When it comes to any learning environment, the importance of visual aids can’t be understated.
As far as visual aids go, it’s hard to go wrong with a display board especially when you’re presenting to a smaller group of like 25 people. Here’s a simple and plain presentation board containing only important information – straight to the point and effective. Display boards are perfect presentation tools for showing important information to highlighting one’s creativity.
If you have an incoming presentation or unit study, we highly recommend that you use a trifold board. Go to a science fair or even an organizational advertising at a career fair and you will see countless trifold displays.
For this post, we’ll talk about the trifold board and some ideas on how to improve your presentation.
What is a Trifold Board?
A tri fold project board is a great way to organize a lot of information on a single board or sheet of paper. This board provides you with a convenient way to arrange information and an ample space to convey your message.
When done properly, a trifold board gives you six sections to strategically present all important information regarding the presentation. The board edges are folded towards the center, so one side ends up on top of the other, opening to the opposite sides.
The main goal of a trifold presentation is to make the audience want to keep on reading. However, each section should be engaging enough to grab the audience’s attention independently.
Tips to Improve Your Trifold Presentation
When you’re in a fair or exhibit, tri-boards will only capture about 15 to 20 seconds of a visitor’s attention. Unfortunately, making a trifold board takes more than 20 seconds, so it’s up to you to make your investment count.
Below are some tips to make the most out of your presentation board.
Know Your Audience
Who are your most likely audience? Your board should cater to the target group’s cultural/age tendencies and prior knowledge. For example, don’t include information about a higher-level topic that’s catered to the experts in that particular field.
If necessary, include the basics but always go for unique or revolutionary information that will benefit the audience.
Use Headers and Titles
Grab the attention of the audience instantly by using headers and titles. The title of the presentation should be engaging and easy to read. This is where you can unleash your creativity and imagination. Short and alliterated titles are often the catchiest. Go for bold, basic fonts with dark coloring. For this, you may use a word processing program like MS Word or stencil the titles by hand.
Add Pictures
Your board is a visual aid so adding pictures to the presentation is a must. Add photos, diagrams, and other illustrations to enhance the visualization of your ideas or concepts.
However, this doesn’t mean that you should go all out.
All the pictures that you will be adding should tastefully be chosen with relevant captions. A good tip is to glue the pictures to a frame (like a construction paper) to make them even more eye-catching and durable.
Write Clear, Concise Content
When adding the text or content, it’s important that they should be summarized as briefly as possible. No one wants to read a wall of text, especially not off a project board.
Use formatting such as bold fonts and bullet points whenever applicable. Write for the layman which means that you should use easy-to-understand vocabulary and words.
The purpose of the text on a tri-fold board is to clearly explain the things that can’t be explained clearly using visual aids.
Add Interactive Elements
If you really want to think outside the box (in this case, outside the board), why not try adding interactive elements to your presentation?
You can use 3-D or other interactive objects on a table in front of your display board. For example, when you’re presenting about the great American pioneers, you can create a popsicle stick log cabin and display it on the front your board. This tip lends itself well to science fair displays.
Use Quality Materials
This is pretty much a given if you want your display to last and be more engaging. From self-standing tri fold poster board to adhesives, invest in high-quality materials and supplies. Sure, it’s probably going to be a little bit expensive but at the end of the day, all that matters is you can create a tri-board that will communicate your message effectively.
Take Pride in Your Display Board
Creating a trifold board is already a fun experience by itself. When done right, you will be on track to convey your concepts or ideas to your target audience. Remember the tips above for a project display that is both efficient and effective.
Have you made a trifold display before? Any tips that you can share? Feel free to let us know in the comments.