Improving Presentation Style

Effective Use of the Visual Aids

• Write legibly and big enough that your writing can be seen in the back of the room.
• Think about the organization of the material on the board.
• Fill one board at a time, starting with the top of each board and writing down.
• Do not scrunch in words at the very bottom of the board or in the margins. The students in the back will not see the words at the bottom, and no one will see the words in the margins.
• Underline or mark major assumptions, conclusions, etc.
• Use color to emphasize points. Before the class starts, determine which colors are most visible in the back of the room.
• Erase a board only when you have run out of room.
• If you find a mistake on a previous board, do not erase it. Cross it out, then write the correction in, which is what the students must do.
• Do not use visual aids unless they serve a clear and important purpose. Visuals should aid quick comprehension and support the main points.
• Book and check out the presentation equipment in advance.
• Talk to your audience and not to the screen.
• Use the visuals to enhance your presentation, not as a substitute for a verbal presentation.
• Use a pointer, if necessary.
• Coordinate the audio and the visual.
• Use too few visuals rather than too many. However, exactly the right number of visuals is great!
• Design your visuals with clarity and simplicity in mind.
• Use single words or phrases
• Organize the content visually
• Choose a font that is easy to see
• Keep the design simple
• Use short quotes, not long extracts, from documents
• Assign a title for each visual
• Use summary lists
• Limit the number of ideas on each visual
• Use color for emphasis and organization
• Design diagrams and tables that are clear and simple, with readily recognized symbols
• Use horizontal layout, not vertical