CHAPTER 7
INTERESTING VERBAL AND VISUAL SUPPORTING MATERIALS
Chapter Objective: This chapter provides basic principles underlying the use of both verbal and
visual supporting material. A variety of verbal supporting materials are discussed and tips for
using each of these types well are covered. The chapter also highlights visual aids and provides
practical hands-on suggestions on how to select from options and construct well-placed and
effective visuals to enhance and promote the message. This chapter will ensure that your
students understand the value of effective visual aids and prevent them from falling into some
of the traps of poorly-prepared visual aids.
To use this chapter most effectively, discuss the importance of supporting materials and the
differences between verbal and visual supports. Have students list the seven types of verbal
supporting materials and provide several tips for using verbal supports effectively. Explain the
benefits that the use of visual aids plays in a successful speech and the types of visual aids
most often used. Ask students to identify several guidelines and tips to use in planning their
visual aids. Discuss basic design principles to use with computer-generated slides, including a
discussion of why each is so important to a polished and professional visual presentation. Help
students understand the guidelines and tips to use in designing effective text and graphic slides.
Encourage students to customize their computer slides, discussing guidelines for effectively
using various types of visual aids during a presentation to avoid PowerPoint poisoning.
Chapter Outline
I. There are two types of supporting materials: verbal and visual.
A. Verbal supports are used to clarify, prove, and add interest to your speech
content. Examples of verbal supports are:
1. Explanations
2. Statistics
3. Brief or detailed examples
4. Comparisons
5. Expert opinions
6. Fables, sayings, poems, and rhymes
7. Simple demonstrations
B. Visual supports are used to speed comprehension, add interest, and improve
listener memory of your speech ideas. They include:
1. Computer-generated graphs
2. Clip art
3. Charts
4. Posters
5. Pictures
6. Objects
7. Models
8. Sounds or music
II. In order for the supports you select to produce the greatest effect in our speeches, use at
least two different types of verbal support for each of your main points.
1. According to the multimedia principle, people learn significantly better
when pictures are added to test.
2. According to the congruity principle, people learn better when the pictures
are placed next to the words they illustrate.
3. Memory is also improved when the pictures and images are uncluttered,
vivid, use color, and relate directly to the key idea on the visuals. They serve as an “anchor.”
C. Visual aids enhance speaker credibility.
IV. A good speech must have good verbal supporting materials.
A. An explanation defines or gives more information about a term or topic, gives
instructions on how to do something, or describes how something works or the relationship
between certain items.
1. Beginning speakers have a tendency to use too much explanation.
2. Your speeches will be better if you can find other types of supporting
material to replace most of your explanations.
B. Statistics are used to show relationships between items.
1. Make your statistics meaningful by relating them to your listeners’
frame of reference.
2. Eliminate any statistics that are not absolutely necessary.
3. Whenever possible, present your statistics in graphic form.
4. Round off the numbers to make them easy for your listeners in recall.
5. Demonstrate the credibility of your statistics by citing the source, the
reason the source is considered expert, and the size of the population from which the statistics
were compiled.
C. An instance is a specific case that is used to clarify, add interest, and prove a
point. There are several types of instances:
1. Factual
2. Hypothetical
3. Brief (usually called an example)
4. Detailed (usually called an illustration)
a.) Factual illustrations are narratives or stories that describe things,
people, or events that actually happened.
b.) Hypothetical illustrations are narratives or stories that describe
things, people, or events, but they are not factual. They are made up or hypothetical. It must
have “fidelity” to ring true to the audience.
5. An example is always brief and usually factual.
D. Although you can’t prove an idea by using only instances, factual instances can
add some proof to your arguments.
E. Comparisons are used to compare or contrast something your listeners know a
lot about with something they know little about.
1. A literal comparison shows similarities or differences between two or
more items in a same class or category.
2. A figurative comparison is used for two or more items from different
classes or categories.
F. An expert opinion is when you refer to the ideas of an expert on your topic.
1. When you paraphrase the expert’s ideas, make sure you mention the
same background information on the expert that you would if giving a direct quote.
2. A direct quote means that you are quoting the words of an expert word-
for-word.
G. Fables, sayings, poems, and rhymes deserve to be used more often.
H. Short demonstrations should also be used more often.
V. Any time you use information that you did not create from scratch, you will need to
F. Whiteboards (or markerboards) are used much less often.
A. Make sure to practice using a whiteboard.
B. Make sure your letters are large enough to be easily seen.
VII. Consider several important items when planning your visual aids.
A. Choose text or graphic visuals.
C. Limit the number of visual aids you use.
1. You do not want to overload your audience.
2. A helpful formula to assure avoidance of under or over use of visuals is
to divide the speech length in minutes by two and add one.
D. Make PowerPoint your ally and avoid PowerPoint poisoning.
E. Use bullet points with care.
1. Keep your use of bullets to a minimum.
2. Follow the rule of Four-Six.
3. Make sure you cover only one idea per slide.
4. Never read off your slides.
5. Use a picture that captures the main idea being presented by material in
the bullets.
