Preparing Visuals
The best presentation is an effective mix of verbal and visual elements. Whether you prepare your visuals by computer or by hand, the best advice is: keep it simple. Limit the amount of information on each visual. It’s better to use a series of simple visuals than to load everything you want to say on one or two. This is true both for visuals on screen in the classroom and for those seen on a TV or computer screen.
- Text should be clear and succinct
Excess jargon or verbosity usually do not communicate effectively.
- Leave plenty of white (unused) space
If a single graph, diagram, or text slide has too much information, understanding drops off. Research shows that the mind identifies and recalls up to six items fairly easily. After that, comprehension and recall rates reduce drastically.
- Optimum: 6 words per line and 4 – 7 lines of text for each visual
- Select a simple, bold typestyle
Arial, Verdana, or other sans serif font is twice as easy to read on the screen as Times Roman or other serif font. Bold, italicize, or color important words. Dot matrix printers are not very legible. Laser printers are excellent, as are dry-transfer lettering, mechanical lettering sets, or dark felt pens.
- Type size— letters at 1/4" high (this size)
Use one typestyle in 3 or fewer sizes throughout a presentation, with the largest type size for titles or main headings.
- Use both upper and lower case letters
All upper case letters is very difficult to read.
- Color—good color contrast improves readability
CAETE furnishes light blue paper and dark felt pens. Do not use dark ink on a dark background.
- Use bullets to emphasize items on a list
Use no more than 8 bullets per page.
- A horizontal format works well for TV
Use a 3:4 ratio of height to width, e.g. 6" x 8" or 9" x 12."
- Test legibility before showing your visuals
Prepare your text on an 81/2" x 11" piece of paper. Put it on the floor and stand up so that the paper is between your feet. Can you read it from this position? That’s how big it will look on the screen (assuming you are 5 – 6 feet tall).
- If a visual will be shown more than once during a presentation—make more than one copy
This will eliminate searching back and forth for a specific visual.
