent an idea in my speech through a presentation aid?
When is best to introduce it to the audience?

If you’re able to answer these two main questions, the audience is more likely to understand your idea more fully. Each presentation aid a speaker uses must be a direct, uncluttered example of a specific element of the speech. It is understandable that someone presenting a speech about Abraham Lincoln might want to include a photograph of him, but if there’s a high probability that the audience knows what Lincoln looked like, the picture would not contribute much to the message unless, perhaps, the message was specifically about the changes in Lincoln’s appearance during his time in office.

In this example, other visual artifacts may be more likely to deliver relevant information—a diagram of the interior of Ford’s Theater where Lincoln was assassinated, a facsimile of the messy and much-edited Gettysburg Address, or a photograph of the Lincoln family, for example. The key is that each presentation aid must directly express an idea in your speech.

Moreover, presentation aids must be used at the time when you are presenting the specific ideas related to the aid. For example, if you are speaking about coral reefs and one of your supporting points is about the location of the world’s major reefs, it would make sense to display a map of these reefs while you’re talking about location. If you display it while you are explaining what coral actually is, or describing the kinds of fish that feed on a reef, the map will not serve as a useful aid—in fact, it’s likely to be a distraction.

In this chapter, we will discuss some principles and strategies to help you incorporate effective presentation aids into your speech. We will begin by discussing the functions that good presentation aids fulfill. Next, we will explore some of the many types of presentation aids and how best to design and utilize them. We will also describe various media that can be used for presentation aids.

Functions of Presentation Aids

Why should you use presentation aids? If you have prepared and rehearsed your speech adequately, shouldn’t a good speech with a good delivery be enough to stand on its own? While it is true that impressive presentation aids will not rescue a poor speech, it is also important to recognize that a good speech can often be made even better by the strategic use of presentation aids. Remember that your speech is an experience rather than the isolated transmission of information, so presentation aids can enhance or detract from the aesthetics.

Presentation aids can fulfill several functions:

improve your audience’s understanding of the information you are conveying;
enhance audience memory and retention of the message;
add variety and interest to your speech;
enhance your credibility as a speaker.

Let’s examine each of these functions.

Improving Audience Understanding

Human communication is a complex process that often leads to misunderstandings. If you are like most people, you can easily remember incidents when you misunderstood a message or when someone else misunderstood what you said to them. Misunderstandings happen in public speaking just as they do in everyday conversations.

One reason for misunderstandings is that perception and interpretation are highly complex, individual processes (remember that communication is always cultural and contextual rather than a universal set of symbols). Most of us have seen the image in which, depending on your perception, you see either the outline of a vase or the facial profiles of two people facing each other, known as the Rubin’s vase (Hasson et al, 2001). Or you may have listened to a song for years only to have a friend say, “uh, those aren’t the lyrics!” These examples demonstrate how interpretation can differ, and it means that your presentations must be based on careful thought and preparation to maximize the likelihood that your listeners will understand your presentation as you intend them to.

As a speaker, one of your basic goals is to help your audience understand your message. To reduce misunderstanding, presentation aids can be used to clarify or to emphasize. Use table 10.1 to identify questions that underly clarifying or emphasizing ideas.

Aiding Retention and Recall

The second function that presentation aids can serve is to increase the audience’s chances of remembering your speech. An article by the U.S. Department of Labor (1996) summarized research on how people learn and remember. The authors found that “83% of human learning occurs visually, and the remaining 17% through the other senses—11% through hearing, 3.5% through smell, 1% through taste, and 1.5% through touch.”

An added plus of using presentation aids is that they can boost your retention and memory while you are speaking. Using your presentation aids while you rehearse your speech will familiarize you with the association between a given place in your speech and the presentation aid that accompanies that material.

Adding Variety and Interest

A third function of presentation aids is simply to make your speech more interesting. For example, wouldn’t a speech on community gardens have a greater impact if you accompanied your remarks with pictures of such gardens? You can imagine that your audience would be even more enthralled if you had the ability to display produce for your audience live. Similarly, if you were speaking to a group of gourmet cooks about spices, you might want to provide tiny samples of spices that they could smell and taste during your speech.

Enhancing a Speaker’s Credibility

The final function of a presentation aid is to increase your ethos, or credibility. A high-quality presentation will contribute to your professional image. This means that in addition to containing important information, your presentation aids must be clear, clean, uncluttered, organized, and large enough for the audience to see and interpret correctly. Misspellings and poorly designed presentation aids can damage your credibility as a speaker. Even if you give a good speech, you run the risk of appearing unprofessional if your presentation aids are poorly executed.

In addition, make sure that you give proper credit to the source of any presentation aids that you take from other sources. Using a statistical chart or a map without proper credit will detract from your credibility, just as using a quotation in your speech without credit would. This situation will usually take place with digital aids such as PowerPoint slides. The source of a chart or the data shown in a chart form should be cited at the bottom of the slide and orally in your speech.

If you focus your efforts on producing presentation aids that contribute effectively to your meaning, that look professional, and that are handled well, your audience will most likely appreciate your efforts and pay close attention to your message. That attention will help them learn or understand your topic in a new way and will thus help the audience see you as a knowledgeable, competent, and credible speaker. With the prevalence of digital communication, the audience expectation of quality visual aids has increased.

Avoiding COMMON PRESENTATION AID PITFALLS

One principle to keep in mind is to use only as many presentation aids as necessary to present your message or clarify a component of your idea. Too often, speakers fall into a “must have long and detailed presentational aids for the entire speech” – in these cases, the aid can overshadow or distract from the content, rather than to clarify or add emphasis. Instead, simplify as much as possible, emphasizing the information you want your audience to understand rather than overwhelming them with too much text and too many images.

Another important consideration is context. Remember to survey the literal context of your speech to decide what aid is possible – is there technology? Is there a poster stand or a white board? Are there speakers? Is there WiFi? Keep your presentation aids within the limits of the working technology available to you. Whether or not your technology works on the day of your speech, you will still have to present. As the speaker, you are responsible for arranging the things you need to make your presentation aids work as intended. Carry a roll of duct tape so you can display your poster even if the easel is gone. Find an extra chair if your table has disappeared. Test the computer setup. Have your slides on a flash drive AND send it to yourself as an attachment or post to a cloud service. Have an alternative plan prepared in case there is some glitch that prevents your computer-based presentation aids from being usable. And of course, you must know how to use the technology.

Finally, presentation aids do not “speak for themselves.” When you display a visual aid, you should explain what it shows, pointing out and naming the most important features. If you use an audio aid such as a musical excerpt, you need to tell your audience what to listen for. Similarly, if you use a video clip, it is up to you as the speaker to point out the characteristics in the video that support the point you are making—but probably beforehand, so you are not speaking over the video. At the same time, a visual aid should be quickly accessible to the audience. This is where simplicity comes in. Just as in organization of a speech you would use 3-5 main points, not 20 main points, you should limit categories of information on a visual aid.

Types of Presentation Aids

Now that we’ve explored some basic hints for preparing presentation aids, the next step is determining what type of presentation aid is best. We’ll discuss types of aids that fall into two categories: representations of data and/or representations that display a real process, idea, person, place, or thing. In other words, ask yourself: “what type of information do I think needs to be accentuated? A statistic? An image of an idea?” Once you answer, the categories below can help you determine which aid would be the best to display that type of information.

Representations of Data

If you are looking to clarify a complex piece of data or piece of evidence from your speech, you may decide that a chart, graph, or diagram is best. Charts, graphs, and diagrams help represent statistics, processes, figures, or other numeric evidence that may be otherwise difficult to comprehend if just spoken.

Chart : A chart is commonly defined as a graphical representation of data or a sketch representing an ordered process. Whether you create your charts or do research to find charts that already exist, it is important for them to exactly match the specific purpose in your speech. Figure 10.1 (“Acupuncture Chart”) shows a chart related to acupuncture and may be useful in a speech about the history and development of acupuncture. However, if your goal is to show the locations of meridians (the lines along which energy is thought to flow) and the acupuncture points, you may need to select an alternative image.

There are two common types of charts: statistical charts and sequence-of-steps chart.

Statistical Charts : For most audiences, statistical presentations must be kept as simple as possible, and they must be explained. When visually displaying information from a quantitative study, you need to make sure that you understand the material and can successfully and simply explain how one should interpret the data. This is surely an example of a visual aid that, although it delivers a limited kind of information, does not speak for itself. As with all other principles of public speaking, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.
Sequence-of-Steps Charts : Charts are also useful when you are trying to explain a process that involves several steps. If you are working with a scientific or medical argument, you may need to visually map the sequence because the process is otherwise difficult to follow.

Graph: A graph is a pictorial representation of the relationships of quantitative data using dots, lines, bars, pie slices, and the like. Graphs show how one factor (such as size, weight, number of items) varies in comparison to other items. Whereas a statistical chart may report the mean (or average) ages of individuals entering college, a graph would show how the mean age changes over time. A statistical chart may report the number of computers sold in the United States, while a graph will use bars or lines to show the breakdown of those computers by operating systems such as Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.

Public speakers can show graphs using a range of different formats. Some of those formats are specialized for various professional fields. Very complex graphs often contain too much information that is not related to the purpose of a speech. If the graph is cluttered, it becomes difficult to comprehend. If you find a graph that has useful information, ask: “do I need to represent this graph as-is or can I represent a key portion of the graph that’s most relevant to my data?”

There are 3 types of graphs that we’ll introduce: line graphs, bar graphs, and pie graphs.

Line Graph : A line graph is designed to show trends over time. You could, for example, use a line graph to chart Enron’s stock prices over time.
Bar Graph: Bar graphs are useful for showing the differences between quantities. They can be used for population demographics, fuel costs, math ability in different grades, and many other kinds of data. The graph in Figure 10.2 (“Suicide vs. Homicide”) is well designed. It is relatively simple and is carefully labeled, making it easy for you to guide your audience through the recorded numbers of each type of death. The bar graph is designed to show the difference between rates of suicides and homicides across various age groups. When you look at the data, the first grouping clearly shows that eighteen- to twenty-four-year-olds are more likely to die because of a homicide than any of the other age groups.
Pie Graph: Pie graphs are usually depicted as circles and are designed to show proportional relationships within sets of data; in other words, they show parts of or percentages of a whole. They should be simplified as much as possible without eliminating important information.

Figure 10.2

Diagrams : Diagrams are visual representations that simplify a complex process. They may be drawings or sketches that outline and explain the parts of an object, process, or phenomenon that cannot be readily seen. When you introduce a diagram, you are working to label parts of a process for your audience. For example, you may decide to diagram how human communication occurs because simply describing that process would be too complex.

Charts, graphs, and diagrams can present challenges in being effective but also in being ethical. To be both ethical and effective, you need a good understanding of what statistics mean, and you need to create or use graphs that show amounts clearly. Remember that clarifying is a key goal of presentational aids, so ask: is my graph or chart making my information more or less difficult to comprehend?

Representations of Real Processes or Things

In contrast, a second set of presentational aids represents real processes, things, persons, places, or ideas. While charts and graphs simplify more complex or abstract ideas, data, or evidence, this set of presentational aids attempts to add emphasis to real, literal stuff. This includes: maps, photos, videos, audio recordings, and objects (diagrams can also fall into this category, depending on what you’re mapping).

