In developing our skills as presenters, it’s important to understand that we are using 2 ‘channels’ of information in our attempts to make the points we want to make-
- The visual elements of our presentation- which tend to dominate our audience’s perception of the moment, and
- The verbal elements to support to the visual impressions we make.
Strong presenters understand the the subtle relationship between these sources of information for our audience, less experienced speakers often don’t and the power of the message is lost. Here’s a short post to fill in some details and relationship between these two, sometimes conflicting, ‘channels’.
An interesting statistic to bear in mind, is:
- HEAR a piece of information, and three days later you’ll remember 10% of it.
- Add a picture (ie. SEE a piece of information) and you’ll remember 65% of it.
Or rather more visually-
While I’d argue with the precision of the numbers, I agree with the general point it makes. The visual and verbal working in harmony can make your points unforgettable.
How much of your presentation do you want your audience to remember? 10% or 65%?
Visual Aids. That’s the point really.
Jim Harvey
Managing Director at The Message Business
Jim is the MD of The Message Business, a company which helps FTSE 100 companies to sell themselves, and their products better. Speech writer, Prezi trainer and designer, coach and consultant, Jim also finds time to be a proud father and husband.
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