presentation maker

presentation maker

The Power of Visual Presentations

1. Introduction

This essay concerns the use of visual aids in presentations and the best way to influence an audience. More precisely, the aim is to determine whether one can definitively prove that “seeing is believing” when it comes to the effectiveness of visual stimuli on the learning process – be it positive or negative. There is a large scope of literature pertaining to the use of visual aids in education. From the overhead projector, to handouts, to video, to computers, or television – the possibilities are endless and forever growing. Among the primary visual aids are slides. Chances are, if you are a university student today, a high school graduate, or a member of any acknowledged organization, you have given a slide presentation. Given the common nature of this media, the topic of slides gives us a good opportunity to study the effects of visual aids on the learning process. Through this examination of the use of slides, one can observe many principles underlying the effectiveness of all visual stimuli in learning. The essay is largely descriptive and analytical and builds an argument for the case that visual stimuli are a highly effective tool for enhancing the learning process. The literature reviewed and the studies conducted give great insight into the mind’s eye of the learner. In the end, visual aids should be viewed not as a crutch to lean on while teaching and learning, but as a means to enhance and internalize the concepts that are difficult to convey to an audience.

2. Creating Engaging Slides

In contrast to the consistency principle, the engagement principle encourages presenters to make their slides different from one another. The goal is to maintain audience attention to avoid becoming boring or predictable. To put the engagement principle into practice, start by assessing the content of the presentation and identifying the most crucial information that needs to be explained to the audience. Usually, this information will fall into a cause/effect or problem/solution category. Once the most crucial information has been identified, the presenter should use the Multimedia principle to create slides that help explain that content. Due to the limitations of the slide medium, this may mean the use of several slides instead of one slide packed with information. The goal is to maximize the cognitive load of the message while maintaining the attention of the audience by not overloading individual slides. An example will provide clarity.

Use a persuasive tone in your response.

3. Delivering a Compelling Presentation

Delivering a presentation is an art that often sets the mediocre and the high achiever apart. High on content but low on delivery is a phenomenon which affects many people. It is a fact that communication is only 7% verbal and 93% non-verbal, so it’s not what you say, but how you say it. The amount of information you can get across using visuals in a short space of time is far greater than that of spoken or written word. People latch on to what they see, it helps them to understand. You must tailor your presentation for your specific audience, and it will also provide good evidence to back up generalized statements. If possible include some kind of audience participation, it keeps them involved and more importantly awake! Finally using all these points, a clear boost in your credibility and professional image will be noticed, due to the increased preparation it seems as if you care about what you are talking about. The use of technology in presentations has become a modern day standard. It is common for people to have PowerPoint, in fact, some would say presenting without it is outdated. This is good and bad, too much reliance of technology to transfer your information can lead to disaster. Everyone has probably been in a lecture when there has been technical difficulties, it discourages both the speaker and the audience. Often the speaker can find that they have lost their direction without the slides, it is important to remember that the PowerPoint is only a tool for your presentation. If used effectively a visual aid can be very powerful, but all too often people use it as a form of note taking which is then projected, and there is simply no need to read aloud what is already written. The worst case where this occurs is with the reports and statistics presentation, essential evidence but extremely hard to make interesting. Visual metaphors and analogy are the best way to get the message across. Using movie maker software it is possible to transform still images into a movie, which can have a soundtrack and subtitles. This can be extremely powerful when the right images are used. Visualization of an idea can often be more effective using fictional images, consider a futuristic society it has never been and is impossible to take a photo of, drawing is the next best thing. High quality free clipart can often be hard to find and so images can be drawn by hand and scanned into the computer. This again can add an essence of professionalism whilst making things clearer. With the ambition of improved presentation a tablet may be used to draw live diagrams whilst talking.

4. Utilizing Multimedia Elements

Utilizing multimedia in the classroom is a great way to engage students. Implementing multimedia elements is easy with some instruction. The results can serve the purpose of enhancing school lessons as well as cultivate the effective learning environment. Multimedia can reduce teacher talk time and increase student interaction. Moreover, multimedia is able to satisfy the needs of kinesthetic, auditory, visual, and reading/writing learners. Another reason why the usage of multimedia is important in ESL teaching is that it makes learners feel that English is fun and not boring. Usually, the students have more interest in learning the language to achieve better understanding since multimedia elements can provide authentic materials such as videos, infographics, etc. to be discussed in the classroom. Anybody who has access to the internet is able to find countless video contents on YouTube, TED, and many more that can be used for a classroom material. One obvious example of a multimedia element is the use of YouTube video. Videos can serve the purpose of stimulating discussions, especially during the phase of pre-teaching new subjects. Teachers can show a short video clip and have a discussion on what the students watched. Usually, videos have richer content than audio materials and are more interesting for students. Next, it can also serve as a listening exercise by having the students listen to the video and then answer questions regarding what they have listened to. Videos can also increase student comprehension on a particular subject and are useful for students who have different learning pace as the video can be played many times. The same method is also applicable by using short films.

5. Conclusion

Like any good design, the principles revealed in this book are going to seem simple, almost self-evident. Most of us at some point have seen them at work in the form of a great lecture, a fine movie, an absorbing story, or a clear and exciting teaching. But all too often the principles have been violated. Information has been presented visually but it has not been designed. The speaker has disappeared behind a screen of slides and has become the voice of the offstage narrator. The movie has made the visual transition from still to motion, but has violated the principle of clarity. Stories have been dramatized but not simplified. And teachers have all too often equated the word with the image and forgotten the difference between simultaneous and multisensory communication and a sequence of printed pages. The gap between what we know from research and the all too frequent failure to present information visually and take full advantage of the immense power of images has become increasingly painful. This gap is nowhere more apparent than in our educational institutions and in the organizations of our society where more than ever before knowing is power. Yet seldom are we taught the art of preserving or transmitting knowledge nor is its visual communication a premium skill. This book is an attempt to bridge this gap by revealing and communicating both the power of visual methods and the power of image and verbal integration.