How to use audio-visual aids effectively

In 1939 Hitler was asked to name Germany’s most potent weapon of war. Hitler gave a strange but accurate reply. He said, “My most potent weapons are my 60,000 motion picture projectors.” And Hitler was right, heavy use of propaganda movies created a fanatic loyalty to the Nazi cause, while liberal use of training films helped shape a well-trained military machine.

The projectors gave Hitler a huge advantage in mass communications, after movie houses and public meeting halls were brought under control. Viewers saw only what it was intended for them to see, and the results are recorded in history. Audio-visual aids proved their value beyond any doubt. Audio-visual aids have also proved their value in sales meetings. They’re splendid for instruction and motivating salesmen. The use of such aids is good showmanship, too, as meetings become more lively when spiced with something extra to see or hear.

Movies and filmstrips are often misused

Except for blackboards, the aids most commonly used in sales meetings are movies and filmstrips. But movies and filmstrips are often misused. What frequently happens is this: a sales executive hears of a new film, or happens to see it at a meeting outside his company. His natural reaction is to want all his salespeople to see it. So he obtains the film and has it shown to his personnel. He works the meeting into the film instead of working the film into the meeting.

This is wrong. Any visual aid should be used as a means to an end, because the objective of the meeting is the desired end result. The visual aid is only a means of accomplishing that end result, and instead of building a program around a visual aid, you should base the meeting on company and employee needs. Then select the aids that will help most in satisfying those needs.

When properly used, however, visual aids add color and showmanship. They increase the effectiveness of any meeting. They give the presentation a professional touch and make it more acceptable to the audience. Attention and interest are greater. The audience will better understand the material presented and will retain it longer.

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