When giving a presentation at work, visual aids can be an excellent way to impart information to colleagues so that they will remember it long after your meeting ends. One of the easiest visual aids we can use in a presentation is PowerPoint, but slides are frequently put together in ways that actually don’t enhance public speaking.
PowerPoint slides can be a useful visual aid—but remember that they are just an aid. Oftentimes speakers use them as a substitute for actually speaking, rather than as a tool to enhance a presentation. Here are a few quick tips on how to use this visual aid more effectively:
- Use the less is more approach. Since slides can be distracting, air on the side of using fewer slides with less information on each one.
- Use graphs and charts to illustrate your points. Be sure they are labeled clearly enough for the whole audience to see them.
- Highlight the thought that you are discussing. If you have several thoughts on the same slide, this makes it easier for the audience to follow.
Source: Watkins, Kelly J. (2005). Will They Throw Eggs? How to Speak with Professionalism and Pizzazz. Journal of Accountancy 199(4).
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