Adding Value with Visual Aids

By Gail Zack Anderson, Applause, Inc.

When planning your next presentation, make sure your visual aids add value to your presentation. Here are some tips and reminders.

1. Be sure you really need a visual aid. For example, if your purpose is to win approval for your budget, visual aids might be necessary and useful. But if you are trying to build team spirit, visuals could very well hinder your efforts.

2. Choose the right visual aid. Consider the audience size and makeup, as well as the formality of the situation. If your presentation is informal and/or interactive, flip charts or simple overhead transparencies might be fine. If your presentation is formal, given to customers or an outside audience, a computerized display might be more appropriate. With a handful of people, handouts might be all the visual support you need.

3. Design visuals right. With presentation software, you can easily create an attractive visual aid. But beware of these common design mistakes.

• Visual overload. Make sure your visuals are not too wordy, too cluttered, too busy. All these make them difficult to read. An ideal visual is six or seven words across, six or seven lines down.
• Weak appearance. Font size should never be smaller than 18 points. To be sure, put your overhead or your projector image up, and walk to the back of the room to see it as your audience does.
• Typos or spelling errors. Spell-check helps, but you need a human eye to catch the small mistakes. Be especially careful when making last-minute changes, where typos occur and don't get caught.
• Don't use all uppercase text. While it is easy to type, it is difficult to read, and looks like you are shouting.
• Be sure everything is consistent. When you combine several presentations, you can end up with a mish-mash of fonts types and sizes. Be sure to change them all to match. Same with punctuation; if you use it at all, make it consistent.

4. Deliver visuals right.

• Avoid the peek-a-boo technique. This is where you place a sheet of paper over your overhead, then move the paper down, line by line. Instead, use an electronic build-it achieves the same effect but does not seem to offend audience members.
• Stand clear. Be sure you are not standing where you are blocking the view of audience members. If your screen is fixed in the center, stand to the left (from the audience's perspective) and out of the light of the projector.
• Avoid back-of-the-head syndrome. If you are using an overhead, you can glance at the overhead rather than turning to look at the screen. If using a notebook computer, look at it instead of the screen. Either technique keeps you facing your audience, and speaking to them, not to the visual.

  With careful planning and delivery, you can be sure your visual aids really add value to your presentation, and set you apart as a credible, polished presenter.

Learn more about Gail Zack Anderson and Applause in the contributor's section.