14.3: Designing and Delivering Presentation Aids
Lee Ann Dickerson
Learning Objectives
- Design presentation aids that are clear and easy for your audience to understand.
- Use presentation aids smoothly during your speech.
- Make your presentation aids accessible to different audiences.
- Acknowledge the sources of any images, media, or AI-generated content used in your presentation aids.
You’ve determined that a presentation aid will enhance your speech. Now it’s time to make that aid work—for your message, your audience, and your delivery context. Here, we consider practical strategies to help you move from planning to execution. You’ll learn how to design presentation aids that support comprehension, deliver them smoothly in real time, and prepare them for distribution in ways that meet accessibility expectations.
Designing for Clarity and Comprehension
Designing a presentation aid is both a creative task and a continuation of your rhetorical strategy. Now that you’ve identified what kind of aid will support your message, the next step is to make intentional design choices that help your audience process and understand the material. Whether you’re working with slides, handouts, or visuals, your design should guide attention, reduce unnecessary effort, and clarify meaning in the moment of the speech.
Table 14.3 identifies common design strategies and pairs each one with reflective questions to help you evaluate whether your aid is focused, accessible, and easy to understand. Use these questions as part of your design process to ensure that your aid supports and doesn’t compete with your message.
| Design Strategy | Reflective Questions |
|---|---|
| Keep it simple and focused. | Does this aid include only the essential information needed to support my point? Is anything here distracting or unnecessary? |
| Use readable text. | Are my fonts easy to read from a distance or on a small screen? Have I avoided using all caps or overly stylized type? |
| Establish visual hierarchy. | Can my audience tell at a glance what’s most important? Have I used size, spacing, or layout to guide their attention? |
| Ensure strong contrast. | Will my text stand out clearly from the background? Have I avoided color combinations that are hard to read or may be inaccessible? |
| Use color purposefully. | Am I using color to organize or emphasize meaning? If someone can’t distinguish the colors, will they still understand the message? |
| Limit on-screen text. | Am I using short phrases or keywords that support what I’m saying aloud? Have I avoided long blocks of text that compete with my voice? |
| Align visuals with the message. | Does every image, diagram, or chart contribute directly to audience understanding? Am I avoiding visuals that are decorative but irrelevant? |
| Label clearly. | Will my audience be able to interpret this chart, diagram, or timeline quickly? Are key elements labeled in a way that makes their meaning clear? |
| Test in context. | Have I previewed this aid in the space, format, or device I’ll be using? Does it display and function as expected under real conditions? |
Delivering Aids in Real Time
Presentation aids used during a live speech are experienced synchronously—they’re seen, heard, or interacted with at the same time the speaker is delivering the message. These synchronous aids are part of the live communication moment. Whether you’re showing a slide, playing a sound clip, or holding up a physical object, the way you introduce and use the aid matters just as much as how it was designed.
Your goal is to make the aid feel like an integrated part of your message, not an interruption. To do that, you need to plan how the aid will appear, how you’ll reference it, and how you’ll transition smoothly back into your speech.
Table 14.4 below outlines key strategies for using presentation aids during a live speech, along with reflective questions to guide your preparation and rehearsal.
| Delivery Strategy | Reflective Questions |
|---|---|
| Introduce the aid before displaying it. | How will I explain what the audience is about to see or hear before I show or play it? Will they know why it matters? |
| Pause to let the audience process. | Have I built in time for the audience to take in the aid before moving on? Am I giving them space to focus on what’s in front of them? |
| Explain what they’re seeing or hearing. | How will I clearly describe the key features of the aid and how it connects to my point? Will the audience understand what to notice? |
| Face the audience, not the screen. | Am I maintaining connection with the audience while referencing the aid? Can I point or gesture without turning my back or reading directly from the screen? |
| Practice transitions. | Have I rehearsed moving into and out of using the aid smoothly? Are the transitions between speaking and showing seamless? |
| Keep aids visible only when needed. | Am I displaying the aid at the right moment and removing or minimizing it when it’s no longer relevant? Will it compete for attention if left on the screen for too long? |
| Prepare for technical issues. | Do I have a backup plan if a file doesn’t load or equipment fails? Can I describe the aid verbally if needed? |
Synchronous delivery also depends on your presence as a speaker. The way you gesture, pause, or shift your tone can help guide your audience’s attention toward the aid and back to your words. Practicing with the aid is essential—not just the timing, but the physical interaction. Test every movement, cue, or device so you will be confident when it counts.
