Props Add Zing to Your Presentation

by L.L. Larkins

Public speaking is more than merely speaking. A speech can include visuals or a demonstration. You can emphasize your words by using drama or humor. In fact, there are probably as many ways to enhance your talks or to underscore your message as there are speech topics.

When you give a speech, do you sometimes experiment with new presentation styles or do you tend to stay within your comfort zone and use the same tried and true methods? Have you ever considered using an

overhead projector instead of posters to illustrate your talks? Have you been thinking about incorporating slides into your presentation? Have you seen clever techniques you’d like to try, but you aren’t sure how to

get started? Read on. Here, we’ve listed ten highly effective presentation tools and styles with tips for how to use them:

The Flip Chart

Advantages: A flip chart is useful for displaying graphs and emphasizing details when speaking to a small group. Using a flip chart is like having a giant cheat sheet outlining the sequence and the vital points

of your speech. Unlike when using a poster or white board, you can flip back if you need to.

Purchasing tips: First, you’ll need an easel to hold the flip chart (or easel pad). Opt for one that folds for easy transporting and that has good crossbar support for your displays. Expect to pay around $60 for a sturdy easel. Good flip charts run from $20 – $50(US$).

How to use: Prepare your written material and graphs in advance of your talk. The Toastmaster Communication and Leadership Program manual suggests adding half inch of height to your letters for every ten feet of distance to the farthest audience member. As an example, if you’ll be standing forty feet distance from the back row, the wording on your flip chart should be two inches high. Guard against marker bleed-through by using every second or third page on the flip chart.

The Marker Board

Advantages: With a marker board (or white board), you can write and wipe as you go.

Purchasing tips: Although free-standing marking boards can be purchased for $10 – $50, they aren’t very practical. Even a sturdy three- legged easel may not sufficiently support a marker board while you are using it. The ideal portable solution, then, is a sturdy, four-legged presentation easel with an attached white board. These easels, which run $80 – $250, will also accommodate a flip chart.

How to use: Use different colored markers to create interest and follow the rule of threes. Group ideas and items in threes because most people can easily remember three things. Avoid spending great amounts of time writing and wiping as, while doing so, your back is to the audience. The most effective use of a marker board is to quickly draw simple diagrams or to write just one or two words at a time.

Overhead Projector

Advantages:An overhead projects transparencies which you have created onto a screen large enough to be seen from a greater distance than most marker boards or flip charts.

Purchasing tips: Buy a new overhead projector for between $250 – $1000, shop around for a used one or rent one. If you’re going to buy one, the most important thing to look for is brightness and clarity in the projection.

How to use: If you have a computer and a laser printer, you have the capability to create your own transparencies. You can scan your picture or chart into your computer and print it out on a

transparency. You can also trace diagrams, write or draw on the transparency material with colored markers, for example, or have a full-service print shop such as Kinkos, prepare your transparencies for

you.

One gentleman I spoke with regarding presentation styles said the overhead projector was his least favorite presentation type. He offers this explanation: “It’s too impersonal because the lights are off and

all you can see is what’s being produced mechanically.”

Slide Shows

Advantages: The slide show is a perfect way to take an audience on a trip to a far away land, to share your collection of native artifacts or to introduce people to local wild flowers, for example.

Purchasing tips: Buy a new slide projector for around $500, look for a used one and spend about half that amount or rent a slide projector when you need one. For either the overhead or slide projectors, you’ll need a projection screen. Although many presentation halls and meeting rooms today are equipped with screens, you may still want to have your own. Expect to spend around $100. You’ll also need a cart or small table to use as a projector stand. Again, most halls and offices can provide something suitable. Always check ahead and you won’t be caught short.

How to use: First, start a collection of slides. Keep your eyes open all the time for illustrations, clip art, pictures and materials that represent your topic. Either photograph these materials yourself or hire a professional photographer to reproduces them into slides. Purchase, build or borrow a slide sorter (a

box with a light inside and a glass top.) Number and label each slide on either the front or the back so that you will load them into the slide tray facing in the right direction. Organize the slides in the tray to

coincide with the appropriate statements in your talk.

Additional tips for using these mechanical means:

-Visit or call the hall a week or so before your scheduled presentation and have your checklist ready.

-Find out what equipment is available and what you’ll need to supply.

-Carry with you a 25 – 30 foot extension cord with an outlet adapter, an extension cord for the controls on the projector and an extra bulb for the projector.

-Do a quick run-through at home before the event to make sure everything works and arrive at the

presentation hall so that you can set up about thirty minutes early. If a problem arises, there’s more likelihood that it can be remedied in twenty minutes than in five.

Video Presentations

Advantages: Because video cameras and recorders are commonplace and watching television is a favorite pastime, this is often a good medium to use in a presentation.

Purchasing tips: Most people have easy access to video cameras and recorders. I would not recommend buying this equipment unless you plan to use it other than for a couple of presentations.

How to use: I once saw a Toastmaster member give a video presentation involving his career as a television commercial producer. His presentation was effective and entertaining because he was

well-prepared, the video was properly cued and the television was working. His technique was unique in that he’d run a commercial, stop and give a commentary about the difficulties they encountered in

producing that commercial or share a secret about how they achieved a particular effect and then he would run the commercial again so we could view it with greater insight.

Displays

Advantages: Using visuals of any kind is always more effective than spewing words alone. You’re addressing additional senses and the more senses involved, the greater the impact of the message or lesson. Props and displays typically add to the entertainment value, as well.

How to: I once attended a presentation designed to motivate people to take action against neighborhood clutter. A major issue was yard sale signs and other notices posted on trees and posts and left for months

after the event. The speaker underlined his point by tacking several weather-worn, handmade signs around the room.

You might use props in a talk about operating a neighborhood garage sale. Display examples of effective and non-effective garage sale signs. Pass around a couple of typical garage sale items and show some unique display methods.

L.L. Larkins is a public speaking consultant based in Manhattan Beach.