The Power of Visuals in Storytelling: Making Your Message Unforgettable

Visual Tools as Support Material in Speaking Visual aids are powerful tools for speakers because people tend to remember more of what they see and hear simultaneously. As outlined below, visual aids offer five key benefits:

1. Enhance comprehension: We live in a visual era. Much of what we learn is absorbed through our eyes rather than our ears. Visual tools help ensure that your message is understood in the clearest way possible.
2. Save time: Visually presented information is processed by the brain faster than spoken messages. Visual aids are especially useful in helping people quickly grasp complex or abstract concepts.
3. Improve retention: A week after your speech, people may only remember about 10% of what was said. However, they can recall two-thirds of what they both saw and heard at the same time.
4. Increase attention: People think much faster than they speak, which means their minds are prone to wandering during a speech. Visuals help keep them focused on the message and also add variety and interest to the presentation.
5. Manage anxiety: Using visual tools provides physical activity, allowing you to channel nervous energy without letting the audience sense it.

WHEN TO USE VISUAL TOOLS Visual aids should be used to complement your presentation, not become the presentation itself. Charts, graphs, diagrams, models, photographs, and printed words can captivate your audience. However, you don’t need a visual aid for every sentence or point. If everything is emphasized, nothing seems important. Visual tools should only be used in the following scenarios:

• To reinforce a key point. A visual aid indicates to your audience that what you’ve just said, or are about to say, is important and should be remembered.
• To enhance understanding/retention of complex material. Visual aids help your audience understand relationships, structures, and statistics presented in your speech.
• To save time. Sometimes, the same message can be conveyed faster and more effectively through a visual aid than through spoken words.

A Personal Example In one of the national public speaking contest, I addressed the theme “accept everyone as they are, accept their true colors.” As a visual, I used guaj painting on a white t-shirt and wrote the word “true” in different colors at the end of my speech to represent this message. Three years later, people from different countries who watched me at that contest still recall how powerful it was to see "true colors" demonstrated visually. They approached me at this year’s contest, saying, “I still remember that!” This example shows how a simple, creative visual aid can leave a long-lasting impression on your audience.

How will you make a memorable impact in your next speech using visual tools? Have you ever had an experience where a visual aid, beyond just a PowerPoint, left a strong impression? Share the powerful visuals you've used!