ABSTRACT
Most experienced speakers use visual aids. Why? The short answer is that they make the talk more interesting for the audience, and they do this for a number of reasons. Let me suggest seven reasons, before giving practical advice about the common types of aid, their virtues and vices, and the pitfalls for the inexperienced. Because there are many different aids which speakers use, and because each of these aids has its own technique, with many small details of management, this chapter will be rather different from the rest of the book. It would be tedious to read through all the details at one go. Indeed, if you are reading this book from front to back, I recommend you to read only the first few pages of this chapter, before moving on to Chapter Twelve. Skim through the detailed advice on individual aids, but please don’t try to read it all. It is not meant for light reading. I suggest that you come back to the advice about a specific visual aid, only when you have to give a talk, and will be using that particular aid. In this way you will have the motivation to read and absorb the detailed points of technique; you will also have them fresh in your mind when giving the talk.
