Any object can be a visual aid. For example, in a speech about James Bond movies, one student presented a collection of posters depicting all the actors who ever played 007, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig. By contrast, in a 2014 TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) talk, Hugh Herr introduced a new generation of bionic limbs. Herr, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and director of the biomechatronics research group at the MIT Media Lab, had lost both legs in a climbing accident three decades earlier. In this speech, he described the science behind the new bionic limbs, including mechanical interface (how bionic limbs attach to the physical body), dynamic interface (how bionic limbs move like flesh and bone), and electrical interface (how bionic limbs connect to the central nervous system). As he described each point, he also wore and modeled the bionic limbs—effectively becoming the object he was describing. He also ran in place, showing how this equipment was the first that allowed for running in place after only a neural command from the brain.

408

Herr also brought onstage Adrianne Haslet-Davis. a former dancer and marathoner who lost a leg after finishing the 2013 Boston Marathon during the terrorist bombing attack. Serenaded by music, Haslet-Davis and her partner performed a ballroom dance routine that brought audience members to their feet for a standing ovation. They knew they were witnessing a new technology that had the potential to improve the lives of millions of people.6

Herr spoke to a large audience, and for this reason he used a large projection screen behind him to make the components of a bionic limb accessible to all. If you are using a small object as a presentation aid in a speech to your classmates, consider walking closer to them and holding up the object for them to see.

What if you have the opposite challenge: your object is too large or unwieldy to present in its entirety to your audience? This situation calls for equally creative problem solving. Consider Alan, a student who gave a speech about the “physics of bowling.” He explained everything about bowling—including the science behind the holes drilled into the balls, the effect of the rotation and angle of the bowler’s arm on the ball’s momentum, and the ball’s effect on the pins. Alan couldn’t bring an entire bowling alley into the classroom, so he came up with an ingenious alternative. He showed his audience three bowling balls—all with different kinds of holes. Then he rolled each ball down a slanted table and into the hands of an assistant. As he rolled the balls, he pointed out to his audience how each ball’s speed and path differed based on its design and his technique.

409