233 TIPS ON GRAPHICS AND VISUAL DESIGN When designing a course, if you are using narration with your visual learning, try not to have the narrator read the text on the screen verbatim. This can cause cognitive overload, and the brain finds it very difficult to process: “Do I read or listen?” (This does not apply to closed captions, of course.) Try using the visual elements to complement the narration instead. Use text for the important highlights. Anna-Leiza Barthorpe, British Columbia Provincial Government With task- and concept-oriented training, the graphic (photo, line art, screen shot) of the topic subject anchors the learner’s visual perspective while reading the description text. In an instructor-led delivery, this content would be part of the participant guide with the instructor projecting the graphic on the screen and presenting the text procedure for the topic. In an eLearning delivery medium, the graphic would be enhanced with some animation that augments the text narration. The animation could be a simple spotlight, arrows, boxes, or zoom effect to focus the participant’s eyes on the area of the graphic that corresponds to the task, along with syncing the animation with the narrated text. These are just variations of classic “show and tell” storytelling. Both instructor-led and eLearning deliveries would then contain content that supports three methods of learning: visual, textual, and auditory. Rick Broquet, consultant For slide decks, use nothing less than 30-point font. Don’t use sentences; they compel you to read them when presenting. The fewer words, the better. Peter de Jager, de Jager & Co 37 www.eLearningGuild.com