Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Use of visual aids in business meetings

[Norman Gauss (normangauss]

The trouble with so many of our visual aids is they are presented on chart
pads with small lettering and poor lighting.  Most of the time the charts
face the audience from the middle of a mantel piece framed by large windows
with daylight streaming in.  With the audience facing the light, it's like
trying to see a driver's face at night with his headlights shining in your
face.

Sometimes overhead lights are turned on to compensate, but with so many of
our members over 70 years old some likely with cataracts, only the brightest
light has any realistic chance of illuminating the charts. Suggestions made
to place the charts so that daylight is shining on them are ignored.  No
questions are ever asked if the chart is readable.

So, for me and my spouse, we ignore the visual aids.  They are not worth the
paper they are written on.

Norm Gauss

-----Original Message-----
From: Mariana Almeida [mailto:missmgrrl [at] yahoo.com] 
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2010 4:38 PM
To: Cohousing List
Subject: [C-L]_ Use of visual aids in business meetings


Hi there, 

What are people's experiences with using visual aid technologies in your
business meetings? I am finding we need more visual interest and people are
averse to using a lot of handouts for environmental reasons. 

Currently we use only a chart pad, and we're often using pitiful markers
because we just can't keep track of them (sad!). So the agenda is often
written in red, and in poor lighting people just can't see well. 

White board -- do you use a big one for agenda?
How big of a board? How do you deal with complaints of marker odor?

Projector/computer/PowerPoint
This would be my preferred method, but there is resistance to it. The
resistance to it is related to it being too "business"y, too advanced
technologically and "would make me feel left out because I'll never learn to
use it". Do you use it? What makes it work?

So now, that leaves us with... handwritten agendas on chart pads and paper
hand outs. Sigh!

Regards, 
Mariana 
Berkeley Cohousing, Calif
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