how to really get the best from speaker support... "AKA" Powerpoint!

It's worth asking the question "why do I use speaker-support when I present?" Most people will instantly think of Powerpoint and say "it helps the audience to see what I'm saying... It helps me to remember what to say...It's an easy way to map out my presentation."
And to be fair, that’s largely what Powerpoint has been asked to do by so many people, to help get them through a nerve wracking situation. So we can’t complain when we see presentations with far too many slides, each heavy with small text, being read by the audience with the presenter 30 seconds off the pace!
A better question to ask is “what do I want to achieve from this presentation and how can speaker-support assist this?” Then the answers you should come up with are:
"To engage attention... sustain interest... add visual interpretation to the meaning...
"To anchor messages with images and sounds... and just as importantly, to make me look good and be remembered!

And then when we think more about speaker support from the audience's perspective we discover that:
Many people actually need pictures to see meaning, so for them graphics and pictures are essential to compliment and synchronise with your spoken words.
Others need to experience the message to feel its meaning, so stories and examples using video or 3d animations will create this effect for them.
Attention is best sustained with change of medium, and by introducing props and changing screen media you will achieve that.
Perceptions and emotional interpretation of meaning is known to be influenced at a subconscious level, and subtle visual and auditory stimuli will contribute to that.
The majority of people commit to a decision after a presentation, using visual metaphors and theme images will anchor messages and increase levels of recall.
So maybe we should stop calling it Speaker Support and think of it solely from the audience's perspective. Then by incorporating some of these preceding ideas you can get up on your feet knowing you've got a really stand out, memorable and winning presentation.  

Bob Howard-Spink is a partner in Persuadability. For tips and advice on how to improve the presentation of your business message visit http://www.persuadability.co.uk/