CHAPTER 5

Creating Visual Support

You have been there. You are in a conference room. A project team is reporting. They have PowerPoint slides, lots of slides with lots of words on each slide. The slides are like giant note cards, and each speaker can-not resist turning his body toward the screen, reading the words, and talking to the slides. There are charts and graphs, too—loaded with colored lines and bars with tiny legends that you have to turn your head sideways to interpret. While you are trying to figure out which region is the orange line (the one with the steepest decline), you are not listening to the speaker. Your attention begins to wander, and you are feeling slightly annoyed. Afterwards, you hear the jokes from members of the audience, phrases such as “Death by PowerPoint” and “Power Pointless.”

From our own experience, we know that business people have little patience for slide after slide of boring bullet points and lots of “chart junk.” We also know that decision makers, in particular, prefer clean, simple slides that quickly enhance their understanding of the important points. They are interested in you, your story, and your interpretation of the big ideas, not deciphering obtuse visuals and sitting through technical circuses.

Yet, we continue to see slide presentations that distract and handouts that confuse. Why? One answer is because the software lets us. Most people do not have ready access to graphic design experts. They are on deadline and do the best they can, without being aware of some basic design principles and techniques that would save them time and enhance their presentations. In addition, we load our slides with words because we are afraid we will forget something and look foolish. Then we talk to our slides because we made them, we are comfortable with them, and they do not judge us. It feels safer to talk to the slides than to the people.¹

Therefore, this chapter explores a few powerful principles that will help you support and reinforce your content with appropriate visuals and handouts and make it easier to talk to your audience rather than your slides. First, I will review some interesting research on how humans process and comprehend multimedia messages. Knowledge of this research will change the way you think about and design the visuals for your presentations. Second, I will share five simple principles for creating effective visuals and provide some examples. I will conclude this chapter by addressing the handout component, a key element in the question and discussion session that follows your presentation. In addition to the “takeaway” summary at the end of the chapter, I have also included an annotated list of “how to” resources on visual support for those who are interested in some technical help.

Our discussion will focus on principles and be independent of the presentation software. In addition to PowerPoint (Microsoft) and Keynote (Apple), there are a number of new presentation tools in the market, including the “zoomables,” such as Prezi, which is growing in popularity. Any of the programs can create stunning presentations, and all have strengths and weaknesses. But it’s not the tool, it’s how you use the tool to support your message that’s important. If the audience is amazed at your use of nifty software, you are focusing on the wrong thing.

How People Process Words and Visuals

In his book, Multimedia Learning, Richard Mayer pulls together the research on how human brains process verbal and visual media.² His cognitive theory of multimedia learning provides important insights into the design of visual support for our presentations. Although Mayer’s theory can be somewhat complex, the following paragraphs summarize the elements most relevant to our business presentation context.³

Humans have two separate information channels in the brain for auditory and visual processing.⁴ Presentations target these processing systems through two of our senses, the eyes and the ears. The ears serve as the delivery path for the presenter’s oral narrative, processing in the auditory/verbal channel in the brain. The eyes serve as the delivery path for the visual component of the message. The accompanying picture or image on the screen processes in a separate area of the brain, called the visual/pictorial channel. According to Mayer, “In the process of building the connections between words and picture, learners are able to create a deeper understanding than from words or pictures alone.”⁵

The problem occurs when we put words on the screen in the form of sentences or long bullet points. The processing of the text goes through the eyes into the visual/pictorial channel of the brain. Then the words transfer to the auditory/verbal center of the brain for translation. Do you see the problem? Each channel has a limited capacity for processing. While you are talking, sending messages through my ears to my brain’s verbal channel, I am also simultaneously trying to read and translate the text on the screen, working extra hard moving the text through the visual channel to the verbal channel center. The result is verbal and cognitive overload! I cannot read what is on the screen and listen to you at the same time. Thinking about this phenomenon is sobering. By putting a lot of text on the screen, we are actually making it harder for the audience to follow and understand our presentation.

So what are the implications of Mayer’s research for presenters? The answer is that we need to design the visual support for our presentations in the light of how the human mind works. Use pictures to reinforce your verbal points and minimize or eliminate words on the screen. If you want to include a word or two with the picture, make it short and descriptive, reinforcing the slide’s message (Figure 5.1). Give the audience a moment to process the slide, then elaborate on your point. If you must use bullet points, keep them short and progressively disclose each one using the PowerPoint animation function. Otherwise, people are reading ahead, processing all the words on the screen and not listening to you.

