Eight Keys to Mastering Visual Aids

'When the eyes say one thing, and the tongue another, a practiced man relies on the language of the first.' ' Ralph Waldo Emerson
A powerful visual aid will set
images floating in the minds of your listeners and leave a lasting impression far more effectively than words alone. Nonetheless, lawyers often fail to capitalize on the power of visual aids for a variety of reasons: they often design complex, intricate visual aids that clarify very little and often merely confound the audience; they fumble around during the presentation and create awkward pauses because they failed to practice their presentations using the visual aids; they do not position themselves and the visual aid for maximum impact because they are unfamiliar with the layout of the room; and they fail to carefully plan when and how they will use the visual aid to accentuate the message.
There is simply no substitute for carefully preparing your visual aids and knowing exactly how they will be used during the presentation. Set forth below are eight visual aid rules to ensure that you use your visual aids for maximum impact.
1. Avoid complexity. Frequently listeners will remain focused on a complicated visual aid, attempting to understand it, while ignoring critical portions of your presentation. Simplify your visual aid to ensure that it is quickly understandable to someone who is seeing it for the first time. Do not attempt to pack all possible information onto the visual aid; it is far better to use the visual aid to solidify five points in the minds of your listeners than to attempt to make 20 points in a sketchy fashion.
'Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears.' ' Heraclitus
2. Design visual aids carefully. Lawyers often err by attempting to clarify every point with a visual aid. They use intricate models, complex charts, or a vast array of overwhelming photographs. This blizzard of information seldom illuminates critical points and often diminishes the impact of the message. The starting point in designing your visual aids should be determining the essence of your message. What points are absolutely critical for the audience to understand? Design your visual aids with that concept in mind; then use numbering, bulleting, coloring, or models that will facilitate easy understanding. Avoid too many lines, too much artistic flair, and too many distracting colors.
3. Practice using the visual aid. The worst time to resolve the nuances of how you will use and display your visual aid is during the course of the presentation, under the watchful eyes of the audience members. Resolve all the issues of moving, positioning, and displaying the visual aid in advance of the presentation. Become comfortable using visual aids so that it seems effortless.
4. Plan ahead. Know the answers to the following questions before you deliver your presentation: How will you transport the visual aid? Will there be an easel, stand, or table on which you can display your visual aid? Will you need assistance moving or operating the visual aid? Plan and prepare in order to avoid needless scrambling and anxiety.
5. Ensure visibility. This seems like such an elementary concept, yet attorneys often abuse it. The lettering, graphs, or models used to create visual aids are often too small to be seen. If the visual aid is not visible, it will merely frustrate the listeners. Making it visible means both ensuring that the dimensions, lettering, colors, and layout of the visual aid are suitable for the room where they will be used and ensuring that it is positioned in such a manner that no person's line of sight is obstructed.
'Remember, it is ten times harder to command the ear than to catch the eye' ' Duncan Maxwell Anderson
6. Create suspense. Just as a master storyteller will titillate the senses by slowly building the story to create suspense, lawyers should methodically reveal only the parts of a visual aid that are required to heighten the impact. Time your display of the visual aid to accentuate the main points of your presentation. Otherwise the audience will read ahead, and the impact of the corresponding portion of the presentation will be diminished.
7. Focus on the audience. Successful presenters are constantly alert to any signals given by the listeners ' puzzled looks, nodding or shaking heads, scribbling notes and darting eyes. Many attorneys, however, become mesmerized by their own visual aids, focusing on them rather than the audience. Stay connected with your listeners. Do not talk while writing on the visual aid; face your audience members as you speak, and talk to them, not the visual aid. Before removing the visual aid or moving ahead, observe the listeners. Are they studying the visual aid? Are they taking notes? Is the material depicted in the visual aid so complex that it justifies additional time?
8. Arrange your accessories. Always create a checklist of additional accessories you will need to use the visual aid. The checklist should include such items as non-permanent markers, masking tape, pointers, extension cords, remote controls, easels or any other items you might use to display the visual aid. Determine how you will access electricity, if needed, for your visual aid before the presentation. Leave nothing to chance, as you may not have the opportunity to erase a bad first impression.
Excellent attorneys agree that visual aids have the power to rivet their points, but using them effectively requires planning, practice, and patience. Early, detailed, and careful preparation will help ensure that the visual aid is your ally in every presentation.

