Visual Aids or Visual Pain: How can you use these the right way in your next presentation?

Wednesday: Speak on the Shoulders of Giants FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Have you experienced squinting your eyes while listening to a speaker’s presentation because you can’t read what’s on his or her PowerPoint slides? How about silently cringing on your seat because the speaker’s slides have awkward animations, transitions, and backgrounds? Visual tools are also of great help to speeches or presentations. However, when these are used improperly, they can become the audience’s source of “visual pain.” Keep reading to know how you can use visual aids to your advantage with the help of the Power Outage. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

Visual Aids or Visual Pain: How can you use these the right way in your next presentation? In a speech, speakers heavily rely on verbal communication to get their message across. Some speakers find it easier to explain concepts and ideas by tapping on their audience’s imagination using vivid descriptions. Other speakers prefer to use tangible tools to help them relay their message—one example is visual aids. Although many speakers immediately turn to using visual aids, it’s not all the time that these are used properly. There are instances when these visual aids end up “taking over” the whole presentation instead. We don’t want that, do we? Of course not! Using the Power Outage can help you avoid this. — This is just one of the powerful secrets featured in James C. Humes’ book, “Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln.” The Power Outage serves as an extra visual tool to include in your presentation. It can vary from graphs and charts on a board, a PowerPoint presentation, or simple illustrations and images. It helps you build a stronger presentation by having your audience both hear and see what your message is. Despite its usefulness, your visual aid isn’t your primary tool. Some speakers fall into the trap of using these as their crutch rather than a support for their audience to follow the discussion. Visual aids should not be a substitute for speaking. Avoid depending solely on the slides or illustrations you project. Remember that the audience is there to listen to what you have to say, not to just see you reading everything from your slides. You want them to understand and remember all the important information you’ve discussed in your presentation. They won’t be able to do this if you’re just reading things out loud without any explanation. They need to feel engaged and part of the discussion. A few more things to take note of… Don’t make your slides too flashy. Instead, keep it simple and concise. There is no need for you to include every detail of your speech in every slide. Just include key points that help you explain your concept better to the audience. Including long sentences and several photos in just one slide or visual can overwhelm your audience. Keep it simple. Take this slide as an example. Overwhelming, right? Having blocks of text like these in your slides will have your audience focus their attention on reading everything on the slide instead of listening to your discussion. Remember the acronym: S.L.I.D.E.S. Slogan – Stick to one or two slogans (or lines) per slide. The less text, the better. Use these as a point to expound on and explain. These can serve as a guide on what the discussion is about. Large – Make sure your fonts are large enough so it’s easy for your audience to read right away. You wouldn’t want them to lose focus just because they’re trying to figure out what’s written on your slides. Illustration – Keep photos and other illustrations simple to make your presentation less scattered. Use images that are relevant to your point. Directional – In terms of pointing out concepts in your slides, try not to use laser pointers or sticks. Use gestures instead to keep the audience’s attention on you. Erase – When you’re discussing a difficult topic, try not to stay too long on a slide that has a photo. Try including a blank slide that you can switch to after a photo when you need to expound on the topic. This way, the audience won’t get distracted by the photos you show when they should be paying attention to your discussion. Speech – Don’t read your speech from the slides. This act implies you’re not prepared and solely dependent on the slides when you should be relying on yourself to know your talking points really well. The audience is there to listen to you. If they just wanted to read slides or watch you read through slides, they wouldn’t have attended your presentation. Visual aids are of great help but it should not be the star of the show. Know when and how to use them. Using good and effective visual aids are a plus but remember that for the most part, an effective presentation still depends on how you effectively explain and present to an audience. Use this week’s tip for your next speech or presentation! Hope you’ve found this week’s public speaking tip interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn.     Stay tuned for next Wednesday’s Speak on the Shoulders of Giants! Learn more about Power Closers on next week’s Speak on the Shoulders of Giants!