Maps: Maps are extremely useful if the information is clear and limited. There are all kinds of maps, including population, weather, ocean current, political, and economic maps, so you should find the right kind for the purpose of your speech. Choose a map that emphasizes the information you need to deliver and are trying to represent. For example, you might decide that a map outlining the Hawaiian Islands would be helpful to clarify the spatial dimensions of the state. Although the map may not list the names of the islands, it is helpful in orienting the audience to the direction and distance of the islands to other geographic features, such as the Pacific Ocean.

Photographs and Drawings: Sometimes a photograph or a drawing is the best way to show an unfamiliar but important detail. For example, if you gave a speech about the impact of plastics on ocean life, you may decide to include a photo of a beached whale who had suffered from plastic inhalation. The photo may emphasize the impact of plastic that speaking otherwise doesn’t capture.

Video or Audio Recordings: Another very useful type of presentation aid is a video or audio recording. Whether it is a short video from a website such as YouTube or Vimeo, a segment from a song, or a piece of a podcast, a well-chosen video or audio recording may be a good choice to enhance your speech.

There is one major warning to using audio and video clips during a speech: do not forget that they are supposed to be aids to your speech, not the speech itself! In addition, be sure to avoid these four mistakes that speakers often make when using audio and video clips:

Avoid choosing clips that are too long for the overall length of the speech.
Practice with the audio or video equipment prior to speaking. If you are unfamiliar with the equipment, you’ll look foolish trying to figure out how it works. Be sure that the speakers on the computer are on and at the right volume level.
Cue the clip to the appropriate place prior to beginning your speech, and try to avoid any advertisement interruptions (which can make the aid look unprofessional).
The audience must be given context before the video or audio clip is played, specifically what the clip is and why it relates to the speech. At the same time, the video should not repeat what you have already said, but add to it.

Objects: Objects refer to anything you could hold up and talk about during your speech. If you’re talking about the importance of not using plastic water bottles, you might hold up a plastic water bottle and a stainless-steel water bottle as examples.

Ways to Display Your Presentation Aid

Above, we’ve discussed why you might use a presentation aid and what aid might work best. “How do I display these?” you might be wondering. For example, if you decide that a graph would be helpful in clarifying a complex idea, you have options on how to present that graph to the audience, including presentation software or more low-tech means. We’ll talk through each below.

Using Presentation Software

Presentation software and slides are a common mechanism to display information for your audience. You are likely familiar with PowerPoint, but there are several others:

Prezi, available at www.prezi.com
Slide Rocket, available at www.sliderocket.com
Google Slides, available in Google Drive and useful for collaborative assignments
Keynote, the Apple presentation slide software on Macs
Impress, an Open Office product (http://www.openoffice.org/prod-uct/impress.html)
AdobeAcrobat Presenter

Each software allows you to present professional-looking slides. For example, you can use the full range of fonts, although many of them are not appropriate for presentations because they are hard to read. Use Table 10.3 to track advantages and disadvantages of using slides.

Remember that presentation software aids are a way to display what you want your audience to know—a graph, an idea, an image. Presentation software is not the only way to display these, so slides should be a purposeful choice. W hat you display is the top priority.

Before we continue, we have one note: You’ll notice that “text from the speech” is not included in our list of types of presentation aids in the section above. You may decide that adding emphasis to a key word or concept from your speech is needed – and that’s OK! You may even decide that providing that concept, visually, for the audience is worthwhile by writing or displaying the words, and that’s OK, too. However, remember that presentation aids are included for a reason, and it’s often unnecessary to provide an entire outline of your speech’s text through a presentation software like PowerPoint slides. Speakers, too often, copy and paste parts of their speech onto a PowerPoint slide and think, ‘There! A presentation aid!” Ask: what purpose does this text serve for my audience? If your answer doesn’t result in clarifying, emphasizing, or retaining, it’s likely not needed.

Creating Quality Slide Shows

Slides should show the principles of good design, which include unity, emphasis or focal point, scale and proportion, balance, and rhythm (Lauer & Pentak, 2000). Presenters should also pay attention to tone and usability. With those principles in mind, here are some tips for creating and then using presentation software.

Unity and Consistency: use a single (readable) sans serif font, single background, and unified animations for your visuals so that they look like a unified set. Each slide should have one message, photo, or graphic.
Emphasis, Focal Point, and Visibility: all information should be large enough—at least 24-point font— for audiences. To guarantee visibility, follow the 7X7 rule: no more than seven horizontal lines of text (including the heading) and the longest line should not exceed seven words. Finally, provide higher contrast between text and slides.
Tone : Fonts, color, clip art, photographs, and templates all contribute to tone, which is the attitude being conveyed in the slides. Make sure the tone of the presentation software matches the overall aesthetic tone of the speech.
Scale and Proportion : Use numbers to communicate a sequence. If bullet points are used, the text should be short. Adjust graphs or visuals on the slide, avoiding small or multiple visuals on the same image.
Balance and rhythm : Work to create symmetry and balance between each slide. When presenting, think about what’s being displayed on the slide to the audience and when. If you aren’t using it, insert a black screen between images.
Usability : With any image or graphic, make sure to include “alt text” – or a description of what the image is. Proving alt text is helpful for users with screen readers.

We recommend that you survey your university’s resources for assistance with creating quality and accessible presentation slides.

Low-Tech Presentation Aids

In addition to presentation slides, there are other “low-tech” ways to display. Instead of providing a diagram on PowerPoint, you may decide that drawing it live is more beneficial. Below, we talk through a few additional means to display your information to the audience.

Dry-Erase Board

If you use a chalkboard or dry-erase board, what you display should still be thought-out, rehearsed, and clearly professional. You run the risk of appearing less prepared, but numerous speakers do utilize chalk and dry-erase boards effectively. Typically, these speakers use the chalk or dry-erase board for interactive components of a speech. For example, maybe you’re giving a speech in front of a group of executives. Chalk or dry-erase boards are very useful when you want to visually show information that you are receiving from your audience. If you ever use a chalk or dry-erase board, follow these five simple rules:

Write large enough so that everyone in the room can see (which is harder than it sounds; it is also hard to write and talk at the same time!).
Print legibly; don’t write in cursive script.
Write short phrases; don’t take time to write complete sentences.
Never turn your back to the audience while you’re talking.
Be sure you have markers that will not go dry, and clean the board afterward.

A flipchart is useful for situations when you want to save what you have written for future reference or to distribute to the audience after the presentation. As with whiteboards, you will need good markers and readable handwriting, as well as a strong easel to keep the flipchart upright.

Posters often represent a key graph, idea, or visualization. For a poster, you likely want to display one key piece of information at one key part of your presentation. Otherwise, posters are probably not the best way to approach presentation aids in a speech. There are problems with visibility as well as portability. Avoid producing a presentation aid that looks like you simply cut pictures out of magazines and pasted them on.

First, make sure the handout is worth the trouble of making, copying, and distributing it. Does the audience really need the handout? Second, make sure to bring enough copies of the handout for each audience member to get one. Having to share or look on with one’s neighbor does not contribute to a professional image. Third, consider timing. We recommend providing the handout at the conclusion of your speech.

Reminders for Integrating Presentation Aids

Regardless of what presentation aid you choose—a photo, chart, map— and the medium that you’ll display it—a handout, slide deck, audio device— all presentation aids require rehearsal. While we’ve included tips on integrating presentation aids in your speech throughout this chapter, use the following list of strategies to integrate your aid into the speech.

Gather all citation information and provide it both visually and orally to your audience.
In your speaking notes, mark where you will integrate the presentation aid so that you don’t forget about it due to nervousness.
Determine where the presentation aid will be when it’s not being displayed.
For a PowerPoint presentation, include blank/black slides that are used when your visual aid isn’t in use.
Store other objects in non-distracting locations.
Rehearse your transitions into and out of the presentation aid.

The Mythical Norm and Presentation Aids

In Chapter 8 on nonverbal delivery, we introduced the idea of the mythical norm. As you remember, when you’re an audience member, it’s important to reflect on the assumptions that we hold about the speaker. Are we judging a speaker based on our own assumptions of what’s normal?

Similarly, when you’re making decisions about presentation aids as a speaker, it’s important to be reflexive about who is in the audience. Are you making decisions about presentation aids based on our own assumptions about what’s normal and who’s normal? Are you assuming, for example, that all audience members are able-bodied and able to visually and audibly experience your presentation aid?

Creating an accessible experience for audience members must be a priority. For example, you may want to avoid red and green colors on your visual aids as they’re not perceivable to all audience members. While constructing presentation software of slides, make sure you include alt-text for images, especially if you provide the slides to the presentation. These are for audience members who may be sight-impaired. Check out guidelines for the presentation software you’re using on how to embed alt-text. Additionally, be weary of smells that may be intense or irritate audience members. Overall, be careful not to assume that audience members also fit the mythical norm as you construct your presentation aid.

To finish this chapter, we will recap a few key pieces of information. Whether your aid is a slide show, object, or dry erase board, these standards are essential:

Presentation aids must be easily experienced by your audience.
Presentation aids must be portable, easily handled, and efficient. They should disappear when not in use.
Presentation aids should be aesthetically pleasing, which includes in good taste. Additionally, electronic media today allows you to create very “busy” slides with varieties of fonts, colors, collages of photos, etc. Keep in mind the principles of unity and focal point.
Color is another aesthetic aspect. Some colors are just more soothing, readable, and appropriate than others. Also, the color on your slides may be different when projected from what is on your computer.
Provide credit when using images that aren’t your own.
Finally, presentation aids must support your speech and have high relevance to your content.

This chapter has covered a wide range of information about all kinds of audio and visual aids, but audiences today expect and appreciate professionally designed and handled presentation aids. The stakes are higher now, but the tools are many.

Media Attributions

Acupuncture Chart is licensed under a Public Domain license
Homicide_suicide_USA © Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is licensed under a Public Domain license

Speak Out, Call In: Public Speaking as Advocacy Copyright © 2019 by Meggie Mapes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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12.1 What Are Presentation Aids?

When you give a speech, you are presenting much more than just a collection of words and ideas. Because you are speaking “live and in person,” your audience members will experience your speech through all five of their senses: hearing, vision, smell, taste, and touch. In some speaking situations, the speaker appeals only to the sense of hearing. They more or less ignore the other senses except to avoid visual distractions by dressing and presenting themselves in an appropriate manner. But the speaking event can be greatly enriched by appeals to the other senses. This is the role of presentation aids.

Presentation aids are the resources beyond the speech words and delivery that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. The type of presentation aids that speakers most typically make use of are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like. Audible aids include musical excerpts, audio speech excerpts, and sound effects. A speaker may also use fragrance samples or food samples as olfactory (sense of smell) or gustatory (sense of taste) aids. Finally, presentation aids can be three-dimensional objects, animals, and people.

As you can see, the range of possible presentation aids is almost unlimited. However, all presentation aids have one thing in common: To be effective, each presentation aid a speaker uses must be a direct, uncluttered example of a specific element of the speech. It is understandable that someone presenting a speech about Abraham Lincoln might want to include a photograph of him, but because everyone already knows what Lincoln looked like, the picture would not contribute much to the message unless, perhaps, the message was specifically about the changes in Lincoln’s appearance during his time in office.

