The Lost Art of the Great Speech: How to Write It * How to Deliver It

Visuals? Maybe

If it is really important that the audience retain the actual figures, some type of visual aids—charts, graphs, slides, whatever—might be helpful. Whether visuals are appropriate depends on the audience, the occasion, and the kind of material to be presented. I have often written presentations to be delivered to financial analysts, who are accustomed to dealing with figures and are usually able to assimilate numbers delivered orally. Even so, visuals, if they're used well, make the speaker's task easier.

Some material just cannot be explained without illustrations. The adage that one picture is worth a thousand words does apply in some instances. If you are trying to tell an audience what a new building will look like, an architect's ...