Presenting (visual information)

Visual aids

The most common technique for making lectures and presentations more interesting and effective is the use of visual aids. Lecture can be a tedious and not be an effective way to deliver lessons. Visual aids are used in presentations and lectures to illustrate the subject, helping to overcome the monotony, providing a visual stimulant to reinforce what is being heard by learners. Visual aids are very common are:

• Overheads (also known as OHP, slides or transparencies)
• slide photo
• Powerpoint presentation
• Objects, pictures or documentation which is handed around the class but not a handout
• For more detail on developing effective visual aids will be given in the Teaching aids section.

How presenters and lecturers assessed by the participants?

Making presentations and delivering lectures can be a very daunting experience, especially since most of us who have received speeches in the past. It would be very good to remember how we might be judged or received by our audience. There are three main areas on which a speaker's competence may be judged:

Knowledge: technical competence and practical experience
Design and delivery: the "performance", including: voice control; eye contact, body language, use and support of audio-visual; facilitation in the discussion; effort to make learning fun
Spirit: interest in the subject; listening skills; the ability to answer the questions
How to make lectures and presentations more interactive

Lectures can be the most appropriate way to obtain factual information that a lot of groups of people. However, this study should not require conversation (monologue) the length of the speaker, as there are ways of breaking up the delivery to add variety and interest. Here are some suggestions:

Interruptions (short stop) lecture with questions to the class
Make a series of mini lectures and class activities
Make small groups (buzz groups) - set a specific question and ask the learners to discuss it in pairs
Provide partial handouts to be fitted (filled) by the class during the lecture
Give the class a short piece of relevant reading
Give the class quiet time (time to think: ask learners to read their notes, think about a problem, or summarize an idea in their heads)