 In this video I'd like to offer just a few tips for using presentational aids as a part of a speech or business presentation. So first, the most important tip is use the conceal reveal conceal method. We want to avoid distractions, as we've talked about in other videos on delivering speeches and presentations, and part of that is not giving the audience something to distract their attention by having your presentational aid showing at all times. You want to have it concealed until you're ready for it, then when you want to use it, certainly reveal it, use it, refer to it, and do all of that, and then when you're done and you don't want the audience's attention on that anymore, then conceal it again. For an object that may mean covering it up or putting it away, for a slide presentation it may mean having your slides go dark so the audience is not constantly distracted by it, or it could just mean covering up your poster board or turning around your poster board in some way. So whatever method you need to do, please use the conceal reveal conceal method to help keep the audience from being distracted by your presentational aid during your speech and during the portions of your speech where you're not referring to it. Do be sure that you explain and reference your aids, don't just put something up on a table or on a slide and expect people to understand what it is and never refer to it and never explain why it's there, you ought to be explaining and referencing your visual aids when they are available and visible. Be sure that your aids are large enough for everyone to see, you need to gauge the size of the audience and identify whether or not the audience, the entire audience is going to be able to see this visual aid comfortably. We have to practice with our aids, this should not be something that we're figuring out as we go, we ought to practice as we're practicing our speech, we ought to be using our visual aid, having it in our hands, practicing advancing slides or showing a different demonstration piece while we're practicing our speech so that it's more comfortable during the actual presentation. Be sure that you're giving a speech, not a slideshow, this is not an opportunity for you to demonstrate all your wonderful PowerPoint skills, the PowerPoint or whatever visual aid you're using should be there to reinforce and support what you're saying not to be its own show in and of itself. You still should use transitions in your speech, you still should be giving the audience transitions to identify you're moving from one point to the next, don't just assume that your PowerPoint slide is going to convey that well enough on its own. Don't read off your slides, if you have that much information on your slides then you are unnecessary, the audience doesn't need you, you can just give them a hand or hand them a printed report and you don't need to give the speech in the first place. And look at the audience and talk to the audience, not to your slide and visual aid, you should not have your back to the audience, you should not be speaking to the screen or to the object that you have as your visual aid, you want to be sure that you're looking to and talking to the audience. Other tips for using presentation aids include keep it simple and professional, again the point of this presentation aid or your slide show or slide deck or whatever is not to impress the audience is to convey and reinforce information. So keep it simple, keep it professional, follow what we call a six by six rule meaning no more than six lines or six words per line and six lines per slide. So if you're using a PowerPoint slide or something similar to that, follow that six by six rule, no more than six words per line or six lines per slide. No random clip art, it doesn't really add anything, if you have an image that's going to add something great, do it, but if not, then don't use the random clip art, no more than two fonts per slide, you should have one for the title, one for the text and that's it. There should not be a ton of different fonts, it makes it much harder to read. No more than four colors at all in the slide show and certainly not within the different words on the screen or whatever, but no more than four colors should be used at all. You want to contrast the font in the background. This font may be a little hard for you to see because it's light font, light colored font on a light colored background. Be sure that you have dark colored font on light background or vice versa so that it stands out. Avoid those animations and transitions, again, don't add anything and this is not an opportunity for you to demonstrate that you know where all the bells and whistles for PowerPoint are at, just put the information on the screen and let the audience see it. There's no need to get fancy with all that. Some final tips, avoid bolding, underlining or italics unless it's absolutely necessary. Again, we should be limiting what's on the screen anyway, so there shouldn't be any need to emphasize those things. Have a backup plan in case you have a PowerPoint and the computer is not working or you end up in an outside venue and you weren't expecting that. You ought to have a backup plan. Your presentation, your visual aid is not your presentation. The presentation is the presentation. You should be able to go on with or without that visual aid. Finally, use consistent design elements. Use consistent colors, fonts, sizes, styling, and graphics throughout your presentation. Don't keep switching things up. Again, it's distracting for the audience. It doesn't really add anything to their understanding of the material, so just be consistent in the way that you're designing elements and using those design elements. If you have questions about using presentation lanes or preparing presentation lanes, feel free to email me and we can chat about that anytime. In the meantime, I hope that this has been helpful for you in providing some of these tips for how to effectively use presentational aids in your next presentation.