Props

Props reinforce the message of the presentation content, realistically. They also encourage audience participation with close observation; but, their usage with larger audience is limited. Creating props often leads to extra work; their transportation or the replacement of the worn objects is expensive too.

Videos

Videos help give the indication of the forethought and preparation of the presenter. But, despite its ability of strong and accurate representation of the content, videos are expensive to create and update. Videos often create chances for compatibility issues related to computer video formats. 

Flipcharts or Whiteboards

 Flipcharts or whiteboards are easy to create and modify; they also help in tracking  the comments from the audience. Flipcharts, an inexpensive tool,  could also be combined with the more high-tech visuals during presentation. But these visual aids are difficult for large audience to see; transporting them is also a cumbersome job and they easily get worn out with use and time.

Handouts

Handouts are easy to update and maintain, they also provide enhancement and competence to the presentation; they encourage audience participation as well. Because the audience has the reference material at their hands, it gets easy for them to recall any part of the presentation.  The down side is that the distribution of them is a time consuming and tricky job; as a result,  the speaker might loose the audience's attention. Handouts also give rise to the chances of unauthorized duplication of the presentation’s material.

Visual Aids for a Speech or Presentation : Handouts as Visual Aids

Overhead Transparencies

 Transparencies are cheap, simple to use and could be easily made on the computer. It is easy to update and maintain them; it also limits the information shown at one time.  Despite of its ability in giving a professional look to the presentation, it is thought to be an outdated method. During projection, transparencies provide poor reproduction of the photos and graphics. They demand the speaker to stand next to them, making him/her stick to one point during the whole presentation.  

Multimedia Slides

Multimedia slides help you make a dynamic, professional looking presentation. You could use various options such as colours, art, graphic, and fonts etc. to give the presentation a professional appearance. These are widely used by students, and also in business as these are easy to make and use; could be easily transported via removable storage media, web download or e-mail attachments. Though the slides are inexpensive to update, they require costly projection equipment and practice for smooth delivery. Having many incompatibility issues, multimedia slides also tempt users to include unnecessary features which reduce the value of the presentation.