Supporting material is vital in any presentation. It serves three purposes:
to clarify the speaker's ideas, to make the material more interesting, and to
offer proof. Several types of verbal support are available to a speaker: examples,
stories (factual and hypothetical), statistics, comparisons (figurative and
literal), and citations. Visual aids are a common and important type of support in most business presentations.
They can make a point more quickly and clearly than can words alone, add variety
and interest, and boost a speaker's professional image. Visuals serve several
functions: they can show how things look, how they work, or how they relate
to one another, and they can highlight important information. Speakers can use several types of visual aids: objects, models, photographs,
diagrams, lists and tables, pie charts, bar and column charts, pictograms, and
graphs. These visuals can be presented via a number of media: flip charts and
poster-board displays, transparencies, slides, chalkboard, handouts, computerized
displays, and videotapes. Computer-assisted design allows presenters to develop professional-looking
visual exhibits quickly and easily. Presentation software makes it possible
to create on-screen slide shows, 35 millimeter slides and overhead transparencies,
speaker's notes and handouts for an audience, and graphs and charts that can
be printed out in large sizes. Presentation software takes some time to master,
but the results can be worth the effort. Even basic word processing software
can help presenters design clear, effective exhibits. Whatever the medium, all visuals should follow the same basic rules. They should
be easy to understand, purposeful, well suited to the point they illustrate
and to the audience, and workable in the presentational setting. Speakers should
be familiar with the visuals they use to avoid any unpleasant surprises when
the time for delivery comes. |
2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education