VIII. Take care when designing your visual aids.
A. General design principles in Robin Williams’ The Non-Designer’s Design Book
list four basic principles of design.
1. Contrast of elements creates attraction.
2. Repetition of visual elements throughout the piece strengthens unity.
3. Alignment creates a clean, organized look.
4. Proximity dictates linking related items together to reduce clutter and
reinforce the relationship between like things.
V. Remember five tips when designing visual aids.
A. Use the correct font size.
B. Select a typeface with care.
1. San serif typefaces are usually best for titles or emphasis.
2. Serif fonts work best for text and smaller labels. (Refer to the actual text
for sample visuals of typeface suggestions).
C. Follow these tips for text visuals to promote clarity.
D. Follow these tips for effective graphic visuals.
1. Limit data to what is absolutely necessary to avoid confusion.
E. Selecting effective color combinations is difficult, but color can highlight,
organize, and add interest to your speech content.
6. Avoid using colors that can look the same at a distance.
7. Limit the number of colors you use.
8. Avoid placing colors next to each other if they are opposite on the color
wheel.
9. All color composition in visuals should be pre-evaluated for effect.
IX. When using computer-generated visuals, make sure you customize them rather than
simply using the design templates that come with the software programs.
A. Start by sketching out slides for each main point.
B. Select a design template and get ready to customize.
1. Prepare to customize by turning on your ruler and guides from the
View menu (if not yet visible) and by turning off the “snap to grid” feature by
clicking on the “draw” button in the drawing toolbar.
2. Turn off the “Snap to Grid” feature.
3. Build your own custom bullets.
4. Control what the audience sees by opening on a white or black
screen.
5. Embed “trimmed” audio and video clips into your PowerPoint
slides.
6. Save your presentation to a disk, CD, or USB flash or thumb
drive, and conduct a technological rehearsal.
Classroom Exercises
Online Activity
Have your online students visit: www.microsoft.com and do a search for PowerPoint tutorial.
They can download a tutorial for different versions of PowerPoint that are easy to understand
and will help them create their own visual aids. Ask students to create the visual aid for an
upcoming speech using PowerPoint and send the slides to you. This is a great opportunity to
assist students with visual aids and help them create PowerPoint presentations that are easy on
the eye and have value for the audience.
Active Critical Thinking Activity
To think further about the benefits of visual aids, ask students to complete the following:
1. Which of the benefits of using visual aids do you think would be especially
important in informative speeches? Which would be especially important in
persuasive speeches? Why?
2. Do you think the benefits of using visuals during a presentation outweigh the time
and expense of preparing them? Explain your answer.
To think further about types of visual aids, ask students to complete the following:
1. Which of the types of visual aids have you used in your past speeches; which
were the most successful and which were the least successful? Why?
2. Speaking as an audience member, which types of visual aids are more likely to
keep attention and improve memory of speech content?
To think further about planning visual aids, ask students to complete the following:
1. Think about the visual aids, especially the PowerPoint slides, that you have seen
used by a professor or have used yourself. What was a main weakness, and which
planning category probably caused it?
2. What “fix” to the weakness would you recommend? Why?
7.1 Redesign of and Practicing with PowerPoint Slides*
In this two-part activity, students will practice redesigning PowerPoint slides using the
guidelines established in this chapter, as well as practice delivering their message using
PowerPoint so they can become familiar with some of the common mistakes speakers make
when using PowerPoint during a presentation. First, ask students to locate a PowerPoint
7.2 Testing the Effect of Visual Stimuli
In this exercise, select an historical video from your library (or the C-SPAN archives), and split
the class in two. Have one half of the class turn their chairs away from the video monitor—they
are to listen to the audio portion only. The other half of the class should look at the video and
audio version. All will fill out whatever standard speech evaluation you desire them to use.
Then, after the video (a brief one will be sufficient), both sides can compare notes. Some
questions to raise: Did the video version increase understanding of the text and impact of the
message? How did the notes from the audio version differ?
7.3 Visual Aids Consultant
Play a video or audiotape of a famous address and, if possible, provide texts. Have class
propose potential visual aids that would improve the speech. Ask questions about approach,
format, and design.
7.4 Think, Pair, Share: Charts, Graphs, Time Lines
Ask dyads to do research and determine how many movies Kevin Bacon made in the following
years:
1988 (4 movies)
1996 (1 movie)
2000 (2 movies)
2004 (2 movies)
*According to the Internet Movie Database
Once their lists are compiled (there may be some discrepancy, so further research may be
needed by some dyads). Individually, students should think about the best way to convey this
information in a visual aid. Would a pie chart work best? A bar graph? A timeline? After
7.5 Making the Incomprehensible Comprehensible
During the third quarter of 2006, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported that the current
account deficit was $225.6 billion. (Weinberg, Douglas B. “U.S. International Transactions:
Third Quarter 2006.” Bureau of Economic Analysis. 18 Dec. 2006. 2 Feb. 2008
<http://www.bea.gov/bea/newsrel/transnewsrelease.htm>).
Ask students how much $225.6 billion is. How could they make this number comprehensible by
using visual aids?