PowerPoint Presentations Training:
Using Visual Aids as Notes

Simple visual aids can serve as your notes when speaking. When preparing a PowerPoint presentation, carefully select your titles. These titles alone can serve as "triggers" to what you want to say next. If you know your subject well and have rehearsed your PowerPoint presentation, your visual aids should be all you need to "jog" your memory. If you forget something that's okay; the audience would never know.

4 Important Advantages of a PowerPoint Presentation:

You don't have to worry about what you're going to say next - Your next PowerPoint presentation slide has your next major idea on it. Use effective titles which properly capture the main message of the visual aid.

Visual aids allow you to move around the room - inexperienced speakers don't want to move around. Movement helps you to relax and adds energy to your PowerPoint presentation. Movement also allows the listeners to follow you and pay closer attention to you.

You can have good eye contact with your audience - You can look at your audience all the time, except when you look briefly at your visual aid. That's okay since the audience will also look at your visual aid. This will help them see your message as well as hear your message.

Your Audience feels comfortable knowing you're on your planned track - Well designed visual aids show that you have a plan and have properly prepared and that you are following your plan.

Your PowerPoint presentation visual aids don't have to be only word charts; they can include diagrams, pictures and graphs.

NOTE: When you use visual aids, always introduce your visual aid before you actually show the visual aid. Rehearse your presentation with your actual visual aids. It is very important that you are very familiar with your visual aids. Make sure your message and visual aids match. There is nothing worse than showing a visual aid which does not go along with what you are saying. Practice using different transition phrases. For example: “Now that we have seen the...” “let's look at...” “My next point deals with...”

Source: Lenny Laskowski  http://www.ljlseminars.com/visuals.htm

Related: PowerPoint Presentation

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