9 Chapter Nine

Visual Aids: Why & How

When you give a speech, you are presenting much more than just a collection of words and ideas. Because you are speaking live, your audience members will aesthetically experience your speech through all five of their senses: hearing, vision, smell, taste, and touch. Visual aids assist in amplifying your content for the audience and making the listening experience more engaging.

Visual aids are resources that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to an audience. The type of visual aids that speakers most typically use are pictures, diagrams, charts and graphs, maps, etc. Videos and audio aids like musical excerpts, speech excerpts, and sound effects could also be used. A speaker may use fragrance samples or food as olfactory (sense of smell) or gustatory (sense of taste) aids. Finally, visual aids can be three-dimensional objects or they can change over a period of time, as in the case of a how-to demonstration. As you can see, you have a range of visual aids at your disposal.

If you’re able to answer these two main questions, the audience is more likely to understand your idea more fully. Each visual aid a speaker uses must be a direct, uncluttered example of a specific element of the speech. It is understandable that someone presenting a speech about Abraham Lincoln might want to include a photograph of him, but if there’s a high probability that the audience knows what Lincoln looked like, the picture would not contribute much to the message unless, perhaps, the message was specifically about the changes in Lincoln’s appearance during his time in office.

In this example, other visual artifacts may be more likely to deliver relevant information—a diagram of the interior of Ford’s Theater where Lincoln was assassinated, a facsimile of the messy and much-edited Gettysburg Address, or a photograph of the Lincoln family, for example. The key is that each visual aid should be strategically chosen and must directly express an idea in your speech.

Moreover, visual aids must be used at the time when you are presenting the specific ideas related to the aid. For example, if you are speaking about coral reefs and one of your supporting points is about the location of the world’s major reefs, it would make sense to display a map of these reefs while you’re talking about their location. If you display a map while you are explaining what coral actually is, or describing the kinds of fish that feed on a reef, the map will not serve as a useful aid—in fact, it’s likely to be a distraction.

In this chapter, we discuss some principles and strategies to help you incorporate effective visual aids into your speech. We will begin by discussing the functions that good visual aids fulfill. Next, we will explore some of the many types of visual aids and how best to design and utilize them. We will also describe various media that can be used for visual aids.

Functions of Visual Aids

Why should you use visual aids? If you have prepared and rehearsed your speech adequately, shouldn’t a good speech with a good delivery be enough to stand on its own? Impressive visual aids will not rescue a poor speech. It is also important to recognize that a good speech can often be enhanced by the strategic use of visual aids. Remember that your speech is an experience rather than the isolated transmission of information, so visual aids can enhance or detract from the aesthetics.

Visual aids can fulfill several functions:

• Improve your audience’s understanding of the information you are conveying.
• Enhance audience memory and retention of the message.
• Add variety and interest to your speech.
• Enhance your credibility as a speaker.

Let’s examine each of these functions.

Improving Audience Understanding

Human communication is a complex process that often leads to misunderstandings. If you are like most people, you can easily remember misunderstanding a message or when someone misunderstood what you said to them. Misunderstandings happen in public speaking just as they do in everyday conversations.

One reason for misunderstandings is that perception and interpretation are highly complex and individual processes (remember that communication is always cultural and contextual rather than a universal set of symbols). You may have seen the image where, depending on your perception, you see either the outline of a vase or the facial profiles of two people facing each other, known as the Rubin’s vase (Image 9.1).

Image 9.1

Or you may have listened to a song for years only to have a friend say, “Uh, those aren’t the lyrics!” These examples demonstrate how interpretation can differ. Therefore, your speeches must be based on careful thought and preparation to maximize the likelihood of audience understanding, and not leave each audience member to interpret your message according to their best guess.

As a speaker, one of your basic goals is to help your audience understand your message. To reduce misunderstanding, visual aids can be used to clarify or to emphasize. Use table 9.2 to identify questions that underly clarifying or emphasizing ideas.

