CHAPTER 10
Verbal and Visual Support in Presentations
Resource Guide
The opening page of each chapter in Communicating at Work lists desired learning outcomes. The
Resource Guide will assist you in locating activities and resources from the text and Instructor Manual
that are relevant to each objective.
Integrated Objectives
Resources
Define and describe guidelines for each type of
verbal support; develop and use each type of verbal
support as suitable to add interest, clarity, and/or
proof to a main point.
Key terms: comparisons; definitions; examples;
quotations; statistics; stories; supporting material
In the text:
Activities: 1-6
Culture at Work: Culture Shapes Support
Preferences
Ethical Challenge: Cherry Picking Support?
Self-Assessment: Does Your Supporting Material
Measure Up?
Instructor’s Manual online:
Personal Reflection for Journaling
Discussion Launchers: 1-5
Classroom Activities: 1-6
Written Application Exercise: 1
Discuss whether or not there is a need for visual
aids in various situations; determine the advantages
and disadvantages of various types of visual aids
for those contexts; then design a visual aid
appropriate for a given context.
Key terms: bar charts; column charts; graphs;
pictograms; pie charts
In the text:
Activities: 7,8
Case Study: Mosquitoes Create a Buzz over Bill
Gates’ Speech
Instructor’s Manual online:
Discussion Launchers: 6-9
Classroom Activities: 7,8
Choose the most effective medium for presenting
visual aids in specific contexts.
Key terms: flip charts; handouts; slides
In the text:
Activities: 9,10
Instructor’s Manual online:
Discussion Launchers: 10,11
Video Activity: 1
Design and critique a presentation using
PowerPoint or other presentation format.
Key terms: presentation software
In the text:
Technology Tip: Avoiding Computer Catastrophes
in Presentations
Instructor’s Manual online:
Discussion Launchers; 12-14
Classroom Activities: 9
About Chapter 10
This chapter discusses ways to support main ideas in presentations—verbally and visually. The
chapter opens by explaining the functions of support in presentations: clarity, interest, and proof. It is
helpful to remind students that supporting materials are a means of describing their main points using
low-level abstractions, which were introduced in Chapter 4.
Various forms of verbal support are described: definitions, examples, stories, statistics, comparisons,
quotations, and citing sources. Students are advised to consider the preferences of their audience as they
decide which forms of verbal support to use in their presentations. They are cautioned to always cite
sources when they draw on other people’s work. The text details a method for integrating sources into the
speech without interrupting its flow.
The section on visual support explains how to use the following types of aids: objects and models,
photographs, diagrams, lists and tables, pie charts, bar and column charts, pictograms, graphs, and video.
Next, the text describes effective use of various media students can use as they present their visual aids:
chalk and dry-erase boards, flip charts and poster boards, computer displays, and handouts. Another
section addresses the benefits and potential pitfalls of using presentation software. The last section of the
chapter provides a concise overview of key considerations when incorporating visual aids in a
presentation. If you are teaching a course that touches only briefly on public speaking, you can use these
guidelines as an indispensable ‘quick guide’ to the effective use of visual aids.
Throughout the chapter, several ideas from Chapter 1 are reinforced. There are many channels
available for communication. Choosing the appropriate channel involves consideration of the physical,
social, chronological, and cultural contexts. Students can be reminded to consider all of these concepts to
assist them in choosing the most effective visual and verbal support.
Personal Reflection for Individual Journaling Assignment
Think of presentations you have listened to in the past. What types of verbal and visual support
capture your interest in a presentation? What types bore you? What types best help you to
understand the topic? Which ones confuse you? What types leave a lasting impact? Which do
you forget most easily? How will you apply this reflection as you select verbal and visual
support for your own presentations?
Discussion Launchers
1. In Chapter 4, you learned the value of using low-level abstractions to explain your ideas clearly.
How can you apply this concept to your use of supporting materials in your speeches?
2. Verbal support is supposed to make a speech interesting. Think of some specific examples of
verbal support you could integrate into your upcoming speech that would captivate your
classmates.
3. One of the functions of supporting material described in this chapter is “proof.” Explain this
concept in your own words. Why is proof vital to an effective presentation?
