Public Speaking

Planning the Presentation Technology (^171)
• Bralee showed two clips from Friends to illustrate product placement.
• Chelsea played a short campaign ad to support her point about getting endorsements
for a candidate.
These students succeeded because they preplanned carefully. Their short clips illus-
trated their concepts; they selected the scene in advance; and they planned exactly when
to start and stop the visual.
In summary, skillful construction and use of visuals distinguish good speakers from
adequate ones, and as you learn to work with visuals, your competence will increase.
Presentation aids are especially useful with diverse audiences, as Diversity in Practice:
Visual Aids and Culture shows.

Planning the Presentation Technology

The technology for displaying visuals is big business; in fact, giant corporations exist

solely to provide machines and materials for creating and displaying visual support.

This section covers a number of common ways to display visual aids, along with their

Diversity

in praCtiCe

visual aids and Culture

Although technology has changed across the millennia, visual aids have a long

history. In oral cultures, speakers used objects to clarify ideas, help listeners better

understand abstract concepts, and dramatize words. For instance, in the sixth cen-

tury BCE, the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel created a model of the city of Jerusalem

and then used a toy army and siege machines to destroy it, symbolizing its future

destruction.^14 In the days of the Roman republic, noted orators such as Cicero

used statues and other landmarks in the Forum as visual aids.^15

Today, communicators in pluralistic settings, such as international marketers^16

and presenters who must speak in a second language, know the value of visual sup-

port. In the classroom, visual aids help nonnative speakers of English understand

and be understood in the following ways:

•   Nonnative speakers of English often worry that their English is not clear

enough or that they will make mistakes when they speak. By putting key words

on visuals, listeners can see as well as hear their ideas.

•   Visual aids put the focus—at least part of the time—on the visual rather than

the speaker. This may lessen a nonnative speaker’s anxiety.

•   Visuals, such as words on a list or figures on a graph, can function as cue cards

to remind speakers of their main points—another strategy for minimizing the

fear of forgetting.

•   Key words, diagrams, and other visuals can help nonnative speakers in the

audience. If they are unfamiliar with specific terms, they can understand the

diagrams and visuals and jot down the important words to study later.

In our image-saturated culture, many audiences now expect visual support.

Consequently, a good presentation aid package that skillfully uses available tech-

nology is culturally appropriate in a diverse society.

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