In present era when communication is of paramount importance in all fields, its effectiveness is of utmost importance for the audience.
Communication in form of presentations or speech has become an indispensable part of office meetings, all-hands meet of various organizations, college dissertations, seminars etc.
Since communication is the key to success in all institutions including education, Multi National Companies, Industries, academies of personality development, training centers and many more, it becomes really important to have attentive audience to meet the purpose of such communications. One of the keys to effective communication is the use of Visual Aids.
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Using Visual Aids simply does not ensure effective communication that can keep the audience entertained and involved in your presentation.
The choice and the right approach towards the use of Visual Aids are important in conducting a seminar or college presentation or a training program. Assuming that you are using the default settings of Microsoft power point to create slides and some heavily bulleted text is what your all slides comprise of and with just one or two images throughout, the presentation is more likely to be boring and tiresome.
If this presentation was for a scientific research or purpose, then using an Assertion-Evidence slide would be a better approach. Moreover, the use of visual aids can bring more enthusiasm to the speaker as well as the listeners in this case.
Audience will better retain the information as visual aids focus on important information in a reinforcing manner unlike the bolded or bulleted text. Visual aids also assist the speaker who can keep a track of important points staying on the track without the need for any notes.
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Graphs and tables are excellent way to keep the audience interested in results and conclusions than giving formulas and plain figures. There are many visual aids that can be a part of an effective presentation or speech. Some of them are: Overhead projector, slides, multimedia, handouts, charts, blackboards etc.
Having learnt the role of visual aids in creating a presentation impact, it is important to learn that there are certain rules of using visual aids and not letting them become visual distractions instead. Projectors used in presentations must be placed at a height that is comfortable to you as well the listener, the lens must be free of dust and while presenting, the full view screen should be available to the participants.
Similarly while using posters or flip charts the correct printing size is important and so is the use of colors (to highlight red may be used). Also, while writing on the board, looking in the direction of the audience is important.
Writing at the bottom can make it difficult for readers, so it must be avoided. If you plan to use handouts, make sure that you carry extra copies of them than the expected count of attendees. Distribution of handouts must be done prior to the presentation.