Have you ever stood in front of a crowd and felt all eyes on you? Your mouth gets dry. Your hands shake a bit. You start to talk, but you can tell the crowd is not with you. They look bored. This happens to most speakers at some point. The good news is that you can fix this problem with a simple tool – visual aids! A good picture or chart can grab attention, make your points clear, and help people stay with you from start to finish.
We all know that most folks learn best when they can see and hear at the same time. This is why TV shows and movies stick in our minds so well. Your speech can have the same grip on people if you use the right visual aids. I’ve put this list of 25 ideas together to help you pick the best visual aids for any talk. These will make your speech pop, help people follow along, and make sure they walk away with your main points stuck in their minds!
Visual Aid Speech Ideas
Looking for ways to make your speeches stand out? Here are 25 fresh visual aid ideas that will catch your crowd’s eye and keep them hooked on every word you say.
1. Big Photos That Tell a Story
Nothing grabs eyes like a big, clear photo that means something. Pick photos that show what you’re talking about in a way words alone can’t. A photo of kids playing in a clean park works much better than just talking about why we need to pick up trash.
Photos work best when they stir up feelings. If you’re talking about helping hungry kids, show a photo of a child getting their first meal after a long time without food. The crowd will feel what you want them to feel, and your words will stick much better.
2. Charts With Just a Few Numbers
Charts help make sense of numbers, but keep them simple. No one wants to read tiny print or try to grasp 20 different facts at once. Pick the two or three most key facts and show those.
For best results, use colors that stand out from each other. Make the lines thick and easy to see from far away. And don’t forget to talk through what the chart means – some folks in your crowd might not be used to looking at this kind of data.
3. Maps That Show Change Over Time
Maps can show how things have changed in a place over months or years. You might show how a town has grown, how heat has spread, or how much land has lost trees.
The key to good map visual aids is to keep them clear and not too full of small details. Use bright colors to show the main points. And think about using a set of maps side by side to show the change, not just one map with too much on it.
4. Props You Can Hold Up
Bring real things to your talk that you can hold up or pass around. If you’re talking about a new tool, bring it and show how it works. If your talk is about books kids should read, bring the real books to show.
Props work best when you let the crowd see them up close, not just look from far away. Pass items around if you can, or walk through the crowd with them. Let folks touch and feel what you’re talking about to make it real to them.
5. A Set of Items That Show Size Differences
Let’s say you’re trying to get across how much trash one person makes in a day. You could bring bags that show how much we throw out vs how much we could throw out if we tried to make less trash.
The key here is to pick sets of things that make your point clear at a glance. Big vs small. Full vs empty. Old vs new. When folks can see these pairs with their own eyes, they get your point in a way words can’t match.
6. Time Lines That Show Key Points
A time line can show how things have changed or grown over time. The best ones don’t try to show too much – just the big, key points that matter most to your talk.
Make sure to use large print and bright colors so folks in the back can still see. And think about adding small pictures along the time line to make it more fun to look at. This works great for talks about past events or how a group or place has changed.
7. Short Video Clips (Less Than Two Minutes)
A short video can wake up your crowd and bring them back if they were starting to drift off. The clip should be short – no more than two minutes – or else folks might think the video is the main event, not you.
Pick clips that show what you’re saying in a new way. Make sure they’re high quality so they look good on a big screen. And always check that your video will work on the gear at your talk spot before you start!
8. “How To” Steps Shown With Pictures
If your talk shows how to do something, use pictures for each step. You might show how to plant a tree, fix a bike, or cook a meal. Each step gets its own clear picture with just a few words to go with it.
The best “how to” visual aids show the steps in order. You can use arrows to show what goes where, and large, clear numbers so folks know which step is which. This is great for any talk that shows a skill or tells folks how to do something new.
9. Color Coding for Groups of Ideas
Use colors to help your crowd keep track of groups of facts or ideas. You might use green for good points, red for bad points, and blue for mixed points. Or pink for one type of animal and yellow for a different type.
The trick with color coding is to stick to the same colors all through your talk. Don’t switch what the colors mean or use too many. Three or four colors is plenty for most talks.
10. Small Group of Real Facts
A small set of facts can help make your case. But stick to just a few that hit home hard. No one will keep track of 20 facts, but they will hold on to three or four big ones.
Make your facts stand out with large print and bright colors. Put each fact on its own line. And think about using a picture next to each fact to help folks keep in mind what it’s about.
11. Stick Figures That Make a Point
Stick figures may seem too plain, but they work well to get across a point. You can use them to show how people act or work with each other. They help your crowd focus on the main point, not the small stuff.
For best results, make your stick figures big and clear. Use bright colors and thick lines. And keep the rest of the visual aid plain so the stick figures stand out more.
12. “Before and After” Pictures
“Before and after” pictures show a clear change. They work well for talks about fixing things up, health plans, home work, and more. They let your crowd see the change right in front of them.
The best “before and after” pairs show the same view in both shots. Make sure both photos are the same size and shown side by side. This lets your crowd see just how big the change was.