In the moment of the speech, your aids should feel like an extension of your message. Used well, they can enhance attention, support understanding, and help your audience follow along without ever stealing the spotlight from the ideas you have to share.
Preparing Aids for Distribution
Some presentation aids are designed not just to support a live speech, but to be shared—before, during, or after the speech itself. These distributed aids may take the form of slide decks, handouts, infographics, short videos, or linked documents. They may be posted to a course site, displayed on-screen during a presentation, or submitted for review. What they have in common is that they’re made available for others to access on their own.
Distribution changes how the aid functions. Even if the material was originally created for use during a live speech, it takes on a different role once it’s distributed. The audience may view it before the speech, revisit it afterward, or encounter it without your voice or gestures to guide them. In these cases, the aid needs to be clear enough to be understood independently, even if it wasn’t designed to stand alone.
That doesn’t mean a distributed presentation aid has to repeat everything you said or become a full substitute for the speech itself. But it does mean considering how well your materials communicate when they’re separated from the moment of delivery. Could someone looking at your handout or slides later recall your key points? Could they follow the meaning of a chart without your voice explaining it?
Distribution of digital presentation aids introduces new technical considerations. Digital materials may be accessed on different devices, by people with different perceptual needs, or in different environments. A slide that worked well in the room may not read clearly on a small screen. A video played aloud in class may not be audible when posted online. These shifts affect not just visibility or format. They affect whether your message is accessible to all.
When materials are shared in digital form, they also carry added responsibilities. Next, we’ll look at how to prepare digital aids in ways that meet accessibility expectations and support a wide range of users.
Designing for Digital Accessibility
When you share a presentation aid in digital form, whether it’s a slide deck, infographic, handout, or video, you’re extending your message beyond the live moment. That means your aid has to work on its own. It also means it has to be usable by a wide range of audiences, including those who may navigate it with limited bandwidth or experience it read aloud or converted to braille by screen readers, which are assistive tools used by people with visual impairments to access digital content.
AI Insight
AI can support accessibility by generating captions, transcripts, or alternative text. However, these outputs often require human review. Automated captions may miss nuance, tone, or key details—so ethical communicators edit and refine them for accuracy.
Digital accessibility is part of ethical, audience-centered communication. It’s about making your materials usable and understandable for people with different needs, technologies, and contexts. Many accessibility practices are just good design; they improve clarity for everyone, not just those with specific access needs. This section focuses on two categories of digital content: static media and time-based media.
Accessible Static Media
Many presentation aids are static media—materials like slides, handouts, charts, or infographics that display content in a fixed format. These materials often combine text and visuals, and they’re commonly shared in digital form before, during, or after a speech. For example, they might be uploaded to a course site or emailed to the audience.
When you distribute a static aid, you’re asking your audience to engage with it on their own. If that aid is distributed digitally, it needs to be clear, well-organized, and usable for people who may be reading it on different devices or using assistive technologies like screen readers. You don’t need to apply every accessibility feature or tool, but you do need to think intentionally about how your design choices affect access and understanding.
When working with text:
- Keep things in a clear order. Place titles and content in a top-to-bottom layout that’s easy to follow. In PowerPoint, you can check the reading order using the accessibility checker. In Google Slides, reading order follows the order you added things, so build slides in a logical sequence.
- Use clear, descriptive headings. Give each slide or section a unique title that tells the audience what it’s about. For example, instead of just “Slide 3” or “Conclusion,” give a slide a meaningful title like “Recycling Trends by Dorm.”
- Choose easy-to-read text. Use a plain font (like Arial or Calibri) that’s big enough to read on a screen. Avoid decorative fonts or light-colored text on a light background.
- Don’t use color alone to show meaning. If you’re using color to highlight or group elements, also use labels, patterns, or symbols so the meaning is still clear for people who can’t see color differences.
