Image is Everything

Adding Media Enhancements

Your house seems ready to move into now, but you still need to dress it up a bit. You need curb appeal, something that screams, "look at me!"

If you have completed the written draft of your presentation, you are nearly finished with the drafting process. You are ready to add media enhancements to make your presentation really shine.

Analyze how each of the following media enhancements can make your presentation stand out.

How do photos, sketches, and images improve a presentation?

Photos, sketches, and images give the reader a visual focus and a way to relate to the material. Cheesy clip art or unconnected images are distracting, so be sure you select compelling pictures, especially if you are working on Option B, a PowerPoint presentation.

How do music and voiceover improve a presentation?

Music adds interest to a presentation and voiceover explains the elements of a PowerPoint presentation, so it makes sense. Without a voice, your PowerPoint presentation is mostly meaningless to the audience, since slides are meant to contain only a few words for focus.

How do charts and graphs improve a presentation?

Using charts and graphs to show statistics and information makes the information more meaningful and memorable. Whenever you have numbers in a report, consider showing them with visuals. If you use a chart or graph from another source, be sure to include parenthetical citation in the caption, so you do not inadvertently plagiarize.

How can video enhancements be used?

For web reports, you have the option of creating video and flash enhancements. Again, make certain they are relevant and that they help your audience understand your research better.

Now look at the memento mori draft with enhancements. In your mind, evaluate how they make the presentation more appealing or help you understand the research better. Then, add media enhancements to your draft.

• Read the Written Report
• View the PowerPoint Report      (Text Version)