Author: Neftaly Malatjie

• Handouts are incredibly useful. Use a handout if your information is too detailed to fit on a slide or if you want your audience to have a full record of your findings. Consider the merits of passing round your handouts at the beginning, middle and end of a presentation. Given too early and they may prove a distraction. Given too late and your audience may have taken too many unnecessary notes. Given out in the middle and your audience will inevitably read rather than listen. One powerful way of avoiding these pitfalls is to give out incomplete handouts at key stages during your presentation. You can then highlight the missing details vocally, encouraging your audience to fill in the gaps.

• If your exhibit has a person tending it, he or she should:

  • Be neat, polite and helpful.
  • Wear a name tag.
  • Make sure the exhibit is functioning correctly.
  • Stay to the side, out of the way.
  • Stay with the exhibit.
  • Be prepared to answer questions, or tell people where they can get more information.
  • Keep the area clean. If your exhibit is unattended:
  • Check occasionally to make sure everything is working correctly.
  • Repair any tears, missing letters or other pieces, or other problems immediately.
  • Change the display regularly, or remove the exhibit when you are through.
  • Keep glass display cases clean
  • 

• Before you start construction, ask yourself the following questions:

  • What do I want to say? Exhibits usually hold an audience for only a few seconds, so you must start with a very clear idea of what you want to say. Pick a message that can be easily demonstrated or illustrated and outline the most important points.
  • Who is my desired audience? Is your message intended for people who are old or young? Where do they live? What are their backgrounds? What do they have in common? What is important to them? If you can choose a location for your exhibit, pick a place likely to attract your intended audience.
  • Why am I doing this? Do I want to teach a new idea? Persuade or encourage someone to do something? Reinforce an old idea? Show how something works? Sell something?
  • Who can help me? Do you need to find people with special skills to help you? Will you need special tools or materials?
  • How much space is available? Will you have a whole room or part of a room? An exhibit case? A tabletop?
  • Will there be electrical outlets? Will you need lighting, slide projectors, computers, tape players or other electrical devices to effectively get your message across?

  
  

Presentation graphics are visual aids used to clarify and highlight public speaking. Posters, charts and overheads are some examples

Consider Your Audience

• Make type large enough for your audience to read. Check out your visuals from the farthest distance they will be viewed to see if the audience can read them.
• Don’t stack type vertically or place it at odd angles unless you really need to for a special effect. Your audience will get stiff necks trying to read too much type that isn’t horizontal!
• Use points or areas of color to help lead the viewer’s eye through your visuals.
• Keep your visuals simple and the information on each one brief. Go easy on the boxes, lines and other potential visual clutter. Break your information up into several visuals and edit it so only the essential information is shown.
• Don’t spend too much time on one visual. You’ll lose the interest of your audience. • Avoid using red and green together to compare data on charts and graphs. It is difficult for people who are color blind to see the difference
• 

Advertising is a booming business in Hong Kong. It involves the development of communication strategies that best target a predefined market. Similar to branding, market research is important. It is often important for advertisements and promotion designs to attract attentions of passers-by. The ‘big idea’ is important in advertising design and it often appeals to the audience’s emotions, causing them to make a purchase or to change their perception/behaviour.