Other visual artifacts are more likely to deliver information more directly relevant to the speech—a diagram of the interior of Ford’s Theater where Lincoln was assassinated, a facsimile of the messy and much-edited Gettysburg Address, or a photograph of the Lincoln family, for example. The key is that each presentation aid must directly express an idea in your speech.

To be effective, presentation aids must also be easy to use and easy for the listeners to see and understand. In this chapter, we will present some principles and strategies to help you incorporate effective presentation aids into your speech. We will begin by discussing the functions that good presentation aids fulfill. Next, we will explore some of the many types of presentation aids and how best to design and utilize them. We will also describe various media that can be used for presentation aids. We will conclude with tips for successful preparation and use of presentation aids in a speech.

the resources beyond the speech words and delivery that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience

of or relating to the sense of smell

of or relating to the sense of taste

It’s About Them: Public Speaking in the 21st Century Copyright © 2022 by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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12 Chapter 12: Presentation Aids

Victoria Leonard, College of the Canyons

Adapted by Katharine O’Connor, Ph.D., Florida SouthWestern State College

Figure 12.1: Katherine Maher 1

Introduction

We are sure that there are days when you just throw your clothes on to go to school or work, and that is all that is important! But, there are other days when you may choose to wear jewelry, hats, belts, or other accessory items. Presentation aids can be looked at as those accessory items. They don’t detract from what you are wearing, but rather the goal is to enhance what you are wearing! In writing a speech we all tend to put our greatest effort into the construction of the speech outline. That is still your primary goal. However, your instructor may ask you to also construct a presentation aid , which is anything that helps you convey the meaning of your speech to the audience. A presentation aid is a resource that goes beyond the words you say in a speech and enhances the message for the audience. This is not a “busy-work” activity! There are important reasons to construct presentation aids.

The Power of Presentation Aids

If you recall back to your youth, or even now, this may resonate with you. If you ever asked a parent why you had to do something, the answer you might have received would have been “Because I said so!” We hope that in looking at the value and power of presentation aids you will see that our reasons for telling you to use them in your speech go beyond what your professors have as requirements for your speech. There are six important reasons to use presentation aids.

Presentation Aids Add Clarity to Your Speech

Imagine a speech on how to do yoga. Would you know how to position your body without seeing either a picture, video, or human demonstration? Probably not. You would need something to see to be able to then go home and duplicate their movements. Presentation aids make your speech easier to understand.

Figure 12.2: Scorpion Pose 2

Presentation Aids Add Interest to Your Speech

This does not mean you are not interesting! When we have something to look at that is interesting, unique, and meaningful, there is the “ah-ha” moment that makes the speech more exciting. Later in this chapter, you will read more about the types of things you can do, but here’s an example of some of my favorite presentation aids. One student doing a speech on Harry Potter created a book that was three feet high. The cover of the book was a hand-drawn picture of Harry Potter and each subsequent page showed each of the books of the series. The detail and creativity were so compelling that the class was truly mesmerized.

Harry Potter’s Cupboard under the Stairs Photo

Figure 12.3: Harry Potter’s Cupboard under the Stairs 3

Presentation Aids Help the Audience Remember What You Said

Before we had WAZE or GOOGLE MAPS , people would often give directions on how to get somewhere. Some of those directions could be complicated (especially if you live in a busy city). If you ever learned CPR, you probably remembered it for a short time, but could you replicate the process? Simply showing someone a map or watching a YouTube video on CPR can make it so much easier! You won’t need to give long explanations when you have a visual. Many of us are visual learners. When we engage more than our sense of hearing, we are more apt to remember facts and details.

Figure 12.4: Demonstration of CPR 4

Presentation Aids Make You a Credible Speaker

The effort you put into a quality visual will simply make YOU look better. Whether you design a simple PowerPoint, dress in a costume (or in appropriate business casual attire), or create posters, well-designed presentation aids will impress your audience and show that you cared enough about your speech to put in the effort.

Figure 12.5: Business Attire 5

Presentation Aids Prove Your Point

If you’ve ever heard the phrase “seeing is believing” then this will make sense to you. Whether the point is to believe that a friend can stand on their head, or a much more serious situation that might be represented in print media, presentation aids help everyone understand and believe what you say. Can you do splits while standing on one leg like Olympic ice skater Kamila Valieva? Perhaps you can, but telling an audience you can as opposed to seeing it done proves your point.

Figure 12.6: Kamila Valieva 6

Presentation Aids Can Help with Speech Anxiety

The more you use any form of presentation aid, you have something else to focus on aside from your anxiety. Some might argue that having something else to focus on will create more anxiety, but with practice, you will find that having something to hold or show an audience will calm your nerves. If you have ever used a stress ball, that squishy object that you can hold in your hand to help minimize stress, focusing on something within your speech that is outside of yourself can result in the same effect.

Types of Presentation Aids

There are many different types of presentation aids available. In this next section, we will explore the types of presentation aids you can use, and then we will look at the media for your presentation aids; what to put them on. It is always best to check with your instructor if you are unsure about the use of any presentation aid for your particular assignment.

Depending on your topic, objects can be very effective presentation aids. Objects consist of any item that you can hold up to show an audience. However, there are important guidelines. Objects need to be large enough to show your audience. If you are presenting a speech on how to string a necklace, chances are your necklace will not be large enough. Students presenting in a classroom need to keep in mind the distance of the audience; however, presenting in Zoom would allow you to show a smaller object because you can easily hold it up to the webcam.

Figure 12.7: Beaded Necklace 7

When it is not possible to bring an object into a classroom or a Zoom room, models are excellent alternatives. Models are small or large-scale representations of an object. For example, I once had a student who wanted to show the class a rollercoaster that he designed. Since it was not workable to show the entire rollercoaster, he made an image using digital software. We are all only limited by our own creativity!

Figure 12.8: Toy Airplane

Charts consist of information that is listed or represented in some way on your presentation aid. Charts could be designed simply in a PowerPoint or could be designed on a poster board. If you are doing a speech on depression, stress, or a disease, a chart could simply list the symptoms for your audience. They can be an effective presentation aid when you have a block of text that you want to show. Just be cautious not to put too much information on the chart. For example, the Symptoms of Stress chart included below provides you with a good guideline. A header with three to five bullet points is substantial enough to make a point and will not be too much information for an audience to comprehend.

Figure 12.9: Symptoms of Stress 9

Infographics

Infographics are visual representations that may use icons, diagrams, illustrations, and some limited text. These have become popular due to the ease of understanding the content and the creative way in which you can use different approaches to create them. For example, an infographic can be used to show the audience information about the COVID-19 pandemic, stress, or any topic that might include data. Infographics can present complex information in a way that is easy to understand.

Figure 12.10: Covid-19 PSA 10

Figure 12.11: Symptoms of Stress 11

Understanding what numbers or statistics mean can be difficult for anyone. Graphs are visual representations of data. They present important, factual information to your audience to help them better understand what statistics and numbers mean. Three common types of graphs used in speeches are pie graphs, bar graphs, and line graphs.

Pie graphs allow you to show “slices” of the pie in a visually appealing and impactful way. Using color to represent different areas of the graph will help your audience make the distinction between all data points.

Figure 12.12: Pie Graph of World Population 12

Bar Graphs show your data using rectangular bars that have varying heights that are proportional to what they are representing. These can be used to show comparisons between demographic information, inflation, social media, or other kinds of information.

Figure 12.13: Bar Graph of Preventable Causes of Death 13

Line Graphs use specific markers along a path to represent how trends occur over time. More than one line can be used to show how one variable has increased over time, and how another has decreased.

U.S. Votes for President from 1789 to 2020 Chart

Figure 12.14: U.S. Votes for President from 1789 to 2020 14

Diagrams/Drawings

You no longer have to be an artist in order to use a diagram or drawing as a presentation aid. A diagram or drawing is a picture of what you are trying to explain. Often people say, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” You can save words if you use the right picture. Drawings or diagrams can be found online if you want to give a clear depiction of an object, process, or some other concept that cannot be easily represented in some other way.

Figure 12.15: Diagram of the Human Eye 15

As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, maps can be used instead of providing directions to a location. But maps do much more than that. Depending on your speech, you may use a very specific type of map. If you were doing an informative speech on Disneyland, you might show a map of the park. You might show a map of U.S. voters for a persuasive speech on why people should vote.

Figure 12.16: 2004 U.S. Election Map

Photographs

One of the easiest types of presentation aids to use are photographs . Whether you have photos on your phone, or you download photos from an online source, these can be one of the most effective types of visual aids. For example, if you are doing a speech on author Maya Angelou, your audience will not experience the depth of your speech without seeing what she looked like. If you do use an image from online or any other copyrighted material, make sure to cite the photo as you have seen in this book. The copyright should go beneath the photo.

Also, make sure your photo is large enough for the audience to see. As you will see when you read about media for presentation aids, you will have a few different ways to present your photos.

Figure 12.17: Maya Angelou 17

On occasion, you may choose to use yourself or others as presentation aids. For example, you can add to the tone of your speech on Salsa dancing by doing a bit of Salsa in front of the class. You can dress the part as well. Perhaps you are doing your speech on the fictional character Harry Potter. You can find a costume and dress like his character.

At times you may want to ask another student to volunteer to participate in your speech. This student might be your Salsa partner! Or, if your speech is on How to Braid Hair , you might ask a classmate in advance if they will participate in the speech.

Figure 12.18: Ecuador Salsa Contest 18

Audio or Video Recordings

Audio or video recordings can be used to highlight different points of your speech. You might find a podcast that supports your speech, or a piece of music. You might have a segment from a famous speech, such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream.

Video has been made easier now through the use of YouTube . Many students rely on YouTube to find specific clips that can be utilized once or more in the speech. You might show a segment of the I Have a Dream speech. YouTube has just about everything available from movies, television shows, TedEx presentations, and music videos.

Media for Presentation Aids

So far, we have discussed the different types of presentation aids you can use in a speech. You may have been wondering what we put those presentation aids on! There are a variety of media that can be used for these presentation aids, ranging from high tech to low tech. The choice you make should be based on where you will deliver your speech and assignment requirements.

High Tech Presentation Aids

High tech presentation aids include the use of computer-based media and audiovisual media, such as PowerPoint , Google Slides, and Canva . Most instructors will let you know which they prefer you to use. Microsoft PowerPoint has been around for a long time and allows you to easily create animations. Some campuses provide students with free PowerPoint access through their student accounts. PowerPoint has a variety of design options that users can edit for font and color. Google slides also allow you to embed animations and it also has excellent template options. One advantage of Google slides is that it is accessible from the cloud at any time. Canva is a more unique program as it allows you numerous options for the creation of presentations that use templates and designs not available on PowerPoint or Google Slides.

One of the benefits of using one of these methods is that you can create a presentation in minutes. You can add a chart, graph, diagram, drawing, map, or photo onto your slides quickly. You can easily find images online and download those to use. When adding an image that has a copyright it will be important to cite the source at the bottom of the image, just as you see the images cited in this textbook. When you read about the guidelines for using presentation aids you will see additional tips for creating your slideshow.

Low-Tech Presentation Aids

Low-tech presentation aids include posters or foam boards, flip charts, whiteboards, or handouts and are known for their dependability. You will never have to worry about your technology failing! These presentation aids are not reliant upon good Wi-Fi!