Improving Audience Understanding

To clarify: Simplifying complex information	Am I describing a complex process that could be represented differently? Am I referencing ideas that are visual or sensory in nature?	If your speech is about the impact of the Coriolis Effect on tropical storms, for instance, you will have great difficulty clarifying it without a diagram because the process is a complex one.
To emphasize: Impress your listeners with the importance of an idea	Is there an idea or aspect of the speech that needs to be underscored?	Let’s say that you’re describing the increased heat waves across the state of Maryland over the last 30 years. You may decide that a map will visually underscore any sudden increase in temperatures.

Table 9.2 

Aiding Retention and Recall

A second function that visual aids can serve is to increase the audience’s chances of remembering your speech. An article by the U.S. Department of Labor (1996) summarized research on how people learn and remember. The authors found that 83% of human learning occurs visually, and the remaining 17% through the other senses (U.S. Department of Labor, 1996).

For this reason, exposure to an image can serve as a memory aid to your listeners. When your graphic images deliver information effectively and lead to increased understanding, audience members are likely to remember your message long after your speech is over.

An added plus of using visual aids is that they can boost your retention and memory while you are speaking. Using visual aids while you rehearse your speech will familiarize you with the association between a part of your speech and the visual aid that accompanies that content.

Adding Variety and Interest

A third function of visual aids is simply to make your speech more interesting. For example, wouldn’t a speech on community gardens have a greater impact if you accompanied your remarks with pictures of the gardens? You can imagine that your audience would be even more enthralled if you had the ability to physically display garden produce for your audience during the speech. Similarly, if you were speaking to a group of gourmet cooks about spices, you might want to provide tiny samples of spices that they could smell and taste during your speech.

Enhancing a Speaker’s Credibility

The final function of a visual aid is to increase your ethos, or credibility. A high-quality visual will contribute to your professional image. This means that in addition to containing important information, your visual aids must be clear, clean, uncluttered, organized, and large enough for the audience to see and interpret correctly. Misspellings and poorly designed visual aids can damage your credibility as a speaker. Even if you give a good speech, you run the risk of appearing unprofessional if your visual aids are poorly executed.

In addition, make sure that you give proper credit to the source of any visual aids that you use from other sources. Using a statistical chart or a map without proper credit will detract from your credibility, just as using a quotation in your speech without credit would. This situation will usually take place with digital aids such as PowerPoint slides. The source of a chart or the data shown in a chart form should be cited at the bottom of the slide and orally in your speech.

If you focus your efforts on producing visual aids that contribute effectively to your meaning, that look professional, and that are handled well, your audience will most likely appreciate your efforts and pay close attention to your message. That attention will help them learn or understand your topic in a new way and help the audience see you as a knowledgeable, competent, and credible speaker.

Avoiding Common Visual Aid Pitfalls

Using visual aids comes with some risks. However, with a little forethought and adequate practice, you can choose visual aids that enhance your message and boost your professional appearance in front of an audience.

One principle to keep in mind is to use only as many visual aids as necessary to present your message or clarify a component of your idea. Too often, speakers think they need long and detailed visual aids during the entire speech – in these cases, the aids can overshadow or distract from the content, rather than clarify or add emphasis to the message. Instead, simplify as much as possible, emphasizing the information you want your audience to understand rather than overwhelming them with too much text and too many images.

Another important consideration is context. Remember to survey the literal context of your speech to decide what types of visual aids are possible. Is there technology available for you to use? Is there a poster stand or a white board? Are there speakers? Is there Wi-Fi? Keep your visual aids within the limits of the working technology available to you. Whether or not your technology works on the day of your speech, you will still have to speak. As the speaker, you are responsible for arranging the things you need to make your visual aids work as intended. Carry a roll of duct tape so you can display your poster even if the easel is gone. Find an extra chair if your table has disappeared. Test the computer setup. Have your slides on a flash drive AND send them to yourself as an attachment or post to a cloud-based service. Have an alternative plan prepared in case there is some glitch that prevents your computer-based visual aids from being usable. And of course, you must know how to use the technology.