4. Describe to the class some specific examples of verbal support you have heard. Ask your
classmates to identify which type of verbal support each example represents. Have you heard any
other types of verbal support in addition to those listed in the chapter?
5. Which type(s) of verbal support do you think is (are) most effective? Explain.
6. Are there any types of visual aids listed in this chapter that you have never used?
If so, why not? Would you consider experimenting with them? Why or why not?
7. Which type(s) of visual aids do you think is (are) most effective? Explain.
8. What examples of effective or bungled visual aids have you seen? What made them effective or
ineffective?
9. Data can be visually distorted by varying the horizontal and vertical size and axes of a graph.
Choose your own set of data. Graph the data three different ways. Which version is most
accurate? Why? What are the implications of your other two, less straightforward, graphs?
Would it be ethical to use either of your other two versions in a presentation? Why or why not?
10. Which types of media seem simplest to use? Which seem most challenging? Explain your
answers.
11. If you were to suggest a simple, general rule for selecting the most appropriate medium to
visually support your presentation, what would it be?
12. What do you like and dislike about sitting through a speech that is accompanied by presentation
software?
13. You have probably seen speeches accompanied by software presentations that have enacted some
or all of the potential drawbacks of presentation software. Why do so many speakers violate the
guidelines for effective visual aids when they use presentation software? Should you go along
with the crowd, or is it better to dare to be different and to create simple, concise, uncluttered
visuals? Would simple slides be too boring for you? Would they be boring for your audience?
14. What is the “Rule of Seven”? Why is this an important rule to remember?
Classroom Activities
1. Functions of Verbal Support
Objective: Students will become familiar with the clarity, interest, and proof functions of verbal support.
Procedure: Divide students into groups. Distribute copies of short, easy-to-read speeches. Well-written
informative or persuasive articles will work, also. Instruct each group to identify at least six examples of
verbal support in their manuscript. They should then decide what function(s) the support plays.
Class Discussion: After all groups have had time to locate and classify some examples of verbal support,
elicit examples. Discuss the three types of functions and the importance of each type. Evaluate how well
each example supports the specific purpose of the article. This would also be an ideal time to have
students note whether sources have been properly cited in the articles.
2. Types of Verbal Support
Objective: This activity provides students with an opportunity to identify the types of verbal supports
used in prepared speeches.
Procedure: Provide each student or each pair of students with a copy of Vital Speeches and a stack of 3″
x 5″ cards. Use the following instructions.
Instructions to Students: Read or skim one or more of the speeches in Vital Speeches. As you read,
copy onto 3″ x 5” cards the various examples of verbal support that you find. Then, on the opposite
side of the card, classify the support as to its type. When all groups have finished (one example of
each type of support, or seven cards), exchange the cards with another group, and read the examples
from the other group’s cards. State the type of support you believe it is, and check the other side of the
card to see if you agree with the classification.
Class Discussion: After students have identified the types of support used in the speeches, facilitate class
discussion with the following questions:
• Ask students to read to the class some of the best examples of support. What makes these
effective?
• Tell why, within the context of the speech, certain support materials were especially
effective.
• Which is more effective: a “shopping list” of brief examples, or one or two well chosen
examples that are described in enough detail for the listener to get a good understanding of
them? Why is in-depth description generally more effective?
• Were any types of support used that don’t fall neatly into one of the categories from the text?
If so, list these on the board.
• Can you think of additional types of support the speakers might have used effectively?
3. Examples of Verbal Support
Objective: Students will become familiar with types and uses of verbal support by providing examples.
Procedure: Divide the class into groups. Review the section in the text titled “Verbal Support.”
Distribute to each group a copy of the table titled “How to Use Various Types of Verbal Support,” found
at the end of this section. Instruct students to complete the table by filling in the missing information.
Class Discussion: After groups have filled in the table, ask groups to share their guidelines and examples.
Facilitate additional class discussion with the following questions:
• Which of the examples you’ve heard do you think are most effective? Why?
• Imagine a speech in which the speaker didn’t provide in–depth verbal support. Why wouldn’t it
be effective?
