When you are delivering a presentation, you need research to back up your claims. Your audience is not going to accept everything as fact just because you said it. Rather, they need to see various types of evidence to support your claims. That’s where supporting materials come in to play. The purpose of supporting materials is to further explain your topic by providing relevant evidence. Supporting materials serve a variety of purposes such as clarifying your points, emphasize your points, and making your points more interesting.
Examples of Supporting Materials
Supporting materials are the resources that give your main points credibility and there are several different types of supporting materials.
Examples
Examples are a great way to reinforce your ideas. You can tell a customer that your product will be great for their company, but it will be much more effective if you can give specific examples to support your claim. Examples don’t take up much room in your speech and they can be sprinkled throughout. They are easy to infuse into your presentation and they make your points seem relevant.
Narratives
Narratives are a great way to capture the attention of your audience and give them a vivid description of the information. It can make your presentation feel more personal and it’s a great way to tap into audience emotions.
Statistics
Statistics are a great way to quantify your points. For example, you can tell your boss that sales have improved this quarter, but you can make this point even more impressive by including the statistics to prove it. There are several ways to showcase statistics including graphs, charts, and percentages. They can easily be incorporated into a visual for your presentation. Statistics can be tricky, however, because if you throw too many numbers at your audience it might confuse them.
Testimony
This can be a powerful tool for adding credibility to your presentation. Think about it: Are your more likely to believe the salesman that is selling the product or the customer who swears by it. Testimony can come from someone who has been directly affected by your topic or it can also come from an expert in the field. Testimony gives your audience real world examples of the information you are trying to convey.
Supporting materials are necessary in order to make your presentation credible and interesting. Sprinkle these materials throughout your presentation as a way of making your information more relevant. Supporting materials can mean the difference between a good presentation and a great one!