The Ten Commandments of Effective Visuals

Welcome back!

It is estimated that about 75% of the information that people take in occurs visually¹. Therefore, it is a basic mistake to present without visuals². However, we are all too familiar with the dreaded “death by PowerPoint” phenomenon. So how do you make effective use of visuals? To begin with, stop blaming the software and start looking at how you use it and other visuals. Then, follow these ten fundamental commandments for using visuals effectively.

1. Thou shalt use visuals sparingly. The fact that many people learn visually does not mean that you should try to cram every element of your verbal message into a visual³. Focus less on quantity and more on quality. Do not be afraid to turn off irrelevant or competing visuals while you are talking and during other parts of your presentation.
2. Thou shalt only use visuals for a reason. A good visual should add value to your verbal message ⁴, not just repeat it. In fact, text-based visuals can distract your audience from what you are saying ⁵. Too often, presenters create the visuals first and then decide what they will say. This is akin to the tail wagging the dog. Try deciding what you will say and what activities you will use before you create any visuals. Then only create visuals that enhance your message.
3. Thou shalt ensure thy visuals look great. As obvious as this sounds, I am often amazed to see presenters who should know better using ready-made backgrounds in PowerPoint, making poor font choices and using colour indiscriminately. You should customize your background to suit the purpose of your presentation, the image of your organisation and the nature of your audience ⁶. You should choose a serif font style ⁷ and ensure that the size of your font is easy to read. Finally, you can consciously use colour to grab audience attention, amplify a message and persuade people to take action ⁸. However, indiscriminate and irrelevant colour hinders your audience’s ability to understand your message⁹.
4. Thou shalt use minimal text on any visual. If you must use text, turn sentences into phrases, paragraphs into lists and single lists into grouped lists. The popular notion of seven points per slide and seven words per point is a myth¹⁰. The less text you use, the more impact your visuals will have. Clarity and conciseness are the key¹¹.
5. Thou shalt use simple diagrams. Diagrams are great at showing nearly any kind of relationship, from chronologically related timelines to categorically related hierarchies, and from procedurally related cause-effect chains to ongoing cycles. If you can put it in a diagram, do so. However, you need to ensure that your diagrams are simple enough for the audience to read and understand¹².
6. Thou shalt use graphs well. Statisticians agree that one of the best ways to intuitively grasp the significance of numbers is to show a graph¹³. Different graphs are suitable for different types of data. Line graphs work well for showing trends¹⁴, bar charts are best for showing comparisons ¹⁵ and scatter plots are an effective way to show relationships¹⁶. Research also suggests that horizontal bar graphs are more effective than vertical bar graphs¹⁷. Regardless of which graph type you use, you should generally avoid 3-D graphs, as they are visually misleading. However, you should make extensive use of effects that simplify and clarify your message, such as titles, labels, thick lines, simple numbers and callout boxes¹⁸. Generally, your graphs should follow the overall colour scheme used throughout your presentation, unless you are consciously using a colour to highlight a key point in the graph. Finally, it is important that you interpret the graph rather than just reading it.
7. Thou shalt not use clip art…ever! Clip art is an example of a meaningless graphic ¹⁹ whose sole purpose is to fill up space. You can use pictures, but only if the picture is relevant and adds to the impact of your message. Some pictures add value subconsciously through the power of association, while you can use others as explicit talking points.
8. Though shalt not make indiscriminate use of transitions and animations. Transitions are the optional effects that you can use within presentation software when moving from one slide to the next. You should not use transitions because they distract the audience with irrelevant visual detail. In fact, research shows that the indiscriminate use of transitions between slides is worse than using no visuals at all ²⁰. Animations are a different type of effect where you make content items move or appear within a single slide. Most animations add no further value than static graphics and, as they are also visually distracting, you should generally avoid them. However, you can use animation in a small number of your slides if the animation has a specific purpose, such as telling a story or sequencing complex processes.
9. Thou shalt not give out handouts before you have finished speaking. Giving out handouts before you speak embodies the very essence of why visuals are dangerous: distraction. You want people to focus on you and what you are saying. Handouts compete for your audience’s limited attention. If your audience is busy reading your handouts, they are not giving their full attention to you and your message. And, if they are not giving their full attention to you, they are less likely to remember or be moved by your presentation ²¹. Handouts are themselves an effective visual and they can be used to provide detail that cannot be conveyed on a slide or flip chart. However, handouts should always be given out after you have finished talking.
10. Thou shalt let visuals do their work. At the more obvious end of the mistakes I see are presenters blocking a visual with their body, showing a visual so quickly that it can’t be understood, and competing for the audience’s attention while they are still trying to understand a visual.