Figure 12.19: U.S. Army Posterboard NMAAHC 19

Presenting in Zoom

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan began his technological journey at WebEx. In 2011 he left WebEx to launch Zoom In 2011. By 2013, Zoom had one million users. By the time the Coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, there were over 300 million users as people were forced to stay home to work. Public speaking courses all over the world met in Zoom so students could still present their speeches to their classmates. When using presentation aids in Zoom , the most important areas that we need you to think about include screen sharing, virtual backgrounds, and holding visuals in front of the camera effectively.

Screen Sharing

If you have created a slideshow with either PowerPoin t, Google Slides , or Canva , you will need to learn how to share your screen. Find the “share screen” button on your device; it may look different from phone to laptop to iPad or tablet. If you have embedded any audio into your slideshow, make sure to click the box that says, “share sound.”

Virtual Backgrounds

Many people have begun to create virtual backgrounds using their slideshow. Although this is a more advanced technology, it is a creative way to have the screen in the back of you show everything in your PowerPoint . Since all computers are different, and some computers are newer than others, you will need to see what is best for your presentation. One word of caution in using a virtual background is that any movement on your part may lead to you disappearing or floating in and out of view from your audience. You need to remain virtually still if using a Zoom background.

Holding Presentation Aids in Zoom

If you plan to hold up objects or photos while presenting in Zoom , it is best not to use a virtual background since a lot of movement can lead to your visuals disappearing from view depending on your position. As discussed in the chapter on delivery, it is important to find the most neutral background you can in your home so that both you and your presentation aids are the focal points.

Hold your presentation aid up to the camera for a minimum of four seconds. You want to give your audience a chance to see it and take it in. Depending on what you need to say about your presentation aid, you may need to hold it up longer.

Checklist for Effective Use of Presentation Aids

Having clear and professional-looking presentation aids is important to enhance your credibility and ensure that your speech is supported by your presentation aids. Remember, presentation aids are used to support the body of the speech but can also be used as part of your attention-getter or conclusion. Practical guidelines will make sure that you prepare thoroughly. The following list conveys best practices for the use of presentation aids. We hope you will check them off as you go!

Guidelines for Using a Slideshow Live or Virtually

Use a minimal number of slides; perhaps one per main point and limit the amount of text per slide.
Label any images that you embed on a slide (where the image came from). Ask your instructor what they want you to put on the slide because some instructors will ask for more detail.
Do not use a title slide, rather use a blank slide at the beginning so that your audience will still be captured by your attention-getter rather than focusing on your speech title.
Also, use a blank slide in between slides so that the audience does not spend a lot of time focusing on something you have moved on from.
Put your presentation on a USB/Flash Drive. As a backup, have your slides in your email, Google Drive, DropBox , etc.

Guidelines for Using Presentation Aids in a Classroom

Avoid presentation aids that require you to turn back to the audience.
Make presentation aids large enough for everyone to see from a distance.
Display objects, posters, etc. where everyone can see.
Display presentation aids only while discussing the point you are on.
Do not pass anything around because this will distract your audience and they won’t focus on the speech.
Talk to the audience, not the presentation aids.

Guidelines for Using Fonts

Use plain fonts that are easy to read, such as Arial, Times New Roman, Cambria, Palatino, Garamond, Georgia, or Helvetica. Avoid using any script font because those are harder for people to read.
Use fonts sparingly; there is no need to use four different fonts on your slides.
Use fonts that are large enough to read. Key ideas should be 32-point for titles. The recommended size for supporting points is 24-point font.

Guidelines for Using Color

Create contrast on your slide. If you are using a white background, you can use black or blue font. If you have a black background, you can use a white font.
Avoid font colors that are often difficult to read for individuals with any vision impairment, such as yellow, red, or green.

Guidelines for Preparation of Presentation Aids

If your speech will be given in a classroom, check the room in advance and plan for emergencies (prepare to be without presentation aids if they should fail!)
PRACTICE with your presentation aids so you know how much extra time they add to your speech.
Proofread all materials – spelling errors affect your credibility.

Guidelines for Using Presentation Aids During your Speech

Explain presentation aids clearly and concisely (don’t just put them up and expect the audience to understand them).

The use of presentation aids is a critical part of your speech if your instructor requires them. Remember, presentation aids are not designed to replace what you say in your speech. Just as you put your clothes on daily, you can choose to “dress” yourself up with accessory items, such as a watch, earrings, or hat, your speech is like your clothing, and your presentation aids are like your accessories. They only add to your speech. We hope you will be creative in the process and make your presentation aids look as though you put time into them. Remember that presentation aids will add clarity and interest, help the audience understand and remember your speech, and add credibility to your speech. We encourage you to practice with them as much as you can, and that way you can also minimize your anxiety and present an impactful speech.

Reflection Questions

What do you feel your primary goal will be for using presentation aids in your next speech?
How can you use presentation aids to help the audience remember what you said?
What technology challenges do you have that you want to resolve early during your preparation process?
After reviewing the checklist for effective presentation aids, are there any boxes you could not check off? If not, why? How can you make sure you meet all of the guidelines?

Diagram/Drawing

Line Graphs

Presentation Aid

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Chapter 15 Presentation Aids: Design and Usage

Functions of presentation aids, learning objectives.

List four reasons why presentation aids are important in public speaking.
Explain two ways in which presentation aids can increase audience understanding of a message.

Improving Audience Understanding

As a speaker, one of your basic goals is to help your audience understand your message. To reduce misunderstanding, presentation aids can be used to clarify or to emphasize.

If your speech is about the impact of the Coriolis effect on tropical storms, for instance, you will have great difficulty clarifying it without a diagram because the process is a complex one. The diagram in Figure 1 “Coriolis Effect” would be effective because it shows the audience the interaction between equatorial wind patterns and wind patterns moving in other directions. The diagram allows the audience to process the information in two ways: through your verbal explanation and through the visual elements of the diagram.

Figure 2 “Model of Communication” is another example of a diagram that maps out the process of human communication. In this image you clearly have a speaker and an audience (albeit slightly abstract), with the labels of source, channel, message, receivers, and feedback to illustrate the basic linear model of human communication.

Image of the planet showing the interaction between equatorial wind patterns and wind patterns moving in other directions.

Figure 1 Coriolis Effect

Speaker is shown behind a podium, talking to an audience. In this image you clearly have a speaker and an audience (albeit slightly abstract), with the labels of source, channel, message, receivers, and feedback to illustrate the basic linear model of human communication—from speaker/source to audience/receivers.

Figure 2. Model of Communication

Example of a petroglyph showing a human torso.

Figure 3. Petroglyph

Another aspect of clarifying occurs when a speaker wants to visually help audience members understand a visual concept. For example, if a speaker is talking about the importance of petroglyphs in Native American culture, just describing the petroglyphs won’t completely help your audience to visualize what they look like. Instead, showing an example of a petroglyph, as in Figure 3 “Petroglyph”, can more easily help your audience form a clear mental image of your intended meaning.

Emphasizing

When you use a presentational aid for emphasis , you impress your listeners with the importance of an idea. In a speech on water conservation, you might try to show the environmental proportions of the resource. When you use a conceptual drawing like the one in Figure 4 “Planetary Water Supply”, you show that if the world water supply were equal to ten gallons, only ten drops would be available and potable for human or household consumption. This drawing is effective because it emphasizes the scarcity of useful water and thus draws attention to this important information in your speech.

Graphic showing a map of the world with six gallon jugs superimposed. Each jug is labeled "salty." Beneath, a caption explains that for every one cup of polluted water, there are ten drops of usable water.

Figure 4. Planetary Water Supply

Figure 5. Chinese Lettering Amplified. Source: Image courtesy of Wikimedia, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acupuncture_chart_300px.jpg.

Another way of emphasizing that can be done visually is to zoom in on a specific aspect of interest within your speech. In Figure 5 “Chinese Lettering Amplified”, we see a visual aid used in a speech on the importance of various parts of Chinese characters. On the left side of the visual aid, we see how the characters all fit together, with an emphasized version of a single character on the right.

Aiding Retention and Recall

The second function that presentation aids can serve is to increase the audience’s chances of remembering your speech. A 1996 article by the US Department of Labor summarized research on how people learn and remember. The authors found that “83% of human learning occurs visually, and the remaining 17% through the other senses—11% through hearing, 3.5% through smell, 1% through taste, and 1.5% through touch.” [1] Most of how people learn is through seeing things, so the visual component of learning is very important. The article goes on to note that information stored in long-term memory is also affected by how we originally learn the material. In a study of memory, learners were asked to recall information after a three day period. The researchers found that they retained 10 percent of what they heard from an oral presentation, 35 percent from a visual presentation, and 65 percent from a visual and oral presentation. [2] It’s amazing to see how the combined effect of both the visual and oral components can contribute to long-term memory.

For this reason, exposure to a visual image can serve as a memory aid to your listeners. When your graphic images deliver information effectively and when your listeners understand them clearly, audience members are likely to remember your message long after your speech is over.

Moreover, people often are able to remember information that is presented in sequential steps more easily than if that information is presented in an unorganized pattern. When you use a presentation aid to display the organization of your speech, you will help your listeners to observe, follow, and remember the sequence of information you conveyed to them. This is why some instructors display a lecture outline for their students to follow during class.

Adding Variety and Interest

A third function of presentation aids is simply to make your speech more interesting. While it is true that a good speech and a well-rehearsed delivery will already include variety in several aspects of the presentation, in many cases, a speech can be made even more interesting by the use of well-chosen presentation aids.

For example, you may have prepared a very good speech to inform a group of gardeners about several new varieties of roses suitable for growing in your local area. Although your listeners will undoubtedly understand and remember your message very well without any presentation aids, wouldn’t your speech have greater impact if you accompanied your remarks with a picture of each rose? You can imagine that your audience would be even more enthralled if you had the ability to display an actual flower of each variety in a bud vase.

Enhancing a Speaker’s Credibility

Presentation aids alone will not be enough to create a professional image. As we mentioned earlier, impressive presentation aids will not rescue a poor speech. However, even if you give a good speech, you run the risk of appearing unprofessional if your presentation aids are poorly executed. This means that in addition to containing important information, your presentation aids must be clear, clean, uncluttered, organized, and large enough for the audience to see and interpret correctly. Misspellings and poorly designed presentation aids can damage your credibility as a speaker. Conversely, a high quality presentation will contribute to your professional image. In addition, make sure that you give proper credit to the source of any presentation aids that you take from other sources. Using a statistical chart or a map without proper credit will detract from your credibility, just as using a quotation in your speech without credit would.

