Chapter 14: Delivering Presentations

The Function of Presentation Aids

Although presentation aids can be a valuable asset to a speech, heightening an audience’s interest and helping you convey technical information, these aids should supplement your speech, not substitute for it. Sure, you may have a moving video or shocking image to share with the audience. But if you don’t connect it to a thoroughly researched topic, as part of a well-organized speaking outline and effective delivery, then it will fall flat. To be truly useful, presentation aids must enhance your speech, accomplishing three goals:

Help listeners process and retain information. Effective presentation aids can increase an audience’s ability to retain information by highlighting key points in addition to helping the audience see relationships among concepts, variables, or items. Always make a point, refer to the presentation aid, direct the listeners’ attention to where you want them to focus, and then restate, reiterate, or rephrase what you have said.
Promote interest and motivation. Properly used presentation aids can engage your audience members or at least get their attention. If you show terms, photographs, statistics, tables, and other items that truly reinforce your spoken message, the audience will be more likely to go along with you.
Convey information clearly and concisely. Effective presentation aids can help simplify complex material. There is no comparison between the amount of time it would take you to read a series of figures versus showing them on a table, graph, or chart. A good visual can present a lot of information in a clear, concise, and simple matter, saving the speaker’s time for interpretation and elaboration.

AND YOU?

Question

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Think back on a variety of different public presentations you’ve witnessed—speeches by fellow students, presentations by instructors, political debates, and so on. What is the most effective use of a visual aid that you have encountered? What is the least effective? Why?