Adding Visuals to a Talk
Aligned to SL.6.5 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
Multimedia and visual displays — slides, charts, images, short clips — make a presentation clearer when they show what words struggle to say. Use them to support your point, not decorate it.
Worked examples
Example 1
Explaining that a lake shrank, a speaker shows two satellite photos side by side, then and now. The image makes the change instant and obvious — far clearer than describing shorelines in words alone.
Example 2
One photograph of the dry lakebed beats a paragraph describing how low the water got.
Example 3
A slide the audience has to read is a slide they are not listening through. Put six words on it and say the rest.
Practice questions
- Pick a point in a talk that a picture or chart would make clearer.
- Choose or sketch one visual that shows, not just repeats, your point.
- Explain in a sentence how the visual helps the audience understand.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Agregar Recursos Visuales a una Charla
Los recursos multimedia y visuales — diapositivas, gráficas, imágenes, clips cortos — hacen más clara una presentación cuando muestran lo que las palabras batallan para decir. Úsalos para apoyar tu punto, no para decorar.
Ejemplo 1: Al explicar que un lago se encogió, un orador muestra dos fotos satelitales lado a lado, antes y ahora. La imagen hace el cambio inmediato y obvio — mucho más claro que describir las orillas solo con palabras.
Ejemplo 2: Una sola foto del lecho seco del lago vence a un párrafo describiendo qué tan bajo llegó el agua.
Ejemplo 3: Una diapositiva que el público tiene que leer es una diapositiva durante la cual no te escucha. Ponle seis palabras y di el resto.
More Speaking & Listening lessons
Teach this lesson today
An AI tutor that guides with questions instead of just giving answers — all K–12 core subjects, every child in the family.
Start free — no card required