Additional Resources:

Enhancing Your Speech With Visual Aids

A traditional speech has two focal points, the speech and the audience. A visual aid adds a third focal point. So, why bother with a visual aid? As the Chinese Proverb says, "A picture is worth one thousand words." It's easier for the audience to understand what you're saying if they can see it at the same time.

Initially, don't worry about your Informative Speech visual aid. Usually, a visual aid opportunity suggests itself during the research. If all else fails put your major ideas on a transparency and show them to the audience as you talk about them.

Here's some advice to keep in mind for choosing and using your visual aid:

• The visual aid should be neat.
  First of all, if the visual aid isn't neat the audience might not be able to understand it. Secondly, the visual aid reflects on your ethos. A sloppy visual aid may create the image of a speaker who doesn't know what s/he's doing in the audience's minds. Computers and graphic packages have raised the bar for judging visual aids. People aren't as easily impressed as the used to be. Grade school children can turn out professional looking visual aids. Your visual aid needs to look professional, too.
• The visual aid should be simple.
  The visual aid is designed to make the speech easier for the audience to understand. A complicated visual aid defeats the purpose. If you're explaining a complex subject you may need to use more than one visual aid.
• Don't write whole sentences in your visual aid.
  The rule of thumb is a visual aid should contain no more than five lines with five words per line. If you're using an overhead projector use a piece of paper to block portions of your visual aid until you're ready to show them to your audience.
• The visual aid should be easy to see.
  The visual aid should be large enough to be easily seen and conveniently located within the audience's view.
• Only show your visual aid when you're talking about it.
  The better your visual aid, the more important it is to follow this rule. You don't want your flashy, impressive visual aid competing with you for the audience's attention, so keep the visual aid out of sight until you're ready to show it. When you're done showing your visual aid get it out of sight again.
• Don't pass out a pamphlet or flyer until the speech is over.
  You may find your audience continues looking at your pamphlet after you're done talking about it. If you need to show something from a pamphlet during your speech put it on a transparency and promise the audience you'll give them the pamphlet afterwards.
• Anticipate the start of your visual aid.
  Don't add an unnecessary pause while the audience watches you set up your visual aid. Get your visual aid set up while you're introducing it in your speech.
• Practice using your visual aid.
  Murphy's Law states: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong and at the worst possible moment." This law applies to visual aids. I'm not trying to scare you. I'm only saying practice with your visual aid so if you have a problem you have it in the privacy of your own home instead of in front of an audience.
• Coordinate the visual aid and the speech text.
  Show the audience your visual aid as you're talking about it. Use the visual aid to explain what you're saying. Then, get the visual aid out of sight.
• Glance at the visual aid. Look at the audience.
  When you're explaining your visual aid don't fall into the trap of turning your back to your audience and delivering your speech to your visual aid. Glance quickly at the visual aid. Then, make yourself look at the audience. Point at the visual aid with whichever hand is on the same side as the visual aid. This way you'll keep your face to the audience.
• There are special considerations for slides and films.
  Showing slides to an audience illustrates the importance of planning ahead when using visual aids. For example, to show slides the lights have to be out. How will you read your speech in the dark? Who's going to turn off the lights? Who's going to turn the lights back on when you're done? Who's going to change the slides? Yourself? But, the speaker is usually on the stage and the slide projector is towards the back of the audience so it can make a bigger image. If someone else changes the slides, how will they know when to change them? Will you spend the next hour repeating, "Next slide, please."? Where is the plug for the slide projector? Will you need an extension cord to reach the plug? What do you do if the slide projector lamp burns out during your presentation? Do you have a spare lamp? Do you have a spare projector?

All of the problems I've just mentioned can be overcome with advance planning. People show slides all the time. The lesson here isn't don't show slides. It's plan ahead.

Select the correct type of visual aid for what you want to show.

• Pie charts show percentages of a whole.
• Bar graphs are used for making comparisons.
• Pictorial graphs show comparisons but a little more theatrically than bar graphs.
• Line graphs show fluctuations in a commodity over a period of time.
• Organizational charts show the relationships inside a company or organization.
• Flow charts show a process from the first to the last step.
• Cut-away drawings show the inner workings of a machine or object.

Some examples of visual aids follow:.