Can you imagine watching a speech about a diesel engine without visual aid? Can you imagine listening to a speech on music therapy without some music? Can you imagine watching a speech on diet fashions with elaborate posters, book covers, and health products displayed and the speaker not discussing the images during the presentation?

The most successful speakers in America today use visuals in their presentations: Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Tony Robbins, to name a few. But for many speakers, the visual is an afterthought. Some speakers fail to create a striking image. Some speakers do not practice their speech with a visual. We live in a visual generation. Today’s public hearings pay more attention to images. High-quality images are essential for successful public speaking. Here are my top 10 strategies for using images in presentations:

1. Brainstorm – Brainstorm all the types of visual aids that could be used for your speech. Try researching Google images during your brainstorming.

2. Don’t forget the impact. As you prepare your speech, ask yourself the question: Would the impact of my speech on the audience increase with the use of the selected visual?

3. Visual Reference Elements: Reference your visual element during the speech. I have heard many speeches where the speaker prepared a great visual aid but did not refer to it during the presentation.

4. Learn Presentation Technology – Convert. familiar with new technology. For example, using PowerPoint slides can improve the quality of many types of presentations.

5. Be professional: Nothing is worse than a hastily developed poster or poorly organized brochure. The quality of your credibility as a speaker can be greatly improved with a professional visual.

6. Practice, practice, practice your speech using the visual aid. Practicing with visual aids will help you decide how much time to spend on visuals and whether visuals add or detract from your presentation.

7. Avoid Too Many Visuals – Don’t go overboard with visual aids. Too many visuals can detract from the presentation of your ideas and can waste valuable conversation time.

8. Avoid distractions: do not pass visual aids to the audience during the presentation. Passing a brochure or physical object around the audience is distracting and invites side conversations.

9. Add color: Use color in your visual aids. Color adds interest to the audience and increases the quality of your presentation.

10. Use visuals: Remember that for each topic of the speech there is a potential visual aid.

Visual aids can bring any presentation to life. The old cliché that a picture has a thousand words is often true. Research shows that using professional images will increase your credibility as a speaker and help your audience retain your information.