Final answer:
Visual aids in a presentation should enhance understanding, provide additional information, and engage the audience, but not serve merely for entertainment purposes. They should be used to supplement and reinforce the spoken message, ensuring clarity and relevancy to support the overall communication goals.
Step-by-step explanation:
Visual aids serve many purposes in a presentation, such as to provide additional information, enhance understanding, and engage the audience. However, they should not be used simply as filler or just for the purpose of entertaining. The primary use of visual representations like images, graphs, and charts should be to clarify complex information, making it more accessible and easier to comprehend for the audience. Visual aids help explore a topic by defining, illustrating, explaining, or even proving an idea, which can sharpen the audience's critical thinking and give more strength or credibility to the presented ideas.
Moreover, considering the nature of a speech, visual elements can enrich an auditory presentation by adding emphasis to the spoken word and supporting the speech's message. However, visuals should be used judiciously to avoid confusing or distracting the audience. They should be clear, directly related to the content of the speech, and large enough to be seen by all members of the audience. The goal is to select visuals that supplement the spoken words and contribute positively to the overall purpose of the speech, be it to inform, persuade, or entertain.