Visual Aids
Visual Aids
An instructional aid, such as a poster, scale model, or videotape, that presents information visually.
Types Of Visual Aids
There are many different types of visual aids. The following advice will help you make the most of those most commonly used.
PowerPoint (or equivalent)
Microsoft PowerPoint is probably now the most commonly used form of visual aid. Used well, it can really help you in your presentation; used badly, however, it can have the opposite effect. The general principles are:Do Don't use a big enough font (minimum 20pt) make it so small you can't read it keep the background simple use a fussy background image use animations when appropriate but don't over-do the animation - it gets distracting make things visual use endless slides of bulleted lists that all look the same
Overhead projector slides/transparencies
Overhead projector slides/transparencies are displayed on the overhead projector (OHP) - a very useful tool found in most lecture and seminar rooms. The OHP projects and enlarges your slides onto a screen or wall without requiring the lights to be dimmed. You can produce your slides in three ways: pre-prepared slides : these can be words or images either hand written/drawn or produced on a computer; spontaneously produced slides: these can be written as you speak to illustrate your points or to record comments from the audience; a mixture of each: try adding to pre-prepared slides when making your presentation to show movement, highlight change or signal detailed interrelationships.
Make sure that the text on your slides is large enough to be read from the back of the room. A useful rule of thumb is to use 18 point text if you are producing slides with text on a computer. This should also help reduce the amount of information on each slide. Avoid giving your audience too much text or overly complicated diagrams to read as this limits their ability to listen. Try to avoid lists of abstract words as these can be
An instructional aid, such as a poster, scale model, or videotape, that presents information visually.
Types Of Visual Aids
There are many different types of visual aids. The following advice will help you make the most of those most commonly used.
PowerPoint (or equivalent)
Microsoft PowerPoint is probably now the most commonly used form of visual aid. Used well, it can really help you in your presentation; used badly, however, it can have the opposite effect. The general principles are:Do Don't use a big enough font (minimum 20pt) make it so small you can't read it keep the background simple use a fussy background image use animations when appropriate but don't over-do the animation - it gets distracting make things visual use endless slides of bulleted lists that all look the same
Overhead projector slides/transparencies
Overhead projector slides/transparencies are displayed on the overhead projector (OHP) - a very useful tool found in most lecture and seminar rooms. The OHP projects and enlarges your slides onto a screen or wall without requiring the lights to be dimmed. You can produce your slides in three ways: pre-prepared slides : these can be words or images either hand written/drawn or produced on a computer; spontaneously produced slides: these can be written as you speak to illustrate your points or to record comments from the audience; a mixture of each: try adding to pre-prepared slides when making your presentation to show movement, highlight change or signal detailed interrelationships.
Make sure that the text on your slides is large enough to be read from the back of the room. A useful rule of thumb is to use 18 point text if you are producing slides with text on a computer. This should also help reduce the amount of information on each slide. Avoid giving your audience too much text or overly complicated diagrams to read as this limits their ability to listen. Try to avoid lists of abstract words as these can be