Finally, visual aids do not “speak for themselves.” When you display a visual aid, you should explain what it shows, pointing out and naming the most important features. If you use an audio aid such as a musical excerpt, tell your audience what to listen for. Similarly, if you use a video clip, it is up to you as the speaker to point out the characteristics in the video that support the point you are making—but probably beforehand, so you are not speaking over the video. The key is for the visual aid to enhance the speech, and not dominate it leaving little time for you as the speaker. At the same time, a visual aid should be quickly accessible to the audience. This is where simplicity comes in. When organizing a speech you would use two to three main points, and not 20 main points, so you should also limit the categories of information on a visual aid.

Types of Visual Aids

Now that we’ve explored some basic hints for preparing visual aids, the next step is determining what type of visual aid is best. We’ll discuss types of aids that fall into two categories: representations of data and representations that display a real process, idea, person, place, or thing. In other words, ask yourself: “what type of information do I think needs to be accentuated? A statistic? An image of an idea?” Once you make that determination, the categories below can help you decide which aid would be the best type to display that information.

Representations of Data

If you are looking to clarify a complex piece of data or piece of evidence from your speech, you may decide that a chart, graph, or diagram is best. Charts, graphs, and diagrams help represent statistics, processes, figures, or other numeric evidence that may be otherwise difficult to comprehend if just spoken.

Chart: A chart is commonly defined as a graphical representation of data or a sketch representing an ordered process. Whether you create your charts or do research to find charts that already exist, it is important for them to exactly match the specific purpose in your speech. Figure 9.1 (“Acupuncture Chart”) shows a chart related to acupuncture and may be useful in a speech about the history and development of acupuncture. However, if your goal is to show the locations of meridians (the lines along which energy is thought to flow) and the acupuncture points, you may need to select an alternative image.

Figure 9.1

There are two common types of charts: statistical charts and sequence-of-steps chart.

• Statistical Charts: For most audiences, statistical visuals must be kept as simple as possible, and they must be explained. When visually displaying information from a quantitative study, you need to make sure you understand the material and can successfully and simply explain how one should interpret the data. As with all other principles of public speaking, you must KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE when presenting them with statistical information.
• Sequence-of-Steps Charts: Charts are also useful when you are trying to explain a process that involves several steps. If you are working with a scientific or medical argument, you may need to visually map the sequence if the process is otherwise difficult to follow.

Graph: A graph is a pictorial representation of the relationships of quantitative data using dots, lines, bars, or pie slices. Graphs show how one factor (such as size, weight, number of items) varies in comparison to other items. Whereas a statistical chart may report the average ages of individuals entering college, a graph would show how the average age changes over time. A statistical chart may report the number of computers sold in the United States, while a graph will use bars or lines to show the breakdown of those computers by operating systems such as Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.

Public speakers can show graphs using a range of different formats, with some being specialized for various professional fields. Complex graphs often contain too much information that is not related to the purpose of a speech. If the graph is cluttered, it becomes difficult to comprehend. If you find a graph that has useful information, consider if you need to represent the graph as-is or if you can represent a key portion of the graph that’s most relevant to your topic.

There are 3 types of graphs that we’ll introduce: line graphs, bar graphs, and pie graphs.

• Line Graph: A line graph is designed to show trends over time. You could, for example, use a line graph to chart Enron’s stock prices over time. See the example below.

 

• Bar Graph: Bar graphs are useful for showing the differences between quantities. They can be used for population demographics, fuel costs, math ability in different grades, and many other kinds of data. The graph below (“Suicide vs. Homicide”) is well designed. It is relatively simple and is carefully labeled, making it easy for you to guide your audience through the recorded numbers of each type of death. The bar graph is designed to show the difference between rates of suicides and homicides across various age groups. When you look at the data, the first grouping clearly shows that 18–24-year-olds are more likely to die because of a homicide than any of the other age groups.