One of my top MBA students provided a good example application of Mayer’s research. She developed a persuasive presentation aimed at senior adults. The purpose was to persuade seniors to incorporate at least 30 minutes of brisk walking into their daily activity. After making the case for walking as a beneficial exercise, she provided some examples of how the seniors could incorporate more walking into their week. She could have supported her presentation with a bullet point slide, containing, for example, three points:

Instead, she used three photos, each a separate slide, showing a car parked a distance from the store entrance, stairs adjacent to an elevator, and a mailbox at the end of a driveway. In other words, she “spoke” the bullet points, elaborating as appropriate, and she reinforced her words with the images on the screen. She closed with another full-screen photograph, showing an elderly gentleman holding his granddaughter’s hand as they walked down a country path. She told a story of how her grandfather had taken her along for his daily “constitution” walk when she was a little girl and the memories that made. The message was clear and meaningful, touching the hearts of her target audience.

We can apply the same principles to our Serv-Pro presentation. For example, one of Carson’s possible “hooks” for his presentation opening was to raise the issue of the cost of employee turnover by posing a thought question. The supporting image could be an employee leaving through a revolving door, with the word “Cost of Turnover?” on the screen (Figure 5.2). After posting the slide, Carson might say:

The same approach applies to data slides, including tables and charts. We have a tendency to overload the slide with information. A common issue, for example, is to put a bar chart on the screen showing multiple columns, in multiple colors, over multiple periods with a little legend on the side that keys the various colors. Again, I cannot decipher the slide and listen to you at the same time. The handout is the place for this level of detail. Any table or chart designed for the oral presentation needs to be big and simple—intended to reinforce a specific point.

With a transition sentence, introduce and project the slide on the screen, then pause. Your audience should be able to look at the slide and, within two or three seconds, comprehend the message in the data. Then they can turn their attention back to you for interpretation, explanation, and analysis.

Figure 5.3 provides an example chart designed to support Carson’s point that turnover of salaried employees at Serv-Pro is significantly above the norm and trending the wrong way.

Remember, the presentation is about your ideas and the needs of the audience, not your slides. The visuals should help support and reinforce your key points. That is all they are meant to do.

The Five C’s of Visual Support

To help keep your visuals big, bold, simple, and easy for your audience to comprehend, follow the “Five C’s”—my basic principles for visual support.

The list on the right maintains parallel structure, with each bullet beginning with a strong, active verb. The list has fewer words and reads with power and punch. Although attention to this level of detail may appear a little picky, be assured there will be at least one person in your audience who cares about issues such as grammar and spelling. To that person, the little details add up and contribute to your professional persona and credibility. In other words, the person may be thinking, “How can I trust your ideas if you do not pay attention to details like grammar and proofing your work?”

The lesson here is clear. Ask multiple associates to proof your slides.

We all have difficulty proofing our own work; we are too close to it, seeing what we meant instead of what is there.

5. Control: Use a variety of visual techniques to control the delivery of information and focus the attention of your audience.

The animation function in PowerPoint and other presentation software is a powerful tool. Use animation to progressively disclose bullet points when you have commentary to add to each point, preventing the audience from reading ahead.

Use animation also to build a diagram or chart, section by section, as you explain the elements. By sequencing information and bringing the audience along at a comfortable pace, you enhance understanding as you tell your story.

For example, Figure 5.5 reproduces Figure 5.3, the “Turnover Gap” slide, but with some additional information that could be added with animation. Although the initial chart itself was simple enough, after Carson explains the chart and tells the story of the data, he can reinforce the big point with animation. He can display the percentage point difference and translate the difference into the number of employees lost above the norm—the number the company should not have lost. This information sets the stage for the financial argument that follows regarding the cost of turnover.

As a word of caution, when using animation: keep it simple— dissolve, fade, or wipe will do. All the other spectacular motions such as crawls, wedges, and wheels are for amateurs who do not know any better. Use animation only to direct attention and help audience understanding; call attention to your message, not the tool.

In addition, be open and willing to experiment with other methods of controlling audience attention. For example, passing out a physical object for the audience to examine (“show and tell”) can help emphasize a particular point. Sometimes, even a single-sheet handout, perhaps a drawing or illustration that works better in print than in projection, can be a way to vary the pace of the presentation and support a key idea. Remember, also, the power of a flip chart or whiteboard, which allows you to develop an idea with the audience interactively.

When you switch to other media, you need to make the screen go dark to refocus the audience’s attention. For example, in PowerPoint slideshow mode, you can use the “B” key as a toggle on your computer to turn the screen black temporarily. A second tap on the “B” key will return to the last image on the screen as you continue.

Finally, sometimes the best visual is no visual, just you as the speaker making a critical point. You can insert a “black” slide in your deck that allows you to step to the center of the room or in front of the screen, make your point and interact with the audience, and then continue with the next slide at the appropriate point.

In summary, applying the five principles—concentration, clarity, consistency, correctness, and control—will give you the simple, professional visual support that decision makers like.

