COMMUNICATION AIDS

AND STRATEGIES
CHAPTER FIVE
No good to show
oActual firearms
oLive Mammals
oIllegal substances and chemicals
oPictures of aborted fetuses
oNudity and
oVulgar scenes
• The goal of the visual aids is to enhance
the speech and develop sensationalism.
• Visual Aids make the discussion more
interesting in meetings and
presentations.(Tubbs and Moss, 2007)
Examples of visual aids are
Models and objects
Demonstrations
Illustrations (handouts, pictures,
work of art, tables and charts)
Audio visual (video tapes, slides,
films, audio tapes)
Computer graphics
• Woods (1997) in Researching and Developing
Support for Public Speeches suggests, “When
visual texts are used, certain guidelines apply.
As a general rule, a visual text should have no
more than six lines of words, should use phrases
more than sentences , and should use a simple
typeface. Color and variations type size can
be used to add emphasis to visual texts. This
applies to handouts, overhand transparencies,
and large visuals displayed at the front of the
room.’’
• Listeners will undergo visual overload to
speakers who use plenty of visuals and so it is
good to use the formula as proposed by
Cheryl Hamilton (1996, cited from Woods,
1997)

Length of Speech + 1 = Max. number of visuals

2
• The purpose of a visual aids is to support the
speaker’s discourse and not serve as a barrier
to the listeners.
• Speakers should continually maintain eye
contact to the listeners and not to the visual
aids all the time.
• Therefore, a well-prepared speech with a
visual aid surely provides clarity to the
presentation (Wood, 1997).
 TYPES OF VISUAL AIDS
• Object and Models
– object -anything handy to demonstrate to
the listeners as well as a highlight the topic.
– Models on the other hand are scaled
representations of the object like a
miniature building , a city , a part of a body,
and so on.
• Diagram is an illustration of line drawings
that depict the elements of an object.

The most common examples of diagrams are

 Maps
 Blueprints
 Architectural and organizational charts

• “A diagram is most appropriate when you

need to simplify complex object or event and
make it more understandable to the
audience”(Adler & Rodman, 2006)
• Word and number charts are best depicted
using statistics for easy presentation to the
audience.
• Pie charts are made of circles with slices. These
are used to demonstrate the divisions of the
entire pie chart as well as represents the
partition of the 100% that each slice will get.
• Bar charts are being compared between two
or more values by way of putting them in
horizontal rectangles.
• Column charts demonstrate an identical
function as bar charts but are seen through
vertical rectangles.
• Line charts on the other hand , usually map
out the route of a moving point and an
appropriate for illustrating changes over time.
Now the time element is shown in the
horizontal axis for the line to represents the
development as time passes.
PRESENTATION OF VISUAL AIDS
 PRESENTATION OF VISUAL AIDS
• Chalkboards or whiteboards
• Flip pads
• Poster board
• Hand out
• Projectors
• CDs
• Power point
Effective application of visual aids:
1. Reading the visual aids ahead of time and
mastering these tools before using them.
2. Keeping visual aids easy to understand and
simple.
3. Making visual aids to be readable and simple.
4. Making video recorders, overhead projectors,
slide and film projectors as well as screens to be
available before the presentation.
 4. Making video recorders, overhead
projectors, slide and film projectors as well as
screens to be available before the
presentation.
5. Fitting the visual aids as to the size of the
room where light adjustments are made.
6. Putting visual aids to enhance the speech.
7. Taking to the audience and not only the
visual paraphernalia.
Summary
• The goal of the visual aids is to enhance the speech and
develop sensationalism.
• The purpose of a visual aids is to support the speaker’s
discourse and not serve as a barrier to the listeners.
• Types of visual aids are:
– Objects and Models – Bar Charts
– Diagram – Column Charts
– Word and Number Charts – Line Charts
– Pie Charts
• Presentations of visual aids:
 Chalkboards or whiteboards  Hand out  CDs
 Flip pads  Projectors
 Poster board  PowerPoint