• Pie Graph: Pie graphs are usually depicted as circles and are designed to show proportional relationships within sets of data; in other words, they show parts of or percentages of a whole. They should be simplified as much as possible without eliminating important information. An example is below.

Diagrams: Diagrams are visual representations that simplify a complex process. They may be drawings or sketches that outline and explain the parts of an object, process, or phenomenon that cannot be readily seen. When you introduce a diagram, you are working to label parts of a process for your audience. For example, you may decide to diagram how human communication occurs because simply describing that process would be too complex. See the example below from the website of the National Communication Association (NCA).

Charts, graphs, and diagrams can present challenges in being effective but also in being ethical. To be both ethical and effective, you need a good understanding of what statistics mean, and you need to create or use graphs that show amounts clearly. Remember that clarifying is a key goal of visual aids, so ask: is my graph or chart making my information more or less difficult to comprehend?

Representations of Real Processes or Things

In contrast, a second set of visual aids represents real processes, things, persons, places, or ideas. While charts and graphs simplify more complex or abstract ideas, data, or evidence, this set of visual aids attempts to add emphasis to real, literal stuff. This includes: maps, photos, videos, audio recordings, and objects (diagrams can also fall into this category, depending on what you’re mapping).

Maps: Maps are extremely useful if the information is clear and limited. There are all kinds of maps, including population, weather, ocean current, political, and economic maps. Take the time to find the right kind for your speech. Choose a map that emphasizes the information you need to deliver. For example, you might decide that a map outlining the Hawaiian Islands would be helpful to clarify the spatial dimensions of the state. Although the map may not list the names of the islands, it is helpful in orienting the audience to the direction and distance of the islands to other geographic features, such as the Pacific Ocean.

Photographs and Drawings: Sometimes a photograph or a drawing is the best way to show an unfamiliar but important detail. For example, if you gave a speech about the impact of plastics on ocean life, you may decide to include a photo of a beached whale who had suffered from plastic inhalation. The photo may emphasize the impact of plastic that speaking does not quite capture.

Video or Audio Recordings: Another very useful type of visual aid is a video or audio recording. Whether it is a short video from a website such as YouTube or Vimeo, a segment from a song, or a portion of a podcast, a well-chosen video or audio recording may be a good choice to enhance your speech.

There is one major warning to heed when using audio and video clips during a speech: do not forget that they are supposed to be aids to your speech, and not the speech itself! In addition, be sure to avoid these four mistakes that speakers often make when using audio and video clips:

• Avoid choosing clips that are too long for the overall length of the speech.
• Practice with the audio or video equipment prior to speaking. If you are unfamiliar with the equipment, you’ll look foolish trying to figure out how it works. Be sure that the speakers on the computer are on and at the right volume level.
• Cue the clip to the appropriate place prior to beginning your speech, and try to avoid any advertisement interruptions (which can make the aid look unprofessional).
• The audience must be given context before the video or audio clip is played, specifically what the clip is and why it relates to the speech. At the same time, the video should not repeat what you have already said, but add to it.

Objects: Objects refer to anything you could hold up and talk about during your speech. If you’re talking about the importance of not using plastic water bottles, you might hold up a plastic water bottle and a stainless-steel water bottle as examples.

Ways to Display Your Visual Aid

We’ve discussed why you might use a visual aid and what aid might work best. “How do I display these?” you might be wondering. For example, if you decide that a graph would be helpful in clarifying a complex idea, you have options on how to present that graph to the audience, including visual software or more low-tech means. We’ll talk through each below.

