Videotapes and Audiotapes
Videotapes and audiotapes can authenticate a speech and add variety to your presentation. Today’s audiences, described by Roger Williams, senior writer for Newsweek Interactive, as “the first generation that has never watched television without a remote control,” may regard such presentation aids as essential to a polished presentation. Videos are especially useful for transporting the audience to distant, dangerous, or otherwise unavailable locations. Although you could verbally describe the scenic wonders of the Grand Canyon, you could reinforce your word-pictures with actual photos of the site or, better still, with living scenes from a videotape. An effective speaker uses video clips for support, but still supplies “the live human touch needed to help move an audience of one, or of hundreds, to the desired conclusion or action.”
Using videotapes presents some special problems. Moving images attract more attention than the spoken word, so they can easily upstage you. Moreover, a videotape segment should be edited so that splices blend without annoying static. Editing videotapes takes special skill and equipment. Finally, it can be difficult to work videotapes into a short speech without consuming all of your time. If they are not carefully managed, properly cued, and artistically edited, they can become more of a handicap than an aid.
Tags: Reference