• Would a speech be richer if it combines several types of support, or if it relies mostly on one type
of verbal support? Why?
• How can you locate adequate verbal support for your own speech?
4. Verbal and Visual Support
Objective: After completing this activity, students should be able to identify the type of support
materials used in visual advertisements.
Procedure: Ask students to collect advertisements from newspapers and/or magazines and examine
them for the type of supporting materials used. On a specified day, each student should explain one of
these ads to the class.
Class Discussion: After each student has done this, lead a class discussion on the correlation between
types of support material and believability and credibility.
• Why do you believe/not believe the advertisement you brought?
• What are common appeals made by advertisers? How does supporting material affect these
appeals?
• Which advertisements do you believe display the most credible supporting material? Why?
• What can you learn from this exercise that will help you when you select supporting material
for your own presentations?
5. Oral Footnotes
Objective: Students will practice correct ways to cite sources by creating oral footnotes.
Procedure: The day before doing this exercise, ask students to bring to class photocopied pages that
contain at least one specific definition, example, brief story, statistic, comparison, or quotation. The
photocopy must clearly indicate information such as author and title of the article that would be needed
for an oral footnote.
Before completing this activity, review with the class the section from this chapter titled “Citing
Your Sources.” Then, arrange students in groups of four. Have groups use the four-step process to model
how they could integrate the verbal support into a presentation.
Class Discussion: Ask each group to share with the class at least one of the oral footnotes they
constructed. Stimulate discussion by asking:
• Why are oral footnotes essential?
• Have you ever heard someone present a speech that did not include oral footnotes? Is
that a good model to follow? Why or why not?
• Would it be sufficient simply to distribute a handout with the sources typed on it or to
display a PowerPoint slide listing all your sources? Why or why not?
• What’s the point of this four-step method? Is it necessary to include all four steps?
• Should you cite yourself as a source?
• What should you do if you run across an old handout that has some facts you would like
to use in your speech, but the handout does not have the name of its author or the title of
the class or conference where you picked it up?
• Is it legal to electronically copy a piece of graphic art from a website and insert it into a
PowerPoint display to show with a speech? Why or why not?
6. Constructing a Bibliography to Submit with Your Speech Outline
Objective: Students will learn to create a formal bibliography using an APA, Chicago, or MLA style
sheet.
Procedure: Display to the class one of the following websites, which provide tutorials for constructing
bibliography entries:
http://www.stylewizard.com/index.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/
http://content.easybib.com/students/citation-guide/
Distribute to student groups copies of books, journals, newspapers, and the like. Have additional laptops
handy so some students can cite websites.
Ask first, “Who has a book with one author?” While you demonstrate how to use the website as a
guide, ask a student scribe to write on the board the correct elements of a bibliographical entry as the
student reads them to you. Demonstrate hanging indent format, as well. If the last name starts with a
letter that is late in the alphabet, leave plenty of space above this entry so you will have sufficient space to
alphabetize additional entries above this one.
Next ask, “Who has a book with three authors?” Continue this process until you have a list with
several different types of items on the board, including a couple of web sites.
Class Discussion: After you have written out enough examples for students to get the idea, elicit the
following:
• How does the information you should include in a formal bibliography differ from the
information you would cite in your oral footnotes?
• Why it is important to include a written bibliography?
• Why do you need BOTH oral footnotes and a written bibliography in a speech? Is that
overkill or do they serve different purposes?
If students don’t know how to create a hanging indent using word processing software, demonstrate how.
For Microsoft Word, the current sequence of commands is:
• Highlight the bibliography item.
• From the top menu bar, select ‘Format.’
• From the drop down menu, select ‘Paragraph.’
• Look at about dead center of the pop-up menu that appears. It’s in the section called
‘Indentation.’ You will see a box titled ‘Special.’ From the drop-down menu, select
‘Hanging.’
• Click OK.
You can also teach students how to use the References function of Microsoft Word 2007.
To find detailed instructions for using this tool, go to “Create a Bibliography” in
Microsoft Help.
7. Constructing Visual Aids
Objective: This activity provides students with an opportunity to analyze the research process and to
construct a visual aid showing statistical evidence.