13. Real Objects Cut in Half
Cutting things in half can show how they work inside. You might show a cut ball, fruit, or even a small tool. This helps folks see the parts they don’t get to see most of the time.
This type of visual aid works best when you can pass the cut item around. If that won’t work, take a good, clear, big photo of the cut item to show. Make sure to point out the key parts you want your crowd to note.
14. Show a Full Size Shape
Some things are hard to grasp if you just talk about their size. How big is a whale’s heart? How small is a bee’s brain? You can show real size by drawing the shape on a board or floor, or by making a full size stand-in.
The key is to show the size next to things folks know well. A whale’s heart next to a car. A bee’s brain next to a grain of rice. This gives your crowd a way to grasp the size that just saying the size in words can’t match.
15. Hands-On Test That Shows How Things Work
Let your crowd try out what you’re talking about. This could mean passing out small tasks they can do right there in their seats. Or you could bring a few folks up to help you show how something works.
The best hands-on tests can be done fast. They prove your point in a way that will stick in the mind. And they help your crowd feel like they’re part of your talk, not just sitting there.
16. Good and Bad Cases Side by Side
Show the right way and wrong way to do something, side by side. This could be two ways to hold a tool. Two ways to greet someone new. Two ways to store food. The side by side view makes the good choice clear.
To make this work well, use the same size and style for both the good and bad case. Just change the one part you want your crowd to note. This makes it easy to see the key point you want to stress.
17. Flow Maps That Show Where Things Go
A flow map shows the path of a thing from one point to the next. You could show how food goes from farms to your plate. Or how bills pass to make new laws. Or how blood goes through your heart.
The best flow maps use arrows to show the path from one point to the next. Keep things clear by not having too many steps in your flow. And use bright, clear colors to mark each stop on the path.
18. Draw While You Talk
There’s something fun about watching someone draw. You can make a talk more live by drawing as you go. This could be as plain as a few shapes on a board, or as full as a whole scene that you add to bit by bit.
Drawing while you talk works best if you know what you’ll draw first. Plan it out and try it at home to make sure you can do it well. And keep it plain – this is not the time to show off your best art skills.
19. Parts of a Whole Shown in a Big Way
Try to show how parts make up a whole. You could break down how we spend each day. Or what goes in our trash cans. Or what makes up the cost of a car. A pie chart works well for this, but you could use blocks or even a real pie!
Make sure to use clear, bright colors to show each part. And don’t have too many parts – stick to five or six at most. If you need to show more, group the small parts as “all else” to keep your chart clear.
20. Cards That Get Put On a Board
Use cards to make your talk more live. You could have your crowd hold up cards to vote. Or you could put cards on a board to rank things. The act of cards going up on a board makes your talk more fun to watch.
The cards should be big and have clear, large print. Use thick, bright colors to set groups of cards off from each other. And plan what will go on each card well in the past to make sure they fit the space you’ll have.
21. String or Rope to Show Size
A long string can show sizes that are too big to grasp. You could run a string all through the room to show how far a whale can swim in an hour. Or how tall the tallest tree in the world is.
The string trick works best if you do it in a way that makes your crowd part of the show. Have them hold the string. Help them wrap it around the room. When they help hold the string, they get a real feel for just how big the size is.
22. Pictures That Hide or Show With a Slide
Use a slide that can move to hide or show parts of a picture. You might show the same view in two times of year by sliding from one to the next. Or you could hide the name of a thing and then show it. This adds a fun guessing game feel to your talk.
The slide should move smooth and not stick. And what you hide and show should be clear to all in the room, not hard to make out. Keep the change clear and on point with your main talk.
23. Dress Up as What You Talk About
Why not be your own visual aid? You can dress up as the job, type of bug, or book star you talk about. This helps folks see what you mean and adds a fun touch to your talk.
The dress up should not be so full that it makes it hard for you to talk or move. And make sure what you wear is clear to the crowd – a small badge or hat may not be seen from the back rows.
24. Big Words for Key Terms
For talks with a few key words that your crowd needs to learn, make those words stand out. Put them on their own board or slide with large, clear print. Say them out loud and have your crowd say them back to help the words stick.
The best word visual aids use big, thick print that can be seen from way in the back. Use bright colors to make the words “pop.” And don’t put too much else on the same slide or board – let the key words stand on their own.
25. 3D Shape That Can Be Turned and Viewed
Bring a 3D shape that folks can see from all sides. This works well for talks about real things like bugs, rocks, or tools. The shape could be real or a stand-in, but it needs to be true to what it shows.
If you can’t pass the shape to each person, walk through the crowd with it. Or use a live video feed to show it up close on a big screen. The goal is to let folks grasp the real look and feel of what you talk about.
Wrapping Up
I hope this list gives you lots of new ways to make your next talk shine! As you can see, there are so many choices for visual aids that work well for all kinds of talks. The most key thing is to pick aids that match what you want to say and help your crowd grip your main points.
Good visual aids don’t have to cost a lot or take too much time to make. Even a few clear, bright slides can help your crowd stay with you and walk out with your main points stuck in their minds. So grab one or two of these ideas and see how much more fun your next talk can be for you – and for all who come to hear you!