Remember, the focus should be on you and your ideas, not your slides. Your slides and other visual media simply support and reinforce your message. Your purpose is to deliver a clear, concise, and persuasive summary of your idea, proposal, or recommendation in a way that connects with and meets the needs of your audience.

The decision makers in the audience will be making a gut judgment about you as you speak. Have you done your homework? Do you know your stuff? Can you be trusted to follow through on details? Effective design and use of your visuals, applying the “Five C’s,” will contribute positively to their conclusion.

Designing the Handout

As a reminder, our discussion about persuasive business presentations assumes a conference room setting. Our premise for the presentation design is that we want to deliver a short oral presentation, about 10 but no more than 15 minutes in length, in the style of an executive summary. Our goal is to present clearly and concisely our key points and “big ideas.” This synopsis sets the stage for discussion and audience involvement, one of the keys to persuasion. A key element in this approach is the supporting document, or handout, which you distribute after the presentation.

Although the document could be in traditional report format, I prefer a “flip-book,” a spiral-bound document in horizontal format constructed with PowerPoint or other presentation media (Figure 5.6).⁶ I call the document a flip-book because the format and binding makes it easy for the audience to flip to a particular page for discussion versus a bound or stapled document.

During my corporate years, I had the privilege of working with a number of major consulting firms on various projects. They all used flip-books as part of their presentation support, and I found the tool to be quite effective in facilitating discussion.

To be clear, I am not talking about merely printing and stapling together your presentation slides. Remember, your presentation slides are big, bold, and simple. Without your verbal commentary, they would not be very meaningful for reference after the meeting.

So yes, I am talking about extra work to build not only presentation slides, but also a more detailed handout. But, the extra effort pays benefits. A well-designed flip-book not only provides the text and background data to support your persuasive argument but also serves several additional purposes, such as:

In the chapter on delivery and how to manage the Q&A session, we will discuss how to use the flip-book. In the context of this chapter on visual support, I will conclude by reviewing some guidelines for good flip-book design. Designing a report-style handout using presentation software is a different genre of writing and requires some different ways of thinking.

Because the flip-book will be used interactively in the Q&A section, the document needs to be easy to read and well organized. Like any report, an effective flip-book will include a table of contents, organized by sections, and labeled with page numbers. An executive summary section is also a good idea.

Design each page to communicate a clear point. Think of each page as consisting of three parts:

Figure 5.7 provides an example page from Carson’s flip-book on the tuition reimbursement plan (TRP) presentation.

Referring to Figure 5.7, here are some checkpoints for the design of effective flip-book pages:⁷

Use a simple design, without background graphics or gradations, to avoid competition with your text and graphics.

I prefer a plain white background with black text and a grayscale color scheme. Although the cover of the flip-book might be in color, black and white is fine for the body of the report and in keeping with today’s concern for cost economy. In addition, reports today often circulate electronically and print locally on black and white printers. The goal is clarity and readability.

Select a single legible font.

Choose a basic, readable font such as Verdana or Calibri. You can use italic and bold for variations in style and points of emphasis. Be consistent in using left justification and sentence case.

Adapt the title box to accommodate a two-line headline, left justified.

Set the font size to bold head, 24 points. This title box layout will allow you to use a newspaper-style headline for each slide.

Use the body of your page to explain the headline.

For text, use font sizes 18 and 16. Avoid using bullets for all your text (boring!). Instead, place text in tables or shapes and arrange to show the relationship between ideas. Take advantage of the graphic features of the presentation software to build diagrams and charts to support your messages. Remember to leave some blank space on each page, allowing your audience to breathe visually. Avoid whole paragraphs of text.

At the base of the body, include an outlined text box the width of the page, containing font size bold 15.

This section is sometimes called the “So what?” box. It is a place holder for a one-sentence summary of the implications of the content.

Include a footer at the bottom of the slide.

The footer usually contains the copyright date, an abbreviated title, and a page number. Make the page number bold and prominent. The page numbers are how you guide your audience to a specific page during the discussion.

Note that the example flip-book page presents content that is too detailed for a presentation slide (remember Mayer’s research). The corresponding slide used in the presentation might consist of a reinforcing image and text boxes with the words “Hidden Costs” along with the four category words “separation, replacement, learning, and transition” (Figure 5.8). As Carson reveals the category words progressively, he would orally provide examples of the four category costs. He could conclude by adding, using animation, the 90% to 200% cost of annual salary metric to drive home his point, referencing the source.

In summary, flip-book pages have a different purpose than slides—to help you navigate through the Q&A session, provide additional detail, and support post meeting discussion.

Table 5.1 provides an annotated list of my favorite resources for those who would like to explore in more detail how to design bold and simple slides and prepare flip-books using presentation software. Although some of these references are PowerPoint specific, the principles taught apply to all visual presentations.

In the next chapter, we will look at the processes for managing the logistical preparation, conducting rehearsals, and calming nerves.