Small Business Presentaions - Visuals

Visuals

Did you know that most humans absorb more than 80 percent of what they learn through the sense of sight? That means if you show something to people, they are far more likely to remember it, at least for a while, than if you tell something to them. Show and tell at the same time and your audience will remember even more.

Geri E. H. McArdle, Ph.D., who wrote Delivering Effective Training Sessions and has been a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, says that adding visuals like graphs, charts, maps, or photos to a presentation increases the amount of retained information by as much as 55 percent. For example, people who have attended a show and tell presentation will retain about 65 percent of the information after three days, compared to about 10 percent retention for audiences who have simply heard the information.

A study done by the Wharton School of Business showed that the use of visuals reduced meeting times by as much as 28 percent. Another study found that audiences believe presenters who use visuals are more professional and credible than presenters who merely speak. And still other research indicates that meetings and presentations reinforced with visuals help participants reach decisions and consensus in less time. That's a pretty good case for using visuals!

When To Use Visuals
A picture is worth a thousand words.
--Chinese Proverb

Nearly any kind of presentation will benefit from some form of visual aid. Shareholders will have a better grasp of earnings or losses when presented with pie charts or bar graphs to show them where the money went. Clients of an advertising agency will have a better understanding of what a new advertising campaign will look and sound like when they are presented with story boards for TV commercials and slides of magazine ads. New hires will catch on to customer relations policies through role-model performances on video. Gardeners will learn how to propagate plants from cuttings when they actually have the plant material in their hands. A prospective customer is more likely to understand your product, and feel the need to buy it, if he or she can see it or touch it. And a message like "sell" or "service" or "quality" takes on greater meaning when it's projected on a screen or printed on a flip chart.

Sometimes visuals are essential components of a presentation. Examples of times when visuals are a "must" include the following:

• Your message is abstract, complex, or difficult to understand.
• Your key message or subject is visual in nature.
• It is essential that your audience retain your message.
• There is controversy or the chance your message could be misinterpreted.
• You have more than two or three key points.
• You want to add emphasis to a key point.
• The presentation includes words or language unfamiliar to the audience.
• The presentation is a how-to session involving several steps.
• You need to "dress up" a subject that may not be of great interest to the audience.
• The presentation includes numbers or mathematical calculations.
• You are dealing with children.

Types of Visuals
Visual aids take many forms, for example:

• Flip charts on easels
• Note-book flip charts
• Blackboards with chalk
• Whiteboards with markers
• Overhead transparencies
• Slides
• Videos
• Multimedia productions
• CD ROM
• Computers
• Props
• Three-dimensional models
• Posters
• Banners
• Handouts

And there is enormous diversity for the potential content of your visual aids:

• Photographs
• Typography
• Graphics
• Lists
• Symbols
• Colors
• Shapes
• Charts
• Maps
• Graphs
• Diagrams
• Cartoons

Somewhere among all these possibilities and combinations will be the visual aid that will match your objectives, subject matter, delivery style, audience needs, expectations, and, very importantly, budget.