Using visual aids and handouts
Visual aids can be very powerful presentation tools. They can help to reinforce ideas, compare information and to illustrate points that you make in your presentation. Any visual aids you use should match and enhance your words: an oral presentation should never be overshadowed by cutting edge graphics.
PowerPoint slides should not be used as a shield to hide behind, and you should never simply read from the slides. Make sure the audience can read your slides by keeping colour combinations simple (light colours on dark backgrounds or dark colours on light backgrounds work best), and avoid red–green colour combinations since some 10% of the male population are red–green colour blind. The text should be large enough and the fonts clear enough for all the audience to see, and you should avoid cramming text onto slides, since white space on the screen makes the text easier to read. Always check in advance if you will be permitted to use visual aids for an assessed presentation; and, if so, what facilities are provided. There is no mileage in creating PowerPoint slides unless the room you will be speaking in has appropriate computer projection facilities. Finally, never be totally reliant on technology – it sometimes fails.Handouts are a more difficult issue. A copy of your slides can save people writing notes and help them focus on what you are saying, but if you give the audience too much information in advance you run the risk that they will simply read the handout and not listen to what you have to say. Perhaps the best strategy is to distribute only outlines in advance and, where needed, provide fuller handouts at the end of the presentation.
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