Key Takeaways

Presentation aids should help audiences more thoroughly understand a speaker’s basic message.
There are four basic reasons to use presentation aids. First, they increase audience understanding of a speaker’s message. Second, they help audiences retain and recall a speaker’s message after the fact. Third, they make a speech more interesting by adding variety. Lastly, by making a speaker’s overall speech more polished, presentation aids can increase an audience’s perception of the speaker’s credibility.
Presentation aids help an audience more clearly understand a speaker’s message in two ways: they help clarify and they help emphasize. Presentation aids can help the audience to understand complex ideas or processes and can also show which ideas are most important in the speech.
Look at the outline you have prepared for a classroom speech. Where in the speech would it be appropriate to use presentation aids? Why would presentation aids help at the points you identify?
Presentational slides from speeches are sometimes available online. Search for and evaluate three sets of presentation slides you find online. Identify three ways that the slides could be improved to be more effective presentation aids.
United States Department of Labor. (1996). Presenting effective presentations with visual aids . Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov ↵
Lockard, J., & Sidowski, J. R. (1961). Learning in fourth and sixth graders as a function of sensory mode of stimulus presentation and overt or covert practice. Journal of Educational Psychology, 52 (5), 262–265. doi: 10.1037/h0043483 ↵
Association for Psychological Science. (2011, May 28). Miracle fruit and flavor: An experiment performed at APS 2010 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/obsonline/miracle-fruit-and-flavor-an-experiment-performed-at-aps-2010.html ↵
Public Speaking: Practice and Ethics. Authored by : Anonymous. Provided by : Anonymous. Located at : http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/public-speaking-practice-and-ethics/ . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

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9.1: What are Presentation Aids?

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Kris Barton & Barbara G. Tucker
Florida State University & University of Georgia via GALILEO Open Learning Materials

When you give a speech, you are presenting much more than just a collection of words and ideas. Because you are speaking “live and in person,” your audience members will experience your speech through all five of their senses: hearing, vision, smell, taste, and touch. In some speaking situations, the speaker appeals only to the sense of hearing, more or less ignoring the other senses except to avoid visual distractions by dressing and presenting himself or herself in an appropriate manner. But the speaking event can be greatly enriched by appeals to the other senses. This is the role of presentation aids.

Presentation aid s are the resources beyond the speech words and delivery that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. The type of presentation aids that speakers most typically make use of are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like. Audible aids include musical excerpts, audio speech excerpts, and sound effects. A speaker may also use fragrance samples or food samples as olfactory (sense of smell) or gustatory (sense of taste) aids. Finally, presentation aids can be three-dimensional objects, animals, and people; they can also change over a period of time, as in the case of a how-to demonstration.

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69 What Are Presentation Aids?

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, the student will be able to:

List and explain reasons why presentation aids are important in public speaking and how they function.
Describe the various computer-based and non-computer-based types of presentation aids available to the students.
Explain the correct use of various types of presentation aids.
Design professional-looking slides using presentation software.

What Are Presentation Aids?

When you give a speech, you are presenting much more than just a collection of words and ideas. Because you are speaking “live and in person,” your audience members will experience your speech through all five of their senses: hearing, vision, smell, taste, and touch. In some speaking situations, the speaker appeals only to the sense of hearing, more or less ignoring the other senses except to avoid visual distractions by dressing and presenting himself or herself in an appropriate manner. But the speaking event can be greatly enriched by appeals to the other senses. This is the role of presentation aids.

Presentation aids are the resources beyond the speech itself that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. The type of presentation aids that speakers most typically make use of are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like. Audible aids include musical excerpts, audio speech excerpts, and sound effects. A speaker may also use fragrance samples or food samples as olfactory (sense of smell) or gustatory (sense of taste) aids. Finally, presentation aids can be three-dimensional objects, animals, and people; they can change over a period of time, as in the case of a how-to demonstration.

Presentation aids

the resources beyond the speech itself that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience

of or relating to the sense of smell

of or relating to the sense of taste

As you can see, the range of possible presentation aids is almost infinite. However, all presentation aids have one thing in common: To be effective, each presentation aid a speaker uses must be a direct, uncluttered example of a specific element of the speech. It is understandable that someone presenting a speech about Abraham Lincoln might want to include a photograph of him, but because everyone already knows what Lincoln looked like, the picture would not contribute much to the message unless, perhaps, the message was specifically about the changes in Lincoln’s appearance during his time in office.

Presentation aids must also be easy to use. At a conference on organic farming, one of the authors watched as the facilitator opened the orientation session by creating a conceptual map (or “mind map”) of our concerns using a large newsprint pad on an easel. In his shirt pocket were wide-tipped felt markers in several colors. As he was using the black marker to write the word “pollution,” he dropped the cap on the floor, and it rolled a few inches under the easel. When he bent over to pick up the cap, all the other markers fell out of his pocket. They rolled about too, and when he tried to retrieve them, he bumped the easel, causing the easel and newsprint pad to tumble over on top of him. The audience responded with amusement and thundering applause, but the serious tone of his speech was ruined. The next two days of the conference were punctuated with allusions to the unforgettable orientation speech. This is not how you will want your speech to be remembered.

To be effective, presentation aids must also be easy for the listeners to see and understand. In this chapter, we will present some principles and strategies to help you incorporate effective presentation aids into your speech. We will begin by discussing the functions that good presentation aids fulfill. Next, we will explore some of the many types of presentation aids and how best to design and utilize them. We will also describe various media that can be used for presentation aids. We will conclude with tips for successful preparation and use of presentation aids in a speech.

Exploring Communication in the Real World Copyright © 2020 by Chris Miller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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13.2 Functions of Presentation Aids

A man explains a poster presentation aid to another man at a research conference.

Why should you use presentation aids? If you have prepared and rehearsed your speech adequately, shouldn’t a good speech with a good delivery be enough to stand on its own? While it is true that impressive presentation aids will not rescue a poor speech, a good speech can often be made even better by the strategic use of presentation aids. Presentation aids can fulfill several functions: they can serve to improve your audience’s understanding of the information you are conveying, enhance audience memory and retention of the message, add variety and interest to your speech, and enhance your credibility as a speaker. Let’s examine each of these functions.

Improving Audience Understanding

One reason for misunderstandings is the fact that perception and interpretation are highly complex individual processes. Most of us have seen the image in which, depending on your perception, you see either the outline of a vase or the facial profiles of two people facing each other. Or perhaps you have seen the image of the woman who may or may not be young, depending on your frame of reference at the time. This shows how interpretations can differ, and it means that your presentations must be based on careful thought and preparation to maximize the likelihood that your listeners will understand your presentations as you intend them to do so.

As a speaker, one of your basic goals is to help your audience understand your message. To reduce misunderstanding, presentation aids can be used to clarify or to emphasize.

Image illustrating Coriolis effect in which different global wind patterns are demonstrated.

If your speech is about the impact of the Coriolis Effect on tropical storms, for instance, you will have great difficulty clarifying it without a diagram because the process is a complex one. The diagram above would be effective because it shows the audience the interaction between equatorial wind patterns and wind patterns moving in other directions. The diagram allows the audience to process the information in two ways: through your verbal explanation and through the visual elements of the diagram. By the way, the Coriolis Effect is defined as “an effect whereby a mass moving in a rotating system experiences a force (the Coriolis force ) acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation. On the earth, the effect tends to deflect moving objects to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern and is important in the formation of cyclonic weather systems.” You can see why a picture really helps with this definition.

Another aspect of clarifying occurs when a speaker wants to help audience members understand a visual concept. For example, if a speaker is talking about the importance of petroglyphs in Native American culture, just describing the petroglyphs won’t completely help your audience to visualize what they look like. Instead, showing an example of a petroglyph, such as the one below can more easily help your audience form a clear mental image of your intended meaning.

Image of petroglyph, or prehistoric rock carving.

Emphasizing

When you use a presentational aid for emphasis, you impress your listeners with the importance of an idea. In a speech on water conservation, you might try to show the environmental proportions of the resource. When you use a conceptual drawing like the one below, you show that if the world water supply were equal to ten gallons, only ten drops would be available and drinkable for human or household consumption. This drawing is effective because it emphasizes the scarcity of useful water and thus draws attention to this important information in your speech.

Graphic illustration of ten drops of usable water per one cup of polluted water

So, clarifying and emphasizing are two roles that support the “Improving Audience Understanding” purpose of presentation aids. What are other purposes?

Aiding Retention and Recall

For this reason, exposure to an image can serve as a memory aid to your listeners. When your graphic images deliver information effectively and when your listeners understand them clearly, audience members are likely to remember your message long after your speech is over. Moreover, people often are able to remember information that is presented in sequential steps more easily than if that information is presented in an unorganized pattern. When you use a presentation aid to display the organization of your speech (such as can be done with PowerPoint slides), you will help your listeners to observe, follow, and remember the sequence of information you conveyed to them. This is why some instructors display a lecture outline for their students to follow during class and why a slide with a preview of your main points can be helpful as you move into the body of your speech.

Adding Variety and Interest

A third function of presentation aids is simply to make your speech more interesting. For example, wouldn’t a speech on varieties of roses have greater impact if you accompanied your remarks with a picture of each rose? You can imagine that your audience would be even more enthralled if you had the ability to display an actual flower of each variety in a bud vase. Similarly, if you were speaking to a group of gourmet cooks about Indian spices, you might want to provide tiny samples of spices that they could smell and taste during your speech.

Enhancing a Speaker’s Credibility

Presentation aids alone will not be enough to create a professional image. As we mentioned earlier, impressive presentation aids will not rescue a poor speech. Even if you give a good speech, you run the risk of appearing unprofessional if your presentation aids are poorly executed. Conversely, a high quality presentation will contribute to your professional image. This means that in addition to containing important information, your presentation aids must be clear, clean, uncluttered, organized, and large enough for the audience to see and interpret correctly. Misspellings and poorly designed presentation aids can damage your credibility as a speaker.

Avoiding Problems with Presentation Aids

Using presentation aids can come with some risks. However, with a little forethought and adequate practice, you can choose presentation aids that enhance your message and boost your professional appearance in front of an audience. One principle to keep in mind is to use only as many presentation aids as necessary to present your message or to fulfill your classroom assignment. The number and the technical sophistication of your presentation aids should never overshadow your speech.

You must be prepared to adapt to an uncomfortable and scary situation. This is why we urge students to go to the classroom well ahead of time to test the equipment and ascertain the condition of items they’re planning to use. As the speaker, you are responsible for arranging the things you need to make your presentation aids work as intended. Carry a roll of masking tape so you can display your poster even if the easel is gone. Test the computer setup. Have your slides on a flash drive AND send it to yourself as an attachment or upload to a Cloud service. Have an alternative plan prepared in case there is some glitch that prevents your computer-based presentation aids from being usable. And of course, you must know how to use the technology.

More important than the method of delivery is the audience’s ability to see and understand the presentation aid. It must deliver clear information, and it must not distract from the message. Avoid overly elaborate presentation aids. Instead, simplify as much as possible, emphasizing the information you want your audience to understand.

Another thing to remember is that presentation aids do not “speak for themselves.” When you display a visual aid, you should explain what it shows, pointing out and naming the most important features. If you use an audio aid such as a musical excerpt, you need to tell your audience what to listen for. Similarly, if you use a video clip, it is up to you as the speaker to point out the characteristics in the video that support the point you are making—but probably beforehand, so you are not speaking over the video. At the same time, a visual aid should be quickly accessible to the audience. This is where simplicity comes in. Just as in organization of a speech you would not want to use 20 main points, but more like 3-5, you should limit categories of information on a visual aid.

Introduction to Speech Communication Copyright © 2021 by Individual authors retain copyright of their work. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Ace your presentation with these 6 different presentation aids

You’re preparing for a presentation, and you know you need to do more than stand in front of your audience and talk — you need something for them to look at.

Visual aids not only make your presentation more engaging, but they also make the information more memorable.