Accessibility for visual content such as photos, diagrams, illustrations, and charts begins with description. Alternative text (alt text) is a brief written description of what an image shows and why it matters. It’s not a visible caption—it’s read by screen readers to describe the image to people who can’t see it. Most tools, like PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Word, let you add alt text by right-clicking on the image and selecting “Alt Text.”
If an image adds meaning, describe what it shows and what the audience should take from it. For example, instead of writing “a pie chart,” you might write, “Pie chart showing 45% of waste is food-related,” which tells the audience both what’s in the image and why it matters. If the image is purely decorative and doesn’t contribute meaning, you can mark it as decorative so screen readers skip it.
Some visuals such as detailed graphs, infographics, or diagrams need more than a single sentence to communicate their message. In those cases, write a long description in a slide note, caption, or accompanying document. Your alt text can say something like: “Line graph showing recycling rates for Dorms A, B, and C. Long description provided.” Then, a long description should provide a summary of the key information someone would need to interpret the visual: “Dorm A’s rate increases steadily from 2019 to 2023. Dorm B peaks in 2021, then declines. Dorm C remains flat. All three start below 25% and end above 40%.”
You don’t need to describe every color or data point in a visual, just what contributes meaning. If the image is already explained in your speech or surrounding text, your alt text can say: “Image described in text.”
These small changes go a long way toward making your static aids usable in more contexts and for more people. They also encourage you to think more clearly about what the image is meant to show—clarity that benefits all of your audience.
Figure 14.5: Adding Alt Text Examples
Image Long Description
This educational infographic titled “Adding Alt Text” demonstrates three examples of how to write alternative text depending on the type of image. The layout includes three labeled image types — Photo, Pie Chart, and Decorative — each with a sample visual and its corresponding alt text.
On the left, the Photo section displays an illustrated landscape: a lake with evergreen trees and mountains in the distance. The caption reads “Alt Text: A lake surrounded by evergreen trees, with mountains in the distance.”
In the middle, the Pie Chart section shows a chart with a small orange slice representing 45% of the whole. The caption reads “Alt Text: Pie chart showing 45% of waste is food-related.”
On the right, the Decorative section presents a simple graphic of blue leaves. The caption reads “Alt Text: Marked as decorative.”
At the bottom of the image, three cartoon-style people are seated at a desk looking at a laptop that displays a pie chart and text, reinforcing the idea of alt text being used in digital presentations.
Text Transcription
Heading:
Adding Alt Text
Section 1 – Photo
Alt Text:
A lake surrounded by evergreen trees, with mountains in the distance
Section 2 – Pie Chart
Alt Text:
Pie chart showing 45% of waste is food-related.
Section 3 – Decorative
Alt Text:
Marked as decorative
Try It: Match the Image to the Best Alt Text
Activity Introduction: Images are a powerful tool in presentations, but without effective alt text, important information is lost to some audiences. In this activity, you’ll practice matching images to the most accurate alt text to see how accessibility strengthens communication.
Wrap Up: Clear, concise alt text ensures that all viewers can engage with your content, regardless of ability. By making static media accessible, you not only follow best practices—you also create presentations that are inclusive and meaningful for every audience member.
Accessible Time-Based Media
Time-based media includes content that unfolds over time, such as audio, video, or a combination of both. If you use a podcast clip, record your own speech, or embed a video in your slides or online materials, you’re working with time-based media. These formats present unique challenges because they may rely on sound, visuals, or both, and if someone can’t hear or see part of the message, they need another way to access that content.
That’s where accessibility practices come in. By providing a text-based alternative, you make the information available to more people, including those who are hearing or visually impaired or who are accessing your content in an environment not conducive to seeing or hearing.
The type of alternative depends on the kind of media:
- Audio-only (like a podcast or recorded narration): Provide a transcript, which is a written version of all spoken words and important sounds for audiences who cannot hear it.
- Video-only (like a silent animation or visual demonstration): Provide a descriptive transcript that explains what’s happening on screen for audiences who cannot see it.
