Exactly WHEN should you use a visual in a slide?

Misc. Photos

Exactly WHEN should you use a visual in a slide?

We know that including too much text and data in slides overwhelms an audience so we shouldn’t do it.

We also know that the more visual our slides are the better.

But is it possible to use too many visuals in our slide deck that actually end up detracting from our key messages?

In this article, I want to help you refine the way you use visuals in your slides to make sure you create as much impact as possible in your presentations.

But first, let’s get our definitions right. Another word for a slide is a visual aid. And the important word here is ‘aid’. A visual aid (and we’re not in fact limited to slides, we can include physical objects) means that you’re using something for the audience to SEE, so please, no tiny charts that can’t be seen. A visual aid is just that, an AID to help them understand your message, learn something or create an insight.

I know it happens, but if you want to be remembered as an excellent presenter, never create slides to help YOU remember what to say. Slides should always be for the audience’s benefit, not yours.

Visuals should really only be used to satisfy one of two specific purposes: 

  1. When the information is too complicated to be communicated using only words 

    A good example of this is information that has a spatial relationship like an organisational chart for example. Data shown in a pie chart or bar chart are also examples of good use of visuals.
  2. When you want to drive a point home by engaging emotionally with your audience.

A photo that enhances meaning but the image isn’t directly related to the topic is extremely powerful. Here is an example that I use in many of my training courses.

We could effectively use this photo to talk about a brand-new business strategy but as you can see, the image has nothing to do with business and everything to do with starting out; a small child at the start of their life and a path that takes us into the future. This type of visual imprints the message in our brain because it fits the message, and appeals to our emotions but the content is atypical.

Here are some other things to keep in mind to make sure you hit the mark:

  • Avoid detailed bullet points. If you must use bullets use only keywords and as few as possible
  • Don’t use an image to ‘liven up’ a list of bullet points that is only loosely connected to the topic of the bullets
  • Try to keep to one idea/one slide, it’s preferable one impactful visual rather than several small ones.

And remember, it’s not always necessary to be talking with slides all the time. Using visuals sparingly to create impact also means talking without slides at certain points in your presentation. There is no greater engagement than when the speaker is talking directly and naturally to the audience with energy, coherence and conviction and the audience is forced to focus on the speaker because there are no slides to look at. 

Use the B or W key on the keyboard to blank out your screen at different moments of your presentation to get the audience to focus on you and your words.

When preparing a slide deck to speak with, be purposeful with your visuals, everything should be there for a reason. And the only reason that really matters is that the visuals help your audience understand your verbal message better than if that visual wasn’t there.

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My mission is to help employees in multinational companies learn the skills and techniques they need to give outstanding presentations in English and receive the visibility and recognition they deserve.

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feel confident and engage with your audience Janice Haywood