One study from the University of California found that a mere three hours after your presentation, only 70% of people are able to recall the information that was presented verbally. However, that number gets a boost when you incorporate visual aids. 85% of people are able to recall information that was presented visually.

But, here’s the thing: You don’t want to paste a few stock images onto some PowerPoint slides just for the sake of having visual aids. You want them to serve a purpose, to educate your audience and complement your content.

Stumped for ideas? We’ve pulled together some clever suggestions for presentation aids below.

Presenter in front of mid-sized audience

1. Perform a demonstration

When thinking of presentation aids, slides are often the first thing to jump into people’s minds. And, without a doubt, they definitely have their time and place. However, don’t hesitate to think outside the box (or, in this case, the slide) and use real objects or even people to get a point across.

For example, maybe rather than talking about how your product works, you can do a simple demonstration. Or, perhaps you can ask for some volunteers from the audience to help you teach a lesson about how to make proper business introductions.

There are plenty of options, so get creative and remember that your visual aids don’t need to only live on slides — you can create some real action too.

2. Use charts and graphs

Imagine that I were standing in front of you, rattling off a bunch of statistics right in a row. How likely are you to remember those digits one minute later? Not very likely.

This is why charts and graphs can be such a helpful addition to your presentation. They allow you to display a lot of information in a far more comprehensible (not to mention memorable) way. Using Poll Everywhere , you can even create these types of visual aids right on the spot by polling your audience and then immediately pulling those results into an animated graph or chart. That not only simplifies your information, but actually involves your audience in the process as well.

Poll: What comes to mind when you think of doubt?

Read more: How to choose the best format for your presentation

3. Share a handout

Your presentation shares tons of valuable information that you know could be a huge help to your attendees, yet you’re frustrated to see that none of them are writing anything down.

This is where sharing a handout can be helpful. You can create something that has all of those important nuggets of information in one place so that they can take it with them and refer back to it.

Or, you can take things a step further and encourage more diligent note-taking by creating some sort of worksheet or template that they can fill in as you move through your presentation.

4. Create a diagram

Let’s say that your presentation needs to thoroughly explain a somewhat-complex process , such as the details and different steps of your recruitment and hiring process. That can be a lot for your audience to take in and attempt to visualize on their own.

Fortunately, you can make it far more digestible by distilling the process down into a simple diagram that they can reference — something straightforward with bubbles and arrows. Processes are sequential, so they lend themselves well to a visual representation that quite literally maps out the flow of things. And, having that to display not only makes the process easier to understand, but also far easier for you to explain.

Read more: Make your own quiz in minutes with Poll Everywhere Competitions

5. Highlight an interesting quote, statistic, or point

Naturally, there are certain things that you want to emphasize throughout your presentation — whether it’s an impactful statistic or a pull quote.

Don’t back yourself into a corner by becoming convinced that your presentation aids need to be completely visual. Rest assured, some text is allowed.

Call attention to that shocking statistic by putting it on its own slide in large font. Or, if there’s a certain quote, word, or theme you want your attendees to keep in mind as you move through your presentation, write it on the whiteboard up front.

Tactics like these do exactly what your visual aids are supposed to do: Highlight the most important pieces of your presentation.

6. Show a brief video

Remember those school days when the teacher would announce that you were going to watch a movie and everyone was suddenly overcome with excitement?

Chances are, your presentation attendees feel some of that same giddiness when you show them a video as part of your presentation.

Doing so changes up the flow of your presentation, and helps recapture audience attention. Plus, a video gives you the flexibility to be more creative with how you present information — since you aren’t only limited to what you can use and do directly in the front of that conference room.

Presentation aids like the ones above can help make your information that much more memorable and your presentation far more engaging.

But, while these visuals are important, always remember that eye contact still matters. These aids aren’t for you to stare at — they’re for your audience. So, despite what visuals you implement in your presentation, always remember to make eye contact and interact with your attendees. Trust me, that will be the most helpful tactic of all.

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15.3 Media to Use for Presentation Aids

Learning objectives.

Understand the range of media choices for presentation aids.
Identify advantages and disadvantages of different presentation aid media.
Explain the role of careful planning and good execution when using presentation aids.

In keeping with careful choices and effective design, we also have to do a good job in executing presentation aids. They should never look hastily made, dirty, battered, or disorganized. They do not have to be fancy, but they do need to look professional. In this section we will discuss the major types of media that can be used for presentation aids, which include computer-based media, audiovisual media, and low-tech media.

Computer-Based Media

In most careers in business, industry, and other professions for which students are preparing themselves, computer-based presentation aids are the norm today. Whether the context is a weekly department meeting in a small conference room or an annual convention in a huge amphitheater, speakers are expected to be comfortable with using PowerPoint or other similar software to create and display presentation aids.

If your public speaking course meets in a smart classroom, you have probably had the opportunity to see the computer system in action. Many such systems today are nimble and easy to use. Still, “easy” is a relative term. Don’t take for granted someone else’s advice that “it’s really self-explanatory”—instead, make sure to practice ahead of time. It is also wise to be prepared for technical problems, which can happen to even the most sophisticated computer users. When Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple and cofounder of Pixar, introduced a new iPhone 4 in June, 2010, his own visual presentation froze (Macworld, 2010). The irony of a high-tech guru’s technology not working at a public presentation did not escape the notice of news organizations.

The world was first introduced to computer presentations back in the 1970s, but these software packages were expensive and needed highly trained technicians to operate the programs. Today, there are a number of presentation software programs that are free or relatively inexpensive and that can be learned quickly by nonspecialists. Table 15.1 “Presentation Software Packages” lists several of these.

Table 15.1 Presentation Software Packages

In addition to becoming more readily accessible, presentation software has become more flexible over the years. As recently as the mid-2000s, critics such as the eminent graphic expert and NASA consultant Edward Tufte charged that PowerPoint’s tendency to force the user to put a certain number of bullet points on each slide in a certain format was a serious threat to the accurate presentation of data. As Tufte put it, “the rigid slide-by-slide hierarchies, indifferent to content, slice and dice the evidence into arbitrary compartments, producing an anti-narrative with choppy continuity” (Tufte, 2005). Tufte argues that poor decision making, such as was involved with the 2003 space shuttle Columbia disaster, may have been related to the shortcomings of such presentation aids in NASA meetings. While more recent versions of PowerPoint and similar programs allow much more creative freedom in designing slides, this freedom comes with a responsibility—the user needs to take responsibility for using the technology to support the speech and not get carried away with the many special effects the software is capable of producing.

What this boils down to is observing the universal principles of good design, which include unity, emphasis or focal point, scale and proportion, balance, and rhythm (Lauer & Pentak, 2000). As we’ve mentioned earlier, it’s generally best to use a single font for the text on your visuals so that they look like a unified set. In terms of scale or proportion, it is essential to make sure the information is large enough for the audience to see; and since the display size may vary according to the monitor you are using, this is another reason for practicing in advance with the equipment you intend to use. The rhythm of your slide display should be reasonably consistent—you would not want to display a dozen different slides in the first minute of a five-minute presentation and then display only one slide per minute for the rest of the speech.

In addition to presentation software such as PowerPoint, speakers sometimes have access to interactive computer-based presentation aids. These are often called “clickers”—handheld units that audience members hold and that are connected to a monitor to which the speaker has access. These interactive aids are useful for tracking audience responses to questions, and they have the advantage over asking for a show of hands in that they can be anonymous. A number of instructors in various courses use “clickers” in their classrooms.

Using computer-based aids in a speech brings up a few logistical considerations. In some venues, you may need to stand behind a high-tech console to operate the computer. You need to be aware that this will physically isolate you from the audience you with whom you are trying to establish a relationship in your speech. When you stand behind presentation equipment, you may feel really comfortable, but you end up limiting your nonverbal interaction with your audience.

If your classroom is not equipped with a computer and you want to use presentation software media in your speech, you may of course bring your computer, or you may be able to schedule the delivery of a computer cart to your classroom. In either case, check with your instructor about the advance preparations that will be needed. At some schools, there are very few computer carts, so it is important to reserve one well in advance. You will also want to see if you can gain access to one ahead of time to practice and familiarize yourself with the necessary passwords and commands to make your slides run properly. On the day of your speech, be sure to arrive early enough to test out the equipment before class begins.

Audiovisual Media

Although audio and video clips are often computer-based, they can be (and, in past decades, always were) used without a computer.

Audio presentation aids are useful for illustrating musical themes. For instance, if you’re speaking about how the Polish composer Frederick Chopin was inspired by the sounds of nature, you can convey that meaning only through playing an example. If you have a smart classroom, you may be able to use it to play an MP3. Alternatively, you may need to bring your music player. In that case, be sure the speakers in the room are up to the job. The people in the back of the room must be able to hear it, and the speakers must not sound distorted when you turn the volume up.

Video that clarifies, explains, amplifies, emphasizes, or illustrates a key concept in your speech is appropriate, as long as you do not rely on it to do your presentation for you. There are several things you must do. First, identify a specific section of video that delivers meaning. Second, “cue up” the video so that you can just pop it into the player, and it will begin at the right place. Third, tell your audience where the footage comes from. You can tell your audience, for instance, that you are showing them an example from the 1985 BBC documentary titled “In Search of the Trojan War.” Fourth, tell your audience why you’re showing the footage. For instance, you can tell them, “This is an example of storytelling in the Bardic tradition.” You can interrupt or mute the video to make a comment about it, but your total footage should not use more than 20 percent of the time for your speech.

Low-Tech Media

In some speaking situations, of course, computer technology is not available. Even if you have ready access to technology, there will be contexts where computer-based presentation aids are unnecessary or even counterproductive. And in still other contexts, computer-based media may be accompanied by low-tech presentation aids. One of the advantages of low-tech media is that they are very predictable. There’s little that can interfere with using them. Additionally, they can be inexpensive to produce. However, unlike digital media, they can be prone to physical damage in the form of smudges, scratches, dents, and rips. It can be difficult to keep them professional looking if you have to carry them through a rainstorm or blizzard, so you will need to take steps to protect them as you transport them to the speech location. Let’s examine some of the low-tech media that you might use with a speech.

Chalk or Dry-Erase Board

If you use a chalkboard or dry-erase board you are not using a prepared presentation aid . Your failure to prepare visuals ahead of time can be interpreted in several ways, mostly negative. If other speakers carefully design, produce, and use attractive visual aids, yours will stand out by contrast. You will be seen as the speaker who does not take the time to prepare even a simple aid. Do not use a chalkboard or marker board and pretend it’s a prepared presentation aid.

Write large enough so that everyone in the room can see.
Print legibly; don’t write in cursive script.
Write short phrases; don’t take time to write complete sentences.

It is also worth mentioning that some classrooms and business conference rooms are equipped with smartboards, or digitally enhanced whiteboards. On a smartboard you can bring up prepared visuals and then modify them as you would a chalk or dry-erase board. The advantage is that you can keep a digital record of what was written for future reference. However, as with other technology-based media, smartboards may be prone to unexpected technical problems, and they require training and practice to be used properly.

In addition, most flip charts need to be propped up on an easel of some sort. If you arrive for your speech only to find that the easel in the classroom has disappeared, you will need to rig up another system that allows you to flip the pages.