Procedure: List on the board the following items, which are factors in the cost of a training workshop:
a. Consultant’s Fee $2,000.00
b. Food/Refreshments $ 126.00
c. Lodging for the Trainer $ 175.00
d. Equipment Rental $ 138.50
e. Room Rental $ 275.00
f. Miscellaneous $ 9.29
Tell the students that the speaker wants the audience to understand the relative importance of each
item to the overall cost of the training session. Divide the class into groups of three or four. Each
group is to construct a visual aid using the above data. (This may mean allowing the use of a
computer lab.) On the day the assignment is due, put the visual aids on display for the class.
Class Discussion: Each group will present their visual aids to the class. The following questions could
be used to foster class discussion:
• How did you give the numbers impact?
• How did you show their relationship to one another?
• Are there other ways you could have organized the numbers?
• Which of the visual aids on display presented the information most effectively? Why?
• How can you, as a speaker, effectively interpret a visual aid orally, to help the audience get
the most from it?
8. Evaluating Visual Aids
Objective: Students will familiarize themselves with guidelines for evaluating audiovisual presentation
aids.
Procedure: Divide students into groups. Allow 10 minutes to design an evaluation form for evaluating
the quality of visual aids used in a public speaking class. The form should draw from characteristics
explained in this chapter. For added motivation, you might even offer to use the best evaluation form for
the next round of speeches. Encourage students to focus on general principles that would apply to all
types of visual aids.
Class Discussion: Use an opaque projector, or scan and project each group’s evaluation forms while they
explain them to the class. As each group presents their form, allow other groups to ask questions, suggest
additional elements to consider, and critique elements that are incorrect or imprecise. After all groups
have presented, ask the class which of these elements they would consider to be most important and least
important to the effectiveness of a visual aid.
9. Evaluating Presentation Software Displays
Objective: Students will compare differences between software-generated presentations that follow the
guidelines in the text and those that violate these standards.
Procedure: Create two brief software-generated presentations: one illustrating the guidelines in the text
for effective use of visuals, the other illustrating the “dangers of presentation software.” (As a variation,
you could assign groups to create effective and ineffective examples.)
Class Discussion: Elicit reactions from the class regarding the strengths and weaknesses of each
presentation. Relate students’ comments to the potential drawbacks mentioned in the text: poorly
conceived messages, design over content, and overly complex presentations.
How to Use Various Types of Verbal Support
Review the section in your text titled “Verbal Support.” In column 2, write guidelines for using
this type of support effectively in a speech. In Column 3, provide an actual example of this type
of support that you could use in a speech you present, or that you have heard used in a speech.
Type of
Support
Guidelines for
Effective Use
Example
(from your speech or from a speech you’ve heard)
Definition
Example
Story
Statistics
Comparisons
Quotations
Written Application Exercises
1. Using Oral Footnotes
Review the section in Chapter 10 titled “Citing Your Sources.” This section explains a four-step method
for effectively integrating your “oral footnotes” into your speech.
Help your classmates understand this material by writing an essay in which you address most or all of the
following questions:
• Why are oral footnotes essential?
• Have you ever heard someone present a speech that did not include oral footnotes? Is that a good
model to follow? Why or why not?
• What’s the point of this four-step method? Is it necessary to include all four steps?
• Would it be sufficient simply to distribute a handout with the sources typed on it or to display a
PowerPoint slide listing all your sources? Why or why not?
• What should you do if you run across an old handout that has some facts you would like to use in
your speech, but the handout does not have the name of its author or the title of the class or
conference where you picked it up?
• Is it legal to electronically copy a piece of graphic art from a website and paste it into a
PowerPoint display to show with a speech?
• Why can’t you count yourself as one of your sources in your speech?
Video Activities
1. Evaluating Visual Aids
Objective: After completing this activity, students should be able to analyze other speakers’
choices in using visual aids.
Procedure: Obtain a demonstration video from your college video collection, or use clips from
a variety of programs. If your school offers majors in health occupations, building trades,
chemistry (and other labs), food services, and technologies, you may find interesting how-to
videos. Select one that uses many visual aids.
