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Guidelines
for Good Visual Aids
Content
-
Think about what information to use. Be
selective.
-
Organize the material into its main points.
-
Put text or graphics on a visual aid to
enhance what you say in your presentation and to help guide the audience
through your major points.
Continuity
-
All slides, transparencies, posters, or
Web pages in one presentation must have the same graphic elements (e.g.,
font, color scheme, and background art).
-
Changing design or style during a presentation
causes a jarring effect upon the viewers.
Text size
- Readability is the key.
-
Letters should be huge. Make type 26, 36 or even 48 point type.
Text font
- Use one font per visual aid.
- Use a plain, easy to read font. Helvetica,
Univers, & Arial are recommended.
-
Software programs provide many fonts,
but very few of them are readable on a visual aid. Don’t use them just
because they are available!
-
Sans serif fonts (those without the little
lines at the end of the letters) are generally easier to read on visual aids.
Text style
-
Use italic type for titles of complete
works only.
-
Never underline text. On Web pages, text
hyperlinks are automatically underlined, so underlining any other text
causes confusion.
-
Avoid using all CAPS. You are not screaming
at your audience.
-
Use boldface type or a different color
type or to indicate emphasis.
Amount of text on one visual aid
-
Fewer than 25 words per visual aid
-
The rule of thumb is 4 to 6 lines of text
per visual aid.
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Use 4 to 6 words per line.
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The text must be large enough to read
from the back of the room.
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Avoid putting so much information on your
visual aid that your audience is busy reading your poster or transparency
and not listening to you speak.
-
Maintain wide margins. Text or graphics
very close to the bottom of the visual aid may not be visible from the
back of the room.
Graphics, colors and animations
-
Contrast is vital. Use dark text on a
light background or vice versa.
-
Choose colors that coordinate and compliment
each other.
- Add appropriate background texture or design.
-
Do not use more than 2 graphics on one
visual aid.
-
Make sure graphics and colors are appropriate
to the topic.
-
If using animation make sure it is appropriate.
Too much animation is distracting and diminish the effectiveness of the presentation..
Proofreading and editing
-
Make bulleted text parallel in structure
(e.g., all bullets start with verbs or all bullets are subject-verb).
-
Be consistent with verb tenses (e.g.,
all in present or all in past).
-
Use consistent punctuation.
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Double-check data
© 1998 Susan Campbell, Kimberley Donnelly, Steve Kerby and Joel Burkholder
Contributed by Julia Hughes and Kimberley Donnelly
Last modified 2-10-2002 djw