Using Visual Software

Visual software and slides are a common mechanism to display information for your audience. You are likely familiar with PowerPoint, but there are several others:

• Prezi, available at www.prezi.com
• Slide Rocket, available at www.sliderocket.com
• Canva, available at www.canva.com
• Google Slides, available in Google Drive and useful for collaborative assignments
• Keynote, the Apple visual slide software on Macs
• Impress, an Open Office product (http://www.openoffice.org/prod-uct/impress.html)
• PrezentIt
• AdobeAcrobat Presenter
• ThinkFree
• E-Maze

Each software platform allows you to present professional-looking slides. For example, you can use the full range of fonts, although many of them are not appropriate for visuals because they are hard to read. Use Table 9.3 to track advantages and disadvantages of using slides.

Advantages to Using Slides	Disadvantages to Using Slides
· They allow visualization of concepts. · They are easily portable and uniform. · They can be embedded with videos and audio. · They are projectable and more easily visible throughout a room.	· They’re too linear and audiences aren’t encouraged to see the relationship between ideas (Frommer, 2012). · PowerPoint is too rigid in the slide-by-slide format (Tufte, 2005). · The slides become overcrowded. · The slides become the speech.
	Table 9.3

Remember that visual software aids are a way to display what you want your audience to know—a graph, an idea, an image. Visual software is not the only way to display these, so slides should be a purposeful choice. What you display is the top priority.

Before we continue, we have one note: You’ll notice that “text from the speech” is not included in our list of types of visual aids in the section above. You may decide that adding emphasis to a key word or concept from your speech is needed – and that’s OK! You may even decide that providing that concept, visually, for the audience is worthwhile by writing or displaying the words, and that’s OK, too. However, remember that visual aids are included for a reason, and it’s often unnecessary to provide an entire outline of your speech’s text through visual software tools like PowerPoint slides. Speakers, too often, copy and paste parts of their speech onto a PowerPoint slide and think, “There! A visual aid!” Ask, “What purpose does this text serve for my audience? If your answer doesn’t result in clarifying, emphasizing, or retaining, it’s likely unnecessary.

Creating Quality Slide Shows

Slides should show the principles of good design, which include unity, emphasis or focal point, scale and proportion, balance, and rhythm (Lauer & Pentak, 2000). Presenters should also pay attention to tone and usability. With those principles in mind, here are some tips for creating and then using presentation software.

• Unity and Consistency: use a single (readable) sans serif font, single background, and unified animations for your visuals so that they look like a unified set. Each slide should have only one message, photo, or graphic.
• Emphasis, Focal Point, and Visibility: all information should be large enough—at least 24-point font— for audiences. To guarantee visibility, follow the 7X7 rule: no more than seven horizontal lines of text (including the heading) and the longest line should not exceed seven words. Finally, provide higher contrast between text and slides.
• Tone: Fonts, color, clip art, photographs, and templates all contribute to tone, which is the attitude being conveyed in the slides. Make sure the tone of the visual software matches the overall aesthetic tone of the speech.
• Scale and Proportion: Use numbers to communicate a sequence. If bullet points are used, the text should be short. Adjust graphs or visuals on the slide, avoiding small or multiple visuals in the same space.
• Balance and Rhythm: Work to create symmetry and balance between each slide. When presenting, think about what’s being displayed on the slide to the audience and when. If you aren’t addressing the visual aid, insert a black screen between slides to remove a visual aid from the audience’s view until the next slide comes up as part of the speech.
• Usability: With any image or graphic, make sure to include “alt text” – or a description of what the image is. Providing alt text is helpful for users with screen readers.

We recommend that you survey your university’s resources such as Towson University’s Public Communication Center (PCC), for assistance with creating quality and accessible visual slides.

Low-Tech Visual Aids

In addition to presentation slides, there are other “low-tech” ways to display information. Instead of providing a diagram on PowerPoint, you may decide that drawing it live is more beneficial. Below, we talk through a few additional means to display your information to the audience.