Class Discussion: As students watch, ask them to identify each form of visual support material
and to be ready to explain how each visual helped or hindered the speaker in communicating the
message.
• What could have been done better with the visual support used in the program?
• What other types of visuals could have been used in the presentation of information?
• What would have happened to the quality, believability, and understandability if the
speakers had not used the visual aids they did?
• What would the speaker have to do in order to get the same amount of information
across to the listeners without the use of visual aids?
Additional Resources
Print
Galloway, R. (2011). Rethinking PowerPoint: Designing and delivering presentations that engage the
mind. Method Content, LLC.
Based on in-depth interviews with experts, this film/book project identifies optinal methods of
slide design and ways to efficiently present information in publc.
Huff, D. & Geis, I. (1993). How to lie with statistics. New York: Norton & Co.
This timeless book builds awareness of the ways statistics can be misused. This helps students
become sharper critical listeners and plan more accurate, factual presentations.
Kearny, L. (1994). Graphics for presenters. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Publications, Inc.
This book from the fifty-minute series will help you improve your presentations by understanding
the basics of pictures, line, and color.
Lowe, D. (2010). PowerPoint 2010 for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing.
A comprehensive users guide.
Wormell, R. (2009). Metaphors & analogies: Power tools for teaching any subject. Portland, ME:
Stenhouse Publishers.
Reinforces the power of using metaphors to bring any subject alive.
DVD
Aids to Speaking. 15 min. Coronet/MTI Films and Video.
Conquering Death by PowerPoint: The 7 Rules of Visual Design. (60 min) The Educational Video
Group. Properly constructed slides can deliver an effective message.
Face To Face: A Common-Sense Approach to Developing Effective Business Communication Skills. Vol.
II. Part 1: Implementing Visuals. 30 min. The Educational Video Group.
Face To Face: A Common-Sense Approach to Developing Effective Business Communication Skills. Vol.
I. Part 3: Preparing Effective Visual Reinforcements. 30 min. The Educational Video Group.
Foundations of Communication: William Weithoff on Writing the Speech. (16 min) The Educational
Video Group.
Part of an NCA-sanctioned series. A distinguished scholar introduces class material and
generates discussion.
Rethinking PowerPoint: Designing and Delivering Presentations that Engage the Mind. (2011) 45 min.
Method Content, LLC. Available at www.rethinkingpowerpoint.com
Based on in-depth interviews with experts, this film/book project identifies optimal methods of
slide design and ways to efficiently present information in public.
Web
APA tutorial online
http://www.stylewizard.com/apa/apawiz.html
Students love this interactive guide to writing APA documentation.
New Mexico State Univ Library
http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalsugg.html
This site discusses strengths and weaknesses of the internet as a research tool. The site provides a number
of useful techniques for those students who choose to utilize Web-based resources when attempting to
provide verbal and nonverbal support for their ideas during a presentation. This site provides a number of
useful examples as well as techniques for generating a bibliography when using a variety of Web-based
materials.
Patricia Fripp, Consultant
http://www.fripp.com/articleslist.html
This site offers a number of free educational articles. Scroll down to the heading “Public Speaking and
Presentation Skills”.
Rethinking PowerPoint
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rethinking-powerpoint-documentary-examines-worlds-most-
misused-software-98912804.html
A press release covering the film “Rethinking Power Point.”
TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design): Ideas Worth Spreading
http://www.ted.com/talks
TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading innovative and inspiring ideas. This site supplies a wealth of
professional talks by experts from a variety of disciplines – ranging from Steve Jobs to William Noel to
Terry Moore to Hans Rosling. These free videos make great short pieces for in-class analysis of verbal
and visual support.
University of Kentucky
http://mcl.as.uky.edu/glossary-rhetorical-terms
This site lists more rhetorical devices than students may need to know. Devices range from A to Z; from
little-known devices such as Anadiplosis to Zeugma! Of course, you can find the more common ones
such as metaphors and similes, along with several examples for each one.
“Most visual aids are terribly nonvisual and no aid at all.” — Frank O’Meara