- Video with audio (like a recorded speech): Use captions and, if needed, a descriptive transcript to cover both the spoken content and any visual elements that carry meaning for audiences who cannot see or hear it.
Captions are synchronized text that appears on screen during a video, showing what’s being said as it’s said. They also include speaker names when needed for clarification and non-speech sounds that matter for understanding—like [applause], [laughter], or [music playing]. Many platforms offer automatic captions, but those often need editing for accuracy and usually include only spoken words, missing important context like sound cues or speaker clarification. For classroom or assignment use, it’s fine to start with auto-captions and review and revise them as needed.
Transcripts are separate text documents that include the full spoken content of an audio or video file. A transcript of an audio clip should include speaker names, all spoken content, and any important sounds that contribute to meaning. For video with audio, a descriptive transcript adds another layer of detail by describing what is shown visually, especially if those visuals aren’t explained in speech.
Table 14.5, below, shows a simple format for a descriptive transcript of a student speech:
| What’s Said | What’s Shown |
|---|---|
| “Let’s look at the recycling stats.” | Slide shows a pie chart labeled “Campus Recycling.” |
| “This orange slice is food waste.” | The orange segment of the pie chart is highlighted. |
Audio description is a separate audio track that narrates the visual elements of a video for people who are blind or have low vision. It’s required for full accessibility under WCAG guidelines when key content is conveyed visually but not described in speech. (For an interactive list of sample audio descriptions, visit Samples of Audio Description from the Audio Description Project from the American Council of the Blind.) Most student projects don’t require a separate audio description track—especially if visuals are already explained during the speech or included in a transcript. But it’s helpful to know that this option exists, especially if you’re preparing materials for a broader public audience or contributing to university-level digital content.
When sharing time-based media digitally, include captions for spoken content and a descriptive transcript if important visuals aren’t explained in the speech. Making time-based media accessible may take a few extra steps, but it’s part of communicating with care. It shows that you’ve thought about how your audience will experience your message—and it makes your work stronger, clearer, and more inclusive.
Using Presentation Aids Responsibly
Designing and delivering a presentation aid is more than a technical task. It’s part of how you communicate with your audience—and that comes with responsibilities. A well-designed slide or video can clarify your message, but if it’s confusing, inaccurate, inaccessible, or used without proper credit, it can also undermine your credibility.
Beyond the Podium Insight
Responsibility extends beyond design—it includes ownership. When you cite your sources, acknowledge co-creators, or clarify when AI has assisted your work, you model communication that is transparent and trustworthy. Beyond the podium, credibility is built not just on what we say, but on how we show our work.
Many presentation tools now offer templates, design suggestions, or AI-generated content. These features can be helpful, but they don’t know your purpose or your audience. It’s up to you to decide what’s clear, accessible, and appropriate for your message. Use tools to support your message, not as a substitute for your judgment.
Responsibility also means giving credit where it’s due. If your aid includes images, charts, or media you didn’t create—from a website, a dataset, or an AI tool—cite the source. This includes content generated using tools like image generators or AI chart creators. If you didn’t draw a diagram yourself, but you created it with help, and your audience should know that. Include a short source credit on the aid itself (for example, “Image generated with [Tool Name]”) and mention the source aloud if it helps the audience understand where the content came from.
In short, responsible use of presentation aids means thinking carefully about what you’re sharing, how you’re sharing it, and where it came from. Tools can help you design; templates can help you format; AI can help you caption—but you’re the one making the communication choices. Make them with intention.
Applying What You’ve Learned
Your next speech is a chance to apply what you’ve learned. Whether you’re using slides, a handout, an object, or a short video, your presentation aid should help your audience see and understand your message more clearly.
Return to your PACT—Purpose, Audience, Context, and Tools—to decide what kind of aid fits your speech. Then, design and deliver it with care. Think about clarity, timing, accessibility, and how the aid supports but doesn’t distract from your message.
You don’t need to do everything at once, and you don’t need to be perfect. But you do need to be intentional. A thoughtful presentation aid can sharpen your ideas, connect with your audience, and bring your message to life. This chapter has given you strategies. Now it’s your turn to use them well.
