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Listening can lead to understanding; seeing can lead to believing.

In this chapter, we examined how the right selection and strategic use of presentation aids enhances your audience’s interest in, as well as their comprehension and retention of your speech. Aids can take many forms, including the speaker him- or herself; assistants; objects; visual images, such as maps, photographs and drawings, and diagrams; graphs; text-based visuals; audio recordings; and video. You can display presentation aids in a variety of ways—such as in printed form or through presentation software and other technology. To get the most impact from your aids, you need to develop them with the following points in mind: consider your forum, consider your audience, make sure your aids support your points, keep your aids simple and clear, and rehearse with your presentation aids. Then use your aids judiciously during your presentation to support your points—not to deliver your message for you. A key point to remember is that presentation aids supplement your message, but they can never replace you; you are the messenger!