Poster Board or Foam Board

Some schools also have access to expensive, full-color poster printers where you can create large poster for pasting on a foam board. In the real world of public speaking, most speakers rely on the creation of professional posters using a full-color poster printer. Typically, posters are sketched out and then designed on a computer using a program like Microsoft PowerPoint or Publisher (these both have the option of selecting the size of the printed area).

First, make sure to bring enough copies of the handout for each audience member to get one. Having to share or look on with one’s neighbor does not contribute to a professional image. Under no circumstances should you ever provide a single copy of a handout to pass around. There are several reasons this is a bad idea. You will have no control over the speed at which it circulates, or the direction it goes. Moreover, only one listener will be holding it while you’re making your point about it and by the time most people see it they will have forgotten why they need to see it. In some case, it might not even reach everybody by the end of your speech. Finally, listeners could still be passing your handout around during the next speaker’s speech.

There are three possible times to distribute handouts: before you begin your speech, during the speech, and after your speech is over. Naturally, if you need your listeners to follow along in a handout, you will need to distribute it before your speech begins. If you have access to the room ahead of time, place a copy of the handout on each seat in the audience. If not, ask a volunteer to distribute them as quickly as possible while you prepare to begin speaking. If the handout is a “takeaway,” leave it on a table near the door so that those audience members who are interested can take one on their way out; in this case, don’t forget to tell them to do so as you conclude your speech. It is almost never appropriate to distribute handouts during your speech, as it is distracting and interrupts the pace of your presentation.

If your handout is designed for your audience to follow along, you should tell them so. State that you will be referring to specific information during the speech. Then, as you’re presenting your speech, ask your audience to look, for example, at the second line in the first cluster of information. Read that line out loud and then go on to explain its meaning.

As with any presentation aid, handouts are not a substitute for a well-prepared speech. Ask yourself what information your audience really needs to be able to take with them and how it can be presented on the page in the most useful and engaging way possible.

Key Takeaways

Speakers in professional contexts are expected to be familiar with presentation software, such as PowerPoint.
Computer-based media can produce very professional-looking presentation aids, but as with any other media, the universal principles of good design apply.
Speakers using computer-based media need to practice ahead of time with the computer they intend to use in the speech.
Each presentation aid vehicle has advantages and disadvantages. As such, speakers need to think through the use of visual aids and select the most appropriate ones for their individual speeches.
Every presentation aid should be created with careful attention to content and appearance.

Figure 15.20

How would you change it?
What kind of presentation aids might you use in a speech on the health benefits of laughter? Why might these be good choice?

Lauer, D. A., & Pentak, S. (2000). Design basics (5th ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers.

Macworld. (2010, June 7). WWDC: Steve Jobs’ iPhone 4 launch glitches [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoqh27E6OuU

Tufte, E. (2005, September 6). PowerPoint does rocket science—and better techniques for technical reports [Online forum]. Retrieved from http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0001yB&topic_id=1

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35 Functions of Presentation Aids

Why should you use presentation aids? If you have prepared and rehearsed your speech adequately, shouldn’t a good speech with a good delivery be enough to stand on its own? While it is true that impressive presentation aids will not rescue a poor speech, a good speech can often be made even better by the strategic use of presentation aids. Presentation aids can fulfill several functions: they can serve to improve your audience’s understanding of the information you are conveying, enhance audience memory and retention of the message, add variety and interest to your speech, and enhance your credibility as a speaker. Let’s examine each of these functions.

Improving Audience Understanding

As a speaker, one of your basic goals is to help your audience understand your message. To reduce misunderstanding, presentation aids can be used to clarify or to emphasize.

If your speech is about the impact of the Coriolis Effect on tropical storms, for instance, you will have great difficulty clarifying it without a diagram because the process is a complex one. The diagram in Figure 9.1 (“Coriolis Effect”) would be effective because it shows the audience the interaction between equatorial wind patterns and wind patterns moving in other directions. The diagram allows the audience to process the information in two ways: through your verbal explanation and through the visual elements of the diagram. By the way, the Coriolis Effect is defined as “an effect whereby a mass moving in a rotating system experiences a force (the Coriolis force ) acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation. On the earth, the effect tends to deflect moving objects to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern and is important in the formation of cyclonic weather systems.” You can see why a picture really helps with this definition.

Figure 9.2 (“Model of Communication”) is another example of a diagram that maps out the process of human communication. In this image you clearly have a speaker and an audience with the labels of source, channel, message, receivers, and feedback to illustrate a basic model of human communication. As with most models, it is simplified. (Can you remember what two components of the communication process, explained in Chapter 1, that are missing here?)

Another aspect of clarifying occurs when a speaker wants to help audience members understand a visual concept. For example, if a speaker is talking about the importance of petroglyphs in Native American culture, just describing the petroglyphs won’t completely help your audience to visualize what they look like. Instead, showing an example of a petroglyph, as in Figure 9.3 (“Petroglyph”) can more easily help your audience form a clear mental image of your intended meaning.

Figure 9.5 - Chinese Lettering Amplified. Source: Image courtesy of Wikimedia, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

Emphasizing

When you use a presentational aid for emphasis, you impress your listen- ers with the importance of an idea. In a speech on water conservation, you might try to show the environmental proportions of the resource. When you use a conceptual drawing like the one in Figure 9.4 (“Planetary Water Supply”), you show that if the world water supply were equal to ten gallons, only ten drops would be available and drinkable for human or household consumption. This drawing is effective because it emphasizes the scarcity of useful water and thus draws attention to this important information in your speech.

Another way of emphasizing that can be done visually is to zoom in on a specific aspect of interest within your speech. In Figure 9.5 (“Chinese Lettering Amplified”), we see a visual aid used in a speech on the importance of various parts of Chinese characters. On the left side of the visual aid, we see how the characters all fit together, with an emphasized version of a single character on the right.

So, clarifying and emphasizing are two roles that support the “Improving Audience Understanding” purpose of presentation aids. What are other purposes?

Aiding Retention and Recall

Adding Variety and Interest

Enhancing a Speaker’s Credibility

If you focus your efforts on producing presentation aids that contribute effectively to your meaning, that look professional, and that are handled well, your audience will most likely appreciate your efforts and pay close attention to your message. That attention will help them learn or under- stand your topic in a new way and will thus help the audience see you as a knowledgeable, competent, and credible speaker. With the prevalence of digital communication, the audience expectation of quality visual aids has increased.

Avoiding Problems with Presentation Aids

Using presentation aids can come with some risks. However, with a little forethought and adequate practice, you can choose presentation aids that enhance your message and boost your professional appearance in front of an audience. One principle to keep in mind is to use only as many pre sentation aids as necessary to present your message or to fulfill your classroom assignment. The number and the technical sophistication of your presentation aids should never overshadow your speech.

More important than the method of delivery is the audience’s ability to see and understand the presentation aid. It must deliver clear information, and it must not distract from the message. Avoid overly elaborate presentation aids. Instead, simplify as much as possible, emphasizing the information you want your audience to understand.

At the same time, a visual aid should be quickly accessible to the audience. This is where simplicity comes in. Just as in organization of a speech you would not want to use 20 main points, but more like 3-5, you should limit categories of information on a visual aid.

Figure 9.6 - Acupuncture Charts. Source: Image on the left from Wikimedia, http:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acupuncture_chart_300px.jpg. Image on the right © Thinkstock

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Presentation Aids in Group Research Paper

Introduction, types of presentation aids, general advantages of presentation aids, general disadvantages of presentation aids.

Presentations are an integral part of communicating in a group setting. In making presentations, the use of presentation aids has been seen to contribute to the effectiveness of the presentation process. Owing to their great success in enhancing the presentation efforts, presentation aids have become so prevalent that sometimes they are seen to be synonymous to the very act of making a presentation.

It has been noted that sometimes, the overuse of presentation aids degenerates the quality of the presentations as the aids distract the audience from the speaker and his message. It is therefore important that great care is taken to ensure that the usefulness of presentation aids is exploited fully without having their adverse effects affecting the quality of the presentation.

As such, it is important to identify both the strengths and setbacks that are associated with the various presentation aids that are available. This paper shall set out to demonstrate that presentation aids have their inherent merits and demerits and that over relying on these aids may have a negative impact on the presentation. The paper shall begin by identifying the various presentation aids available and progress to give an in-depth look at the merits and demerits of using presentation aids.

Presentation aids are defined as “supplementary audio and/or visual materials that help an audience understand and remember the content of a discussion or presentation” (Engleberg & Wynn, 2010, p.327). Presentation aids greatly increase the likelihood of the audience being receptive to the information being communicated.

There exist different presentation aids that may be utilized by a speaker in a particular setting. The choice of presentation aid made may depend on factors such as: the constraints of the particular topic, the availability of the particular presentation aids and the cost of the aids among other factors. Some of the most widely used presentation aids are as follows.

Arguably the simplest to implement and most inexpensive presentation aid is the flip chart. The simplicity with which this aid can be acquired and utilized makes it the most viable when cost has to be minimized and time is of essence. Flip charts may be prepared by the presenter prior to the actual presentation or even during the presentation to elaborate a point.

However, flip charts are only desirable when dealing with small groups. This is because the information presented on them is on a small scale and would therefore be illegible from great distances. Since flip charts utilize the presenter’s handwriting, they may be useless if the presenter’s handwriting is illegible.

Another presentation aid tool is a videotape or a DVD. These tools include audio visual tracks that have been prepared before hand. The vivid images that make up the tape make this presentation tools quite appealing as they capture the audience’s attention in the same manner that movies do.

However, it is hard for a presenter to interject his points before the viewing is over or for the audience to ask questions in mid presentation. This combined with the relatively expensive nature of producing videos makes this presentation aid tool undesirable in most settings.

The 35 mm slide was one of the most popular presentation aid means in the previous decade for audiences ranging from small groups to large groups. Slides have high credibility with audiences as a result of the authenticity of the pictures and their long history of usage. In addition to this, the hardware requirements for the 35mm slide are fairly little since only a slide projector and a suitable screen is required. However, this visual tool requires more time to prepare and needs a darkened room for the visual effects to be appreciated.

In modern times, presentation software is the most prevalent tool in making presentation aids. The most popular of the software is Microsoft’s PowerPoint which allows one to create slides on a computer and later present them using an overhead projector (Engleberg & Wynn, 2010).

Presentation softwares have empowered presenters by making them capable of coming up with presentation designs of relative sophistication without having to rely on professional graphic designers or media professions. This has led to an improvement of the quality of the presentations made with relatively little training being required on the part of the presenter.

Arguably one of the greatest strength of presentation aids is that they allow a presenter to translate otherwise abstract and complicated concepts into a form that the audience can get within the duration of the presentation (Zielinski, 2003). This is especially the case with the use of charts and graphs to demonstrate profits, loses, growth e.t.c. These aids simplify large amounts of numeric information that would otherwise be undecipherable to most of the audience into visual information that an audience can grasp intuitively.

Presentation aids also act as mental props therefore increasing the confidence of a presenter. While some people are capable of making presentations to large crowds with ease, most people find it hard to make such presentations and end up forgetting what they had prepared to say.

Presentation aids assist by providing markers for the speaker to follow therefore enabling him to effectively communicate. This bolsters the confidence of the presenter therefore enabling him/her to communicate better than he/she would have done without this presentation aids.

