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Using Visual Aids
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Explain the major advantages of using visual aids in a speech.
2. Identify the kinds of visual aids available for use in speeches.
3. Apply the guidelines given in the chapter for preparing and presenting visual aids.
14
CHAPTER 14—USING VISUAL AIDS 199
Chapter Outline
I. Visual aids offer a speaker several advantages.
A. Visual aids enhance a speaker’s credibility.
B. Visual aids can improve a speaker’s persuasiveness.
C. Visual aids can help a speaker combat stage fright.
D. Visual aids can increase the interest of a speaker’s information.
II. There are many kinds of visual aids.
A. Objects and models can work extremely well as visual aids.
B. Photographs and drawings can be of great advantage to a speaker.
C. Graphs are a good way to clarify and simplify statistics.
1. Line graphs are best for illustrating statistical trends.
2. Pie graphs are well suited for demonstrating distribution patterns.
3. Bar graphs are effective for showing comparisons between two or more items.
D. Charts are a good choice when a speaker needs to summarize large blocks of
information.
E. Video can be extremely effective as a visual aid.
F. Sometimes the speaker can use her or his own body as a visual aid.
G. Presentation technology allows a speaker to combine charts, graphs, photographs,
and video in the same talk.
1. When used properly, presentation technology can be highly effective.
2. Speakers need a clear idea of exactly why, how, and when they will use
presentation technology in their speeches.
III. There are seven basic guidelines to follow when creating visual aids.
A. Speakers should prepare visual aids well in advance.
B. Speakers should keep visual aids simple.
C. Speakers should make sure visual aids are large enough.
D. Speakers should use a limited amount of text in their visual aids.
E. Speakers should use fonts effectively in their visual aids.
F. Speakers should use color effectively in their visual aids.
G. Speakers should use images strategically in their visual aids.
IV. In addition to preparing visual aids effectively, speakers should follow seven guidelines
when presenting visual aids during a speech.
A. Speakers should display visual aids where listeners can see them.
B. Speakers should avoid passing visual aids among the audience.
200 CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
C. Speakers should display visual aids only while discussing them.
D. Speakers should explain their visual aids clearly and concisely.
E. Speakers should talk to their audience, not to their visual aid.
F. Speakers should practice with their visual aids when rehearsing the speech.
G. Speakers should check the room and equipment prior to speaking to ensure that their
visual aids will work properly.
Exercises for Critical Thinking
(from text page 267)
1. Watch a how-to video (a cooking show, for example) or the weather portion of a local news-
cast. Notice how the speaker uses visual aids to help communicate the message. What kinds
of visual aids are used? How do they enhance the clarity, interest, and retainability of the
speaker’s message? What would the speaker have to do to communicate the message effec-
tively without visual aids?
Discussion: This exercise helps attune students to the advantages and logistics of using vis-
2. Consider how you might use visual aids to explain each of the following:
a. How to stretch before and after exercise.
b. The proportion of the electorate that votes in major national elections in the United States,
France, Germany, England, and Japan, respectively.
c. Where to obtain information about student loans.
d. The wing patterns of various species of butterflies.
e. The decrease in the amount of money spent by public schools on arts education since
2005.
f. How to play the ukulele.
g. The basic equipment and techniques of rock climbing.
Discussion: This exercise is designed to get students thinking about how they might use
CHAPTER 14—USING VISUAL AIDS 201
3. Plan to use visual aids in at least one of your classroom speeches. Be creative in devising
your aids, and be sure to follow the guidelines discussed in the chapter for using them. After
the speech, analyze how effectively you employed your visual aids, what you learned about
the use of visual aids from your experience, and what changes you would make in using visu-
al aids if you were to deliver the speech again.
Discussion: Some teachers assign a round of speeches—usually informative—in which
Using Public Speaking in Your Career
(from text page 258)
As a veterinarian and owner of a small-animal practice, you work closely with your local humane
society to help control a growing population of unwanted dogs and cats. You and your staff de-
vote many hours annually in free and reduced-cost medical services to animals adopted from the
society. Now you have been asked to speak to the city council in support of legislation proposed
by the society for stronger enforcement of animal licensing and leash laws.
In your speech, you plan to include statistics that (1) compare estimates of the city’s dog pop-
ulation with the number of licenses issued during the past five years and (2) show the small num-
ber of citations given by local law enforcement for unleashed pets during the same period of time.
Knowing from your college public speaking class how valuable visual aids can be in presenting
statistics, you decide to illustrate one set of statistics with a chart and the other with a graph.
For which set of statistics will a chart be more appropriate? For which set will a graph be
more appropriate? Of the three kinds of graphs discussed in this chapter—bar, line, pie—which
will work best for your statistics, and why?
Discussion: As with other Using Public Speaking in Your Career scenarios throughout the
202 CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
number of citations given by local law enforcement for unleashed pets during the past five
years—could be represented with a line graph that contained only one line. But this would
not be as effective as a chart that simply listed the figures for each year. Graphs are espe-
cially valuable for showing statistical trends or comparisons. Since that is not the primary
purpose of the second set of statistics, a chart would be the better choice for them.
Additional Exercises and Activities
1. Show students Part Two of Introductions, Conclusions, and Visual Aids, which is available
on Connect.
Discussion: When it comes to teaching students about visual aids, a picture is truly worth a
2. Develop a file of old visual aids you can display for students to demonstrate the characteristics
of effective and ineffective visual aids. Have the students identify which aids work well, which
do not, and why. Ask students for ways to improve the ineffective visual aids.
Discussion: This exercise complements Additional Exercise/Activity 1 above. Displaying old
3. Show the class one or more of the speeches that use visual aids from the DVD of student
speeches that accompanies this edition of The Art of Public Speaking. Use the DVD to illus-
trate points about the effective use of visual aids.
Discussion: It is one thing to show students excerpts from speeches that use visual aids;
CHAPTER 14—USING VISUAL AIDS 203
The DVD also contains five informative speeches that demonstrate the use of presen-
tation technology: “Supervolcanoes: The Sleeping Giants,” “Lady Liberty,” “Medical Ro-
bots: From Science Fiction to Science Fact,” “Securing Yourself Online,” and “The Hidden
World of Chili Peppers.” For the text and discussion of “Supervolcanoes,” see pages 285–
287 of the textbook; for “Lady Liberty,” see pages A2–A3 of the textbook and pages 207–
209 of this manual; for the text and discussion of “Medical Robots,” see pages 351–354 of
this manual; for the text and discussion of “Chili Peppers,” see pages 363–366 of this
manual.
Although students are most likely to use visual aids in their informative speeches,
they can use them in persuasive speeches as well—as is illustrated on the DVD by
“Getting the Lead Out,” “The Living-Wage Solution,” “Phony Pharmaceuticals,” and “The
Horrors of Puppy Mills.” For the text and discussion of “Getting the Lead Out,” see pages
310–312 of the textbook; for the text and discussion of “The Living-Wage Solution,” see
pages A5–A7 of the textbook and pages 134–136 of this manual; for the text and
discussion of “Phony Pharmaceuticals,” see pages A7–A9 of the textbook and pages
235–237 of this manual. For the text and discussion of “Puppy Mills,” see pages 389–393
of this manual.
4. Show students one or more TED Talks, which often include highly effective visual aids. You
can find a variety of TED Talks by searching “TED Talks” on YouTube or by navigating to
www.TED.com.
Discussion: These days, TED Talks are a prominent outlet for dynamic public speaking.
