Reading complete sentences directly from a visual aid or even just having them displayed behind you while you repeat them word for word doesn't help your audience retain the material. In fact, it's distracting and it pulls the attention away from what's important, you the speaker. When it comes to a visual aid, cliches like less is more and a picture is worth a thousand words, are actually relevant. You see the purpose of any effective visual aid is to supplement your presentation. What you say as a speaker should be what captivates the audience, not the materials displayed behind you. Concise bullet points with key words are good substitutes for large blocks of text or complete sentences. This isn't to say that all visual aids are distracting and unnecessary or that they should just be boiled down to a list of bullet points. They can be a great tool for emphasizing the structure and main points of your presentation, as long as you use them effectively. Headers, for example, remind your audience of what topic you're discussing. Clear organization and bullet points like these can only get you so far however, the key here is visual and words are rarely exciting to look at. Use visual aids to clearly display graphs and data or to show relevant images. Strong visuals have the power to evoke emotional responses with your audience and keep them engaged. In this video we will discuss a variety of ways to effectively create a strong visual aid. There are a lot of tips and tricks that seem like common sense but often go unnoticed, as well as a whole arsenal of new tools and ideas that you can implement into your own presentations. The first thing to consider when creating a visual aid is your audience. Are you speaking to your peers, experts? How much do they know about your topic? Does your visual help you explain it appropriately? Does your audience appreciate humor or are they looking for a more serious presentation? The makeup and mindset of your audience is going to affect the design of whatever type of visual aid you use. Incorporating a meme or a pop-culture reference may be useful in connecting with your classmates on a fairly informal presentation, but won't be appreciated if you presenting to a panel of experts. Knowing your audience can also help you create an engaging presentation that they will want to listen to. Be sure to pay attention to the assignment guidelines before starting any project. Even though your physical audience will typically be your peers you may be expected to present as if they were someone else, perhaps to enforce formality or to focus your presentation. Once you have considered the parameters you have to work in you are ready to start designing your visual aid. The first thing to think of when you put together any visual aid is the saying, "less is more." You don't want to distract your audience with too many pictures, too much text, too much data, or dizzying transitions. Always keep in mind to the purpose. Your visual supplements the information that you provide as a speaker. If you keep your visuals clean and clear you'll also keep your audience's attention. This doesn't mean you should overload your visual with just any image however. Find quality images and think carefully about the effect of the visual you choose. Avoid using clip-art and stock photos to demonstrate your point. Really put in the effort to find images that say exactly what you want them to and evoke the right response from your audience. Tt's also helpful to use themes to make your visual aid cohesive. This means more than just using a pre-selected setting on PowerPoint. You can customize a theme or create your own and save it for other presentations. Themes can also apply to specific areas of the visual aid as well. Keep the same color scheme going throughout your presentation. Use photos that complement each other. And stick with the same font or fonts to make your visual aid look polished and professional. Looking like you're prepared is never enough though, the most important part of using a visual aid in a presentation is to practice with it. Remember the visual aid is only there to supplement your spoken word, don't use it to create an illusion of understanding, or to distract your audience from the fact that you don't know your material. Get into a classroom and test it out. See how your visual works in the space you'll be presenting, and come to the speaking Center to rehearse and get some feedback. One final piece of advice is to never be afraid of a little creativity. Visual aids are not exclusive to PowerPoint or other slideshow presentations. These are excellent tools when created correctly, but they're often overused. Think of all the other exciting things you could use to visually reinforce your main points. You can check out a few good examples in the next section. Let's review, first, for strong visual aids consider your audience, once you know who you're presenting for start working on your presentation. Two, remember less is more, try not to overload your visual it's only meant to supplement the content that you provide as a speaker. Third, pay attention to the quality images you use it's best to avoid clip-art and stock photos. Four, when you're putting together the presentation consider applying cohesive themes. This goes for the background, color schemes, images and fonts. Fifth, once you're finished you need to practice your presentation to really make sure you know how to work within the space that you're given. And finally sixth be creative, don't just settle for any average visual aid. Really put in the effort to make something new. Now that you know how to put together an effective visual aid it's time to see some examples in action. Click next in your Canvas window to continue.