Page 373 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

340 Part 3 Putting Theory Into Practice

Keep It Simple

A common tendency is to put too much information on a single visual. We
have seen people simply take a page from a magazine and copy it onto an over-
head transparency. Some students try to save a few dollars by putting two or
three ideas on one poster. These strategies undermine the effectiveness of vi-
sual media. In an age where we are constantly being bombarded by messages,
less is often more. The best advice we can give you is to keep your visual media
simple.

Tips and Tactics
Using Words and Numbers

• Limit yourself to one idea per visual aid.
• Use no more than six words per line.
• Use no more than six lines per visual aid.
• Use short, familiar words and round numbers.
• Keep charts and graphs simple enough to be sketched easily by your
audience.

Make It Visible

If your audience can’t see your visuals, instead of listening to you, they will be
straining to see or asking a neighbor what’s on the screen.

Tips and Tactics
Increasing Visibility

• Do not block your audience’s view of the visual as you show it during the
speech. You can purchase an inexpensive remote that plugs into a computer’s
USB port to advance your slides so you can stand away from the computer.
• Make sure the visual can be seen by everyone in the audience. Use a tall
easel with posters and photos and project PowerPoint slides or overheads high
enough on the screen to be visible to everyone.

Lay It Out Sensibly

An organized, consistent, and uncluttered layout is necessary for an effective
visual. One of the great advantages of visual media produced by computer pro-
grams, such as PowerPoint, is that the templates are designed for an effective
layout depending on the speech purpose. That’s also one of the reasons inexpe-
rienced speakers are tempted to use them before they should.