One of the easiest methods to guarantee a successful and effective speech is to use interesting and powerful visual aids. Unfortunately, a lot of speakers either don’t use visual aids at all or use overcrowded, difficult-to-read visuals that make it almost impossible for the audience to understand the visuals’ content, to listen to the talk, and to take down notes all together. Poorly designed visual aids compel listeners to decide between listening to the speaker or reading the visual aid – and you know which they will select. Thus, when preparing your visuals, remember that if listeners will take much longer than seven seconds to grasp the content, they will possibly fall into a reading mode. When listeners are thrown into a reading mode, they hear almost nothing the speaker says.

Audiovisual aids may be used to reinforce, explain, or further clarify the main points. These aids range from simple flipcharts or graphs, to slides or videotapes. Communication effectiveness is frequently enhanced by the use of more than one medium; and where the presenter opts for visual aids, they must show the relevance of their use to the message.

Functions of Visual Aids

Visual aids, when used effectively, can help a speaker communicate better and can help listeners understand better. Visual aids engage the senses (what we see and what we hear) and help clarify, support, and strengthen the message. Visual aids are so effective that most speakers use them.

Let’s consider the ways in which visual aids can improve your presentation. Visual aids can:

• provide support and emphasize main ideas
• facilitate understanding
• encourage emotional involvement
• aid with delivery
• add to your credibility
• decrease your nervousness because they give you something to do with your hands, they draw audience attention away from you,  and they make it almost impossible to forget what you want to say.

Listeners also benefit from the effective use of visual aids. Such aids can:

• help separate important from less important information
• add interest and color
• improve audience memory