'When the eyes say one thing, and the tongue another, a practiced man relies on the language of the first.' ' Ralph Waldo Emerson
A powerful visual aid will set
images floating in the minds of your listeners and leave a lasting impression far more effectively than words alone. Nonetheless, lawyers often fail to capitalize on the power of visual aids for a variety of reasons: they often design complex, intricate visual aids that clarify very little and often merely confound the audience; they fumble around during the presentation and create awkward pauses because they failed to practice their presentations using the visual aids; they do not position themselves and the visual aid for maximum impact because they are unfamiliar with the layout of the room; and they fail to carefully plan when and how they will use the visual aid to accentuate the message.
There is simply no substitute for carefully preparing your visual aids and knowing exactly how they will be used during the presentation. Set forth below are eight visual aid rules to ensure that you use your visual aids for maximum impact.
1. Avoid complexity. Frequently listeners will remain focused on a complicated visual aid, attempting to understand it, while ignoring critical portions of your presentation. Simplify your visual aid to ensure that it is quickly understandable to someone who is seeing it for the first time. Do not attempt to pack all possible information onto the visual aid; it is far better to use the visual aid to solidify five points in the minds of your listeners than to attempt to make 20 points in a sketchy fashion.
'Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears.' ' Heraclitus
2. Design visual aids carefully. Lawyers often err by attempting to clarify every point with a visual aid. They use intricate models, complex charts, or a vast array of overwhelming photographs. This blizzard of information seldom illuminates critical points and often diminishes the impact of the message. The starting point in designing your visual aids should be determining the essence of your message. What points are absolutely critical for the audience to understand? Design your visual aids with that concept in mind; then use numbering, bulleting, coloring, or models that will facilitate easy understanding. Avoid too many lines, too much artistic flair, and too many distracting colors.
3. Practice using the visual aid. The worst time to resolve the nuances of how you will use and display your visual aid is during the course of the presentation, under the watchful eyes of the audience members. Resolve all the issues of moving, positioning, and displaying the visual aid in advance of the presentation. Become comfortable using visual aids so that it seems effortless.
4. Plan ahead. Know the answers to the following questions before you deliver your presentation: How will you transport the visual aid? Will there be an easel, stand, or table on which you can display your visual aid? Will you need assistance moving or operating the visual aid? Plan and prepare in order to avoid needless scrambling and anxiety.
5. Ensure visibility. This seems like such an elementary concept, yet attorneys often abuse it. The lettering, graphs, or models used to create visual aids are often too small to be seen. If the visual aid is not visible, it will merely frustrate the listeners. Making it visible means both ensuring that the dimensions, lettering, colors, and layout of the visual aid are suitable for the room where they will be used and ensuring that it is positioned in such a manner that no person's line of sight is obstructed.
'Remember, it is ten times harder to command the ear than to catch the eye' ' Duncan Maxwell Anderson
6. Create suspense. Just as a master storyteller will titillate the senses by slowly building the story to create suspense, lawyers should methodically reveal only the parts of a visual aid that are required to heighten the impact. Time your display of the visual aid to accentuate the main points of your presentation. Otherwise the audience will read ahead, and the impact of the corresponding portion of the presentation will be diminished.
7. Focus on the audience. Successful presenters are constantly alert to any signals given by the listeners ' puzzled looks, nodding or shaking heads, scribbling notes and darting eyes. Many attorneys, however, become mesmerized by their own visual aids, focusing on them rather than the audience. Stay connected with your listeners. Do not talk while writing on the visual aid; face your audience members as you speak, and talk to them, not the visual aid. Before removing the visual aid or moving ahead, observe the listeners. Are they studying the visual aid? Are they taking notes? Is the material depicted in the visual aid so complex that it justifies additional time?
8. Arrange your accessories. Always create a checklist of additional accessories you will need to use the visual aid. The checklist should include such items as non-permanent markers, masking tape, pointers, extension cords, remote controls, easels or any other items you might use to display the visual aid. Determine how you will access electricity, if needed, for your visual aid before the presentation. Leave nothing to chance, as you may not have the opportunity to erase a bad first impression.
Excellent attorneys agree that visual aids have the power to rivet their points, but using them effectively requires planning, practice, and patience. Early, detailed, and careful preparation will help ensure that the visual aid is your ally in every presentation.