VISUAL AI
DS
A visual aid is a chart, picture or other visual item that helps accentuate a speaker’s point. Visual aids are important to aid the speaker’s organization, maintain the interest of the audience, and assist in persuasion. The use of a visual aid can increase an audience’s retention by up to 43%.
Power Point Type Slide Presentations
PowerPoint presentations can aid the audience in following the presentation. The time invested in creating the slides can pay dividends as long as the presentation flows and stimulates the audience. Too often, though, a speaker will rely on the PowerPoint presentation entirely, and forget to engage with the audience. This leads to a mere recitation of the bullet points and boredom for the audience.
When a lawyer decides to use PowerPoint in court, it is a wise idea to outsource the creation of the slides and the running of the equipment to a professional. The professional will be better able to deal with problems if they arise. If errors occur, then it will not reflect badly upon the lawyer or client.
Whiteboard/Black Marker
Sometimes it just makes sense to go “old school”. When the speaker asks the audience for ideas, she can write down the ideas on a whiteboard. She can then use those ideas as a springboard into the presentation.
In court, if the lawyer is analyzing the strengths or weaknesses of a case, she can write down each point on the whiteboard (again, large enough for all the jurors to see). Try to make the points specific to your side of the case so that opposing counsel cannot usurp the visual aid.
An example of this came up in a DUII trial I was defending where my client blew a .06. This is below the “legal limit” of .08. The prosecuting attorney was trying to make the point on a whiteboard that all the State need to prove was that the alcohol influenced my client while driving. The prosecutor said, “the influence did not have to be great, it could be as little as this dot” (as he placed a red dot in the middle of the white board). In my summation, I said nothing, approached the board and used his dot as the period when I wrote “08” beside the dot. I then went into my winning argument as to how the state had not proven its case.
Contact me for complimentary 30 minute session to find out how a coach can help you become comfortable using visual aids!
Photo credit: 143d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) via Foter.com / CC BYVISUAL AIDS