Some presentation aids have tools that make it possible to convert the presentation into other media formats such as CD (Zielinski, 2003). This means that a presenter can issue out copies of his presentation in formats that can be viewed later at the convenience of the audience. This is an especially endearing attributes where technical information is being communicated and the audience may want to go and review the material at their own pace.

Most of the presentations which make use of presentation aids end up being perceived by the audience as dull and boring as the presenter moves from slide to slide in a monotonous manner. Sewell (2007) affirms that the main setback when using presentation aids is that most presenters rely on their monotonous PowerPoint presentations to make their point making no effort to connect with their audience or be interesting for that matter.

Slide presentations also tend to flatten discussion, sacrifice the richness of dialogue and reduce audience involvement as the speaker is locked onto the slides. This combined with the fact that most presentation aids (with the notable exception of flip charts) require that the lighting of the room be dimed so that the audience can see the presentation better results in members of the audience drifting or dozing off hence reducing the effectiveness of the presentation.

In some cases, presenters bank too much on their presentation aids and therefore take too much time making the presentation colorful and sophisticated by use of software and other means. This is often at the cost of concentrating on the content of the presentation.

This results in little to no preparation for the actual presentation since the presenter hopes that his/her presentation aids will be the center of attention. Engleberg and Wynn (2010) assert that the key to a successful performance in any setting is constant practice. This is a view that is shared by Endicott (2000) who notes that most presenters rely primarily on their software to provide the creativity that is expected in their presentation therefore providing unimpressive work.

Some presentation aids used are so impressive that they distract the audience from the main message of the presentation. Engleberg and Wynn (2010) state that at times, the effects of the presentation are so impressive that the audience leave the presentation discussing the implementation of the presentation as opposed to discussing the data represented in the presentation.

In addition to this, Presentation aids also reduce the spontaneity of the presentation since most presenters make every effort to follow the script they have created therefore locking out any innovation.

This paper set out to demonstrate that while presentation aids are useful in making group presentations, they have their inherent demerits which must be held in check to increase the effectiveness of presentation aids. From the discussions presented in this paper, it is clear that for all their disadvantages, presentation aids have great potential and ways to mitigate the negative effects should therefore be looked for. As such, presentation aids should only act as visual illustrations to the presentation and not the entire presentation process.

It is therefore important to look closer attention to the other different faucets of presenting such as body language, eye contact and voice quality. When this other factors are combined with the presentation aids, one can be guaranteed that his/her message will be effectively communicated to the desired audience with maximum productivity.

Endicott, J. (2002). True Creativity Involves More Than Just Pretty Slides. Presentations, 10727531, Sep 2002, Vol. 16, Issue 9.

Engleberg, N. I. & Wynn, R. D. (2010). Working in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies . USA: Allyn & Bacon.

Sewel, H. (2007) Performance Art. USA: Incisive Media.

Zielinski, D. 2003. Learning to Live With PowerPoint. Successful Meetings, 01484052, Nov 2003, Vol. 52, Issue 12.

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"Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Presentation Aids in Group." IvyPanda , 21 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-presentation-aids-in-group-presentations/.

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1. IvyPanda . "Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Presentation Aids in Group." February 21, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-presentation-aids-in-group-presentations/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Presentation Aids in Group." February 21, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-presentation-aids-in-group-presentations/.

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9 Presentation Aids to Use to Make Your Presentation Stand Out
1. Charts and Graphs. Charts and graphs are a form of presentation aid used to visually compare statistics and figures. These are some of the most used forms of visual aids in the business world. Listening to long strings of numbers can be a challenging task.
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Some types of presentation aids can be used in various presentations to assist the speaker. Highlighted advantages and disadvantages of various presentation aids allow presenters to use these presentational aids best. Slideshows. When considering visual aids for a presentation, one immediately thinks of a slideshow.
15.1 Functions of Presentation Aids
Presentation aids should help audiences more thoroughly understand a speaker's basic message. There are four basic reasons to use presentation aids. First, they increase audience understanding of a speaker's message. Second, they help audiences retain and recall a speaker's message after the fact. Third, they make a speech more ...
Presentation Aids
The type of presentation aids speakers most typically use are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like. Audible aids include musical excerpts, audio speech excerpts, and sound effects. A speaker may also use fragrance samples or food samples as olfactory (smell) or gustatory (taste) aids.
10 Presentation Aids To Enhance Your Presentation
2 - Visual Aids, Audio And Video Clips. At a minimum, you should have at least one of the following presentation aids - imagery, audio or video. Imagery can be more than just a photo. Imagery encompasses your slide deck, the color theory you use such as brand colors, how you embellish quotes and more.
Presentation Aids
This is the role of presentation aids. Presentation aids are the resources beyond the speech words and delivery that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. The type of presentation aids that speakers most typically make use of are visual aids: slideshows, pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like.
Chapter 15: Presentation Aids: Design and Usage
This is the role of presentation aids. Presentation aids, sometimes also called sensory aids, are the resources beyond the speech itself that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. The type of presentation aids that speakers most typically make use of are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the ...
12.2 Functions of Presentation Aids
Aiding Retention and Recall. The second function that presentation aids can serve is to increase the audience's chances of remembering your speech. An article by the U.S. Department of Labor (1996) summarized research on how people learn and remember.
13.1: Functions of Presentation Aids
Key Takeaways. Presentation aids should help audiences more thoroughly understand a speaker's basic message. There are four basic reasons to use presentation aids. First, they increase audience understanding of a speaker's message. Second, they help audiences retain and recall a speaker's message after the fact.
Presentation Aids
The type of presentation aids that speakers most typically make use of are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like. Audible aids include musical excerpts, audio speech excerpts, and sound effects. A speaker may also use fragrance samples or food samples as olfactory (sense of smell) or gustatory (sense of taste) aids.
12.1 What Are Presentation Aids?
Presentation aids are the resources beyond the speech words and delivery that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. The type of presentation aids that speakers most typically make use of are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like. Audible aids include musical excerpts, audio speech ...
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After reading this chapter, you should be able to: identify the importance of using presentation aids. describe the types of presentation aids used for public speaking. examine the methods for effectively creating presentation aids. list the guidelines for using presentation aids effectively. Figure 12.1: Katherine Maher 1.
13.1 What are Presentation Aids?
Presentation aids are the resources beyond the speech words and delivery that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. The type of presentation aids that speakers most typically make use of are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like. Audible aids include musical excerpts, audio speech ...
Functions of Presentation Aids
Presentation aids should help audiences more thoroughly understand a speaker's basic message. There are four basic reasons to use presentation aids. First, they increase audience understanding of a speaker's message. Second, they help audiences retain and recall a speaker's message after the fact. Third, they make a speech more ...
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Presentation aid s are the resources beyond the speech words and delivery that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. The type of presentation aids that speakers most typically make use of are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like. Audible aids include musical excerpts, audio speech ...
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Presentation aids are the resources beyond the speech itself that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. The type of presentation aids that speakers most typically make use of are visual aids: pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, and the like. Audible aids include musical excerpts, audio speech excerpts, and ...
13.2 Functions of Presentation Aids
The second function that presentation aids can serve is to increase the audience's chances of remembering your speech. An article by the U.S. Department of Labor (1996) summarized research on how people learn and remember. The authors found that "83% of human learning occurs visually, and the remaining 17% through the other senses—11% ...
Types of Presentation Aids
36 Types of Presentation Aids Now that we've explored some basic hints for preparing visual aids, let's look at the most common types of visual aids: charts, graphs, representations, objects/models, and people. Charts. A chart is commonly defined as a graphical representation of data (often numerical) or a sketch representing an ordered ...
Ace your presentation with these 6 different presentation aids
And, having that to display not only makes the process easier to understand, but also far easier for you to explain. 5. Highlight an interesting quote, statistic, or point. Naturally, there are certain things that you want to emphasize throughout your presentation — whether it's an impactful statistic or a pull quote.
15.3 Media to Use for Presentation Aids
Computer-based media can produce very professional-looking presentation aids, but as with any other media, the universal principles of good design apply. Speakers using computer-based media need to practice ahead of time with the computer they intend to use in the speech. Each presentation aid vehicle has advantages and disadvantages.
Public Speaking Chapter 10 Flashcards
One of the advantages of using presentation aids is that they make a speech more memorable Another advantage of using presentation aids is that they can improve your ________________
Functions of Presentation Aids
Using presentation aids can come with some risks. However, with a little forethought and adequate practice, you can choose presentation aids that enhance your message and boost your professional appearance in front of an audience. One principle to keep in mind is to use only as many pre sentation aids as necessary to present your message or to fulfill your classroom assignment.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Presentation Aids in Group
This paper shall set out to demonstrate that presentation aids have their inherent merits and demerits and that over relying on these aids may have a negative impact on the presentation. The paper shall begin by identifying the various presentation aids available and progress to give an in-depth look at the merits and demerits of using ...

Presentation Aids: A Guide for Better Slide Design

What is a Presentation Aid?

When Should Presentation Aids be Used When Delivering a Presentation?

Why Should we use Presentation Aids?

Charts and Graphs

3D Modeling

Dry-Erase Board

Brochures and Handouts

Audio Clips

1. Price Corridor of the Target Mass Presentation Aid Template

2. Innovation Strategy Diagram Presentation Aid Material Template

3. AIDAL Model Funnel Sales Presentation Aid

4. Opportunities Solution Tree Template Presentation Aid for Product Development

5. Business Brochure Aid for Presentation Handouts

6. Atlanta City Map and City Skyline Illustration Aids for Presentations

7. 3D Tetris Cube Visual Aid for a Presentation

8. Sprint Retrospective Presentation Aid Template for PowerPoint & Google Slides

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13 Presentation Aids

What Are Presentation Aids?

Functions of Presentation Aids

Improving Audience Understanding

Emphasizing

Aiding Retention and Recall

Adding Variety and Interest

Enhancing a Speaker’s Credibility

Types of Presentation Aids

Statistical Charts

Sequence-of-Steps Charts

DecisionTrees

Representations

Photographs and Drawings

Video or Audio Recordings

Objects or Models

Animals and People

Animals as Presentation Aids

Speaker as Presentation Aid

Other People as Presentation Aids

Media to Use for Presentation Aids

Computer-Based Media

Audiovisual Media

Low-Tech Media

Foam Board or Poster Board

Tips for Preparing Presentation Aids

Easily Seen or Heard by Your Audience

Easily Handled

Aesthetically Pleasing

Tips for Text Aids

Tips for Graphic Aids

Rules for Computer Presentations

Watch Your Font

Don’t Write Everything Out

Don’t Bow Down to the Software

Slide Color

Slide Movement

Practice, Practice, Practice

Always Have a Backup Plan

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10 Presentation Aids To Enhance Your Presentation

What Are Presentation Aids?

Why Do Presenters Use Presentation Aids?

10 Types Of Presentation Aids

1 – PowerPoint Slides, Google Slides & Prezi Slides

2 – Visual Aids, Audio And Video Clips

3 – Sizzle Reels

4 – Motion Graphics

5 – 3D Modeling & Animation

6 – Maps

7 – Infographic Charts & Graphs

8 – Infographic Diagrams

9 – Brochures & Presentation Handouts

10 – Demonstration or Live Performance

Advantages & Disadvantages Of Using Presentation Aids

Disadvantages

Conclusion – Should You Use Presentation Aids?

Author: Ryan