Guidelines for Developing Presentation Aids

Effectively developing your presentation aids—that is, figuring out exactly what aids to use and how they should appear and be organized—can make your speech more interesting, simplify your topic, and help your audience remember your speech. Even if you have a general idea of what you want your aids to achieve—for example, show audience members some paintings from Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period or help them remember the most important aspects of the job-interview process—you still have many factors to consider to achieve maximum impact. As you develop your presentation aids, consider the forum, consider your audience, make sure your aids support your points, keep your aids simple and clear, and make sure to rehearse with your presentation aids. Let’s address each of these important factors in turn.