Checklist for Visuals

UNIT 4. Slides

Exercise 4.1. Now, read the text about visual aids.

To be effective a good visual must focus on only a few points. It’s important not to have too much information on one slide. Slide overload is bad because people will then spend time reading the slide rather than listening to the presenter. A slide must be readable. If the audience can’t read the slide, they will soon give up. That’s why font size is very important. It should be as large as possible. And sometimes it’s also a good idea to use different colors to highlight some points. Using many different colors can be confusing though.

It is good to use the rule of six which mean:

ü a maximum of six lines per slide

ü a maximum of six words per line

If you stick to this rule, you won’t risk overloading your charts with too much information.

The presenter is the focus of the presentation – not the visuals. The key purpose for using visual aid is to help the audience understand the topic better. So the visuals should only be used to support the presenter’s message. If a visual distracts the audience’s attention from what you are saying, it’s useless.

What you say and what you show should always go together 100%. So when you’re not talking about the slide, it shouldn’t be visible. It’s very important that the presenter speaks to the audience and doesn’t read to them. The speaker must make eye-contact and not watch the monitor or screen while he or she is talking. It’s extremely boring when someone just reads slides word for word as if it were an essay or something.

During a presentation we can use different kinds of visuals:

§ a bar chart

§ a table

§ a technical drawing

§ a map

§ a graph

§ a pie chart

§ organizational chart

The first rule of preparing effective visuals is that they should be clear and easy for the audience to follow. Sometimes it is necessary to explain a more complicated visual and it is always necessary to point out the most important information.

Read & Reflect   Useful Information

Introducing a visual

§ Let’s now look at the next slide which shows …

§ To illustrate this, let’s have a closer look at…

§ The chart on the following slide shows …

§ I have a slide here that shows …

§ The problem is illustrated in the next bar chart.

§ According to this graph, …

§ You can see the test results in this table.

§ As you can see here, …

§ Now I’ll show you …

§ Let’s move on now and look at the figures for …

Explaining a visual

§ First, let me quickly explain the graph.

§ You can see that different colours have been used to indicate

§ The new models are listed across the bottom.

§ The biggest segment indicates …

§ The key in the bottom left-hand corner …

§ If you look at the top right-hand corner …

§ The blue dotted line represents …

§ The top half shows …

§ The figures in this table show …

Highlighting information

§ I’d like to stress / highlight / emphasize the following point(s).

§ I’d like to start by drawing your attention to …

§ Let me point out that …

§ I’d like to focus your attention on …

§ I think you’ll be surprised to see that …

§ What’s really important here is …

§ Let’s look more closely at …

§ What is interesting / important here is …

§ It is important to notice that …

§ I would like you to concentrate on this …

Read & Reflect   Useful Information

Saying Numbers

Numbers, especially long ones, are often difficult for the audience to understand. Try to say numbers slowly and clearly, and point them while speaking.

Mind pronunciation of some numbers and other numerical values:

v 500 five hundred

v 1,500 one thousand five hundred

v 350,421 three hundred and fifty thousand, four hundred and twenty-one

v 211,050,780 two hundred and eleven million, fifty thousand, seven hundred and eighty

v 10.6 ten point six

v 8.735 eight point seven three five

v 0.009 zero point oh oh nine

v -5ºC five degrees below zero Celsius

v ½ one-half; a half

v 2/3 two-thirds

v 7/8 seven-eighths

v km/h kilometres per hour

Remember that comma in English is used to show thousands and a point to show the decimal place.

Read & Reflect     Useful Information

While giving numbers during your presentation, you often need to emphasize the most important points. You can do this by the following ways.

Using a verb (stress, emphasize, etc.):

I’d like to stress / emphasize the following point.

I’d like to draw your attention to the latest figures.

Using what:

What is really important is...

What we should do is talk about...

Making contrasts:

although / despite / however / nevertheless / on the one hand … on the other hand / whereas / while

Rhetorical questions:

What conclusion can we draw from this?

So, what does this mean?

So, how good are the results?

So, how are we going to deal with this increase?

So, where do we go from here?

Why do I say that? Because …

Do we really want to miss this opportunity to …?

adverb + adjective construction:

It would be completely wrong to change our strategy at this point.

I think this fact is extremely important / totally unacceptable / extremely dangerous / absolutely safe / incredibly cheap / highly interesting / absolutely necessary / surprisingly good / completely useless

Describing results:

This was because of …

The unexpected drop was caused by… as a result / consequently / as a consequence / therefore / thus

In pairs, discuss the following questions:

· Which types of visuals do you use most frequently in your presentations?

· What is important when presenting visuals?

· What tips can you think of for using visuals effectively?

Read & Reflect      Useful Information

Describing Movements and Trends

You may excite interest of the audience by adding adjectives and adverbs to your trend descriptions.

Adjectives + nouns:

§ a sudden increase

§ a moderate fall

§ a gradual decline (rise)

§ a slight rise (increase)

§ a rapid growth

§ a sharp jump

§ a significant decrease the greatest increase

Adverbs + verbs:

§ increase slightly

§ drop significantly (slightly)

§ rise sharply

§ decline slightly

§ decrease steadily

§ fall dramatically

§ grow considerably

Read & Reflect      Useful Information

Checklist for Visuals

Ø Prepare each visual carefully and separately

Ø Check whether the visual really shows what you are saying.

Ø Make sure your audience can read the visual (font size and color).

Ø Find effective headlines.

Ø Keep design and content simple.

Ø Use bullet charts for text.

Ø Reduce text to a minimum.

Ø Always prepare audience for visuals.

Ø Present information clearly and logically

Ø Remember the rule of six.

Checklist for Using Visuals (Graphs & Charts)

Ø Make your visual as clear and easy to understand as possible.

Ø Start by telling your audience what the graph / chart illustrates.

Ø Highlight the key points.

Ø Say why these points are important (and explain the cause or effect).

Ø Use different verbs to express movement / development.

Ø Use the same key words and phrases you used on your bullet charts.

Exercise 4.1.1. Read the text about Some Tips to Describe Trends on Graphs and Charts.

v Think about the number of visuals you want to use – don’t overdo it! Remember: less is often more.

v Before showing the graph or chart, prepare the audience for it. Say something which makes them interested in what they will see. This technique is called “media teasing”.

v Give the audience time to understand what they see before you start explaining the details.

v If the movement you want to describe is very complex, simplify it. Divide the graph into two or three parts and summarize the main developments.

v Provide an interpretation of the graph’s movement. The audience wants to know there are ups and downs in the graphs, what they mean, and what consequences they have.

v Use the TTT method when presenting graphics: touch (or point to) a detail on the projection, then turn to the audience, and finally talk to them.

v Use interesting and varied language to describe trends. You need alternative expressions to describe similar developments.

Which tips do you think are the most useful? Why?