You use images in a presentation for 3 reasons:
- To help your audience understand what you are saying
- To help them remember what you are saying
- To persuade them to change their mind and take action
How do you choose the best images for your presentation?
A common question people ask me is how I choose the best images for my presentations. I’ve come up with a 4-part method, BARE:
B = Big. It’s simple, but big images will be more impactful than small ones.
A = Arresting. Another way to say this is attention-getting. You need to get people to stop in their tracks and pay attention!
R = Relevant. Images should always help people understand and remember your message. Don’t just decorate slides.
E = Emotional. This is the clincher. If you can add emotion to an image, you’ll be most able to persuade your audience.
Watch this short video to see how I tried out a variety images until I found an image that achieved all 4 parts of the BARE method.
Lovely blog – but a bit bare on content!
Sorry – couldn’t resist! It’s so good to have a mnemonic for such a simple thing. The speaker in a talk I attended used tiny, finicky, useless images which added nothing to the talk.
Thanks again!
This is really valuable, useful information. Thanks for sharing.
Great, simple message. Now if I can only get my boss to buy into these concepts.
Great post Ellen. Nolan Haims recently wrote about using literal rather than metaphorical images, but I think this approach is much better. (Because the “mudder” photo you ended up with isn’t literally about business teamwork, it’s far more memorable and impactful than an everyday photo of businesspeople working together.)
I love the BARE acronym! All 4 of its parts are important, but as you say, emotion’s the clincher.