Effective Handouts
Handouts
are an integral part of most technical presentations, so their design,
use, and distribution require careful planning.
Ask yourself why
you are using handouts. Do you want to
- Reinforce your credibility
and professionalism?
- Add supporting data,
summaries, and reading lists?
- Reiterate your message?
- Engage your audiences
participation?
- Help your audience
remember your message?
- Give your audience a way
to contact you in the future?
To make the
best use of your handouts, follow these simple rules:
- The key to well-designed handouts is SIMPLICITY.
- Focus on the key words
and concepts of your presentation.
- Distill each point into
a clear summary. Avoid unnecessary details. You want people to glance
at your handout as you speak, not to get so absorbed in it that they
tune you out.
- Use illustrations or
graphics, if appropriate.
- Leave room for
notes.
- Relate the handout to your presentation.
- Make each point listed
in your handout correspond to a point in your presentation.
- Number each point in the
handout so people can follow along as you say, My first point is
If
you jump around, you will cause your audience to spend their time
trying to figure out where on the handout you
are.
- Make your handout appealing to the eye.
- Leave plenty of white
space, break major points into smaller chunks, and vary its look.
- Avoid using starbursts,
ornate borders, or too many fonts or styles.
- Dont let the handout distract your audience.
- People concentrate on
one line of thought at a time. If you give them something to read that
doesnt match the content and style of your talk, they will cut
themselves off from one in order to follow another.
- Design the handout to
represent the content and spirit of your talk.
- Know when to distribute your handout.
- If your material is very
complex, give it to your audience before your talk. Let them read it
before you begin speaking.
- If you have lots of
content, consider breaking it up into a number of handouts and
distributing them throughout your presentation. Doing so keeps your
audience from reading ahead and losing interest in what youre saying.
- If your handout is
primarily a means of reminding your audience of your key points,
distribute them at the end of your presentation.
- Make your contact information
visible.
Let people know how to
contact you with any questions or follow up.
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