1. Visual Aids Important note: navigate through this slide show using mouse clicks, do NOT use ‘pg Up’ or ‘PgDn’ on the bottom of the slide (this will cause you to miss many points of clarification).

2. Visual Aids Promote Attention, Comprehension, Retention

3. Visual Aids: Why we use them Comprehension Retention 3 hours 3 days after speech after speech Without a VA 70% 10% With a VA 85% 65%

4. Visual Aids 1.Its just an AID - Not a Prop - Not Dominant A visual aid is used in the body of a speech to promote understanding of a main point of content. It is not to be trivialized nor added as an after- thought in the conclusion.

5. Visual Aids 1.Its just an AID 2.Murphy’s Law is right If anything can go wrong, it will, so plan ahead and always have a back- up plan, especially if using technology.

6. Visual Aids 1.Its just an AID 2.Murphy was right 3. Practice for Real Practice manipulating the aid while delivering the speech, that way any trouble spots will come up in practice…

7. Visual Aids Need: Credibility Legibility Flexibility

8. Visual Aids Need: Credibility Spell Correctly Neatness Counts Use Correctly Think of it as a resume, Avoid clutter, have lots of “open space” Know how to use and project it

9. Visual Aids Need: Legibility Limit Text A good rule of thumb: no more than 40 characters per line, no more than 6 lines per slide or poster

10. Visual Aids Need: Legibility Letter Size For projection via PowerPoint or document camera, use 36 pt font for main headings and 24 pt for subheads For posters, letters should be 2” tall and ¼” wide for visibility

11. Visual Aids Need: Legibility Color Contrast Use black lettering on a colored background; have sufficient contrast to ease visibility, the background should not be ‘busy’, distracting or overwhelming. Do not use black on white or color on color

12. Visual Aids Need: Legibility Upper and Lower Case Lettering Use normal capitalization rules, as all capital letters are difficult to read. The most distinctive parts of letters are the upper part of lower-case letters.

13. OFFICIAL official What word is this?

14. Visual Aids Need: Legibility Limit Text Letter Size Color Contrast Upper and Lower Case

15. Visual Aids Need: Flexibility No Wallpaper An image or object remaining passively in the background is not a visual aid

16. Visual Aids Need: Flexibility Coordinated Timing You should only show the part of the aid that is relevant at that moment; at all other times it is a distraction

17. Visual Aids Need: Flexibility Coordinated Timing: Posters It is better to use several posters rather than a single one containing all points. Do not use a trifold board, it blocks the view from the sides and is impossible to focus on a single point.

18. Visual Aids Need: Flexibility Coordinated Timing: PowerPoint It is better to use separate text boxes and step reveals on a single slide than to show all of the elements at once. It is also easier to manage, edit, and use.

19. Visual Aids Need: Flexibility Creating step reveals in PowerPoint Use separate text and graphic boxes for each entry. Select ‘Slide Show’ from the main PPt menu, then custom animation. All boxes will be numbered, and you can arrange their sequence however you wish. Use simple entry/exit effects and control by mouse click, not auto-time.

20. Visual Aids Need: Flexibility No Wallpaper Coordinated Timing Step Reveals

21. Visual Aids Need: Credibility Legibility Flexibility Putting theory into practice: Compare the next two slides

22. DESIGN RULES FOR TEXT VISUALS -YOU SHOULD USE ONLY FOUR TO SIX LINES OF TYPE -BE SURE TO LIMIT EACH ENTRY TO NO MORE THAN FORTY CHARACTERS -IT IS BEST TO USE PHRASES RATHER THAN SENTENCES -USE UPPER- AND LOWERCASE TYPE, IT IS EASIER TO READ -A SIMPLE FONT IS EASIER TO READ AND DOES NOT DETRACT FROM YOUR PRESENTATION -BE AWARE OF THE IMPACT OF COLOR CONTRAST ON READIBILITY

23. DESIGN RULES FOR TEXT VISUALS Clear color contrasts 4 to 6 lines of type 40 characters per entry Phrases, not sentences Upper- and Lowercase type Simple Fonts Same content, greater effectiveness

24. Visual Aids You control them They don’t control the speech