In the earlier days, the commonly used visual aids in public speaking were overhead projectors, posters, and flip charts etc. but of lately most of them have been replaced with recent technologies. People generally think that “visual aids” for speeches or presentations simply means a PowerPoint Presentation but we must understand that it is just a type of visual aid. There are many other options available to make your presentation more appropriate and effective.
What is purpose behind using the visual aids?
Before knowing the types of visual aids that you can use in public speaking, we should first see why do we even need them?
- Engaging the audience and holding their attention is the first and the foremost purpose of using visual aids.
- Most people retain what they see more than retaining what they hear.
- They help in summarising the information.
- Making things easier to understand.
- Using visual aids make your presentation more impactful.
Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using visual aid.
Speakers have been using different kinds of visual aids, both old and new, to make their presentation easier to understand and deliver their message clearly. Visual aids not help the speaker but also the audience. Following are some commonly used visual aids:
1. PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint is probably the most commonly used visual aid for presentations as one can easily create attractive and professional presentations with it. The advantage of being able to insert a wide range of videos, audios animations and other things into the slides helps in catching the audience’s attention better.
2. Whiteboards
Whiteboards work great when you have to give further explanations like explaining difficult words, explaining the order of a process, creating diagrams etc. They are generally used for writing headings, important information to be displayed for the entire duration, and to note the suggestions given by the audience.
3. Video clips
You can engage your audience really well by using an appropriate audio or video. This also adds variety to your presentation.
4. Charts and graphs
A variety of charts and graphs are available to assist you in various purposes like pie charts, line graphs, bar charts, flow charts and organisational charts. Choose the most suitable one to convey your points.
5. Handouts
The key information from your presentation or further information of your presentation may be given in printed form on sheet of papers. These are called handouts. They are generally used when your topic is too complex to understand just by speaking.
6. Flip chart
In public speaking, flip charts are a low cost solution to record and convey information while you present. They are very low in technology. They prove to be beneficial when you have a small audience. They are often used for brainstorming sessions to collect the ideas easily and also to summarize the information given.
7. Props
A prop can be either an object or a model. An object is the actual item you are talking about whereas a model is a representation of the item you are talking about. Whichever prop you use, the purpose is to clarify the message and maximize understanding. They can make a dull topic really interesting.
8. Overheads
An overhead projector is an extremely popular device for using as a visual aid. They can be used to show how a machine works, how a building has been built, to show some step by step procedures or processes.
There are many more visual aids which may be used as per the requirement of the presentation.
In the next post we will be giving tips on how, when and where to use these aids and their pros and cons.
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