Dry-Erase Board

If you use a chalkboard or dry-erase board, what you display should still be thought-out, rehearsed, and clearly professional. You run the risk of appearing less prepared, but numerous speakers do utilize chalk and dry-erase boards effectively. Typically, these speakers use the chalk or dry-erase board for interactive components of a speech. For example, maybe you’re giving a speech in front of a group of executives. Chalk or dry-erase boards are very useful when you want to visually show information that you are receiving from your audience. If you ever use a chalk or dry-erase board, follow these five simple rules:

• Write large enough so that everyone in the room can see (which is harder than it sounds; it is also hard to write and talk at the same time!).
• Print legibly; do not write in cursive script.
• Write short phrases; don’t take time to write complete sentences.
• Never turn your back to the audience while you’re talking.
• Be sure you have markers that will not go dry, and clean the board afterward.

Flipchart

A flipchart is useful for situations when you want to save what you have written for future reference or to distribute to the audience after the visual. As with whiteboards, you will need good markers and readable handwriting, as well as a strong easel to keep the flipchart upright.

Posters

Posters often represent a key graph, idea, or visualization. For a poster, you likely want to display one key piece of information at one key part of your visual. Otherwise, posters are probably not the best way to approach visual aids in a speech. There are problems with visibility as well as portability. Avoid producing a visual aid that looks like you simply cut pictures out of magazines and pasted them on.

Handouts

Handouts are appropriate for delivering information that audience members can take away with them. As we will see, handouts require a great deal of management if they are to contribute to your credibility as a speaker.

First, make sure the handout is worth the trouble of making, copying, and distributing. Does the audience really need the handout? Second, make sure to bring enough copies of the handout for each audience member to get one. Having audience members share does not contribute to a professional image. Third, consider timing. We recommend providing the handout at the conclusion of your speech to avoid distractions while you are speaking.

Reminders for Integrating Visual Aids

Regardless of what visual aid you choose—a photo, chart, map— and the medium that you’ll display it—a handout, slide deck, audio device— all visual aids require rehearsal. While we’ve included tips on integrating visual aids in your speech throughout this chapter, consider the following list of strategies to integrate your various aids into the speech.

• Gather all citation information and provide it both visually and orally to your audience.
• In your speaking notes, mark where you will integrate the visual aid so that you don’t forget about it due to nervousness.
• Determine where the visual aid will be when it’s not being displayed.
• For a PowerPoint visual, include blank/black slides that are used when your visual aid isn’t in use.
• Store other objects in non-distracting locations.
• Rehearse your transitions into and out of the visual aid.

Accessibility and Visual Aids

When you’re making decisions about visual aids as a speaker, it’s important to be reflexive about who is in the audience. Are you making decisions about visual aids based on your own assumptions about what’s normal and who’s normal?

Creating an accessible experience for audience members must be a priority. For example, you may want to avoid red and green colors on your visual aids as they’re not perceivable to all audience members. While constructing presentation software slides, make sure you include alt-text for images, especially if you provide copies of the slides for audience members who may be sight-impaired. Check out guidelines for the visual software you’re using on how to embed alt-text. Additionally, be wary of using smells that may be intense or irritate audience members.

Conclusion

To finish this chapter, let’s recap a few key pieces of information. Whether your aid is a slide show, object, or dry erase board, these standards are essential:

• Visual aids must be easily experienced by your audience.
• Visual aids must be portable, easily handled, and efficient. They should disappear when not in use.
• Visual aids should be aesthetically pleasing, which includes being in good taste.
• Electronic media today allows you to create very “busy” slides with varieties of fonts, colors, collages of photos, etc. Keep in mind the principles of unity and focal point.
• Color is an important aesthetic aspect. Some colors are more soothing, readable, and appropriate than others. Remember that the color on your slides may be different from what is on your computer once the slides are projected.
• Provide citations when using images that are not your own.
• Finally, visual aids must support your speech and be highly relevant to your content.

This chapter has covered a wide range of information about all kinds of audio and visual aids, and audiences today expect and appreciate professionally designed and presented visual aids.