Be Creative

"People acquire 85% of all their knowledge visually" (Guffrey, 2003)

There are many ways to be creative with your presentation. However, the important question to consider if what measure will you take in order for the audience to accept the message of your presentation? An important aspect to consider is that you can lose audience attention if the information presented is too dense and dry. Therefore, you can use effective imagery to convey your message, these can include: 

• Personal Stories
• Similes
• Metaphors

In addition, alongside effective imagery, the use of a personal aid medium can further emphasize the main points of your presentation, in addition to keeping the audience involved and engaged in your presentation. Some examples of visual aid can range from: 

• Videos
• Graphs
• Handouts
• Props

The most important and popular form of visual aid is POWERPOINT, but there are some factors to consider while using PowerPoint: 

• Be consistent with the layout that you are using for your slides. 
• Make sure there is only one main idea per slide, as it may become to confusing for the audience if there is too much information presented on the slides. 
• Remember not to read off the slides. They are there to help your presentation not present for you. 
• While using slides, maintain eye contact. Remember not to turn your back on the audience to look at the slides. The audience wants to see your beautiful face, not your back. 

According to the picture above, it is apparent that the presenter is using a form of visual aid, seemingly confusing for the audience. This is apparent through the reaction of the audience as they are bored, sleepy or distracted. This can depict that although the use of a visual aid is a great way to approach your presentation, it can in fact hinder the audience understanding. This is a cause of complicated graphs, long and boring videos, complicated charts and/or too much information on PowerPoint slides. Therefore, it is important to carefully consider the type of visual aid medium that you should use during your presentation, having your audience in mind.

Works Cited:

Guffey, M. E. (2003). Business Communication: Process and Product, 4e. Thomson, South-

Western