Flip charts are a useful teaching aid. You can purchase prepared or blank flip charts, or you can make them. A flip chart
is a stationery item consisting of a pad of large paper sheets. It is
typically fixed to the upper edge of a whiteboard, typically supported
on a tripod or four-legged easel.
How do teachers use flip charts?
Here's a few tips to help you:
Be prepared. ...
Choose dark, saturated colors. ...
Use colors consistently. ...
Position the flip chart to maximize visibility for your audience. ...
Minimize the time spent standing in front of the flip chart. ...
Be neat… it matters. ...
Print. ...
Print large.
Core Benefits of Flip Charts
Flip charts are both a static display tool (like slides or props) and a dynamic creation tool (like a whiteboard or the ubiquitous back of the napkin). This versatility offers many key benefits to speakers, including:
Writing or drawing on a flip chart is an active process, and energizes the speaker. Whenever I step up to the flip chart, my energy levels rise.
Audiences ask more questions. I don’t really know
why, but perhaps it’s because the scribbles or sketches on a flip chart
feel less permanent (than electronic slides), and thus more open to
questioning and dialogue.
Writing takes time, and this provides healthy pauses for your audience to absorb information or take notes.
Flip charts and brainstorming go together like
peanut butter and bananas (yummy!). One of my favorite training
techniques is using a flip chart to record brainstorming sessions. I ask
questions, and then speedily record responses shouted out by my
audience.
Flip charts are low tech and analog. You don’t need
to worry about passwords, projector bulbs, or extension cords — just
present! (I’m not saying they are better than slides; rather, I think
speakers should master both options.)
Flip Chart Do’s and Taboos
Using flip charts effectively is a basic skill every competent
speaker must possess. You may not use flip charts in every presentation,
but you should be able to wield one effectively when appropriate.
Here’s a few tips to help you:
1. Be prepared.
Check and double check that you have markers (and that they aren’t dried out) and enough paper.
2. Choose dark, saturated colors.
To maximize visibility all the way to the back of the room, stick to
high contrast colors like black, blue, red, or dark green. Stay away
from yellow or anything pastel-shaded.
3. Use colors consistently.
If you are using more than one color (you should), then use them
consistently. I typically use black as my base color, but then use red
or blue to emphasize key words, or annotate the text.
4. Position the flip chart to maximize visibility for your audience.
I’ve seen speakers use flip charts from exactly where they stood at the
beginning of the session: in a far, dark corner. Don’t hesitate to move
the flip chart to a more convenient location.
4. Position the flip chart to maximize visibility for your audience.
I’ve seen speakers use flip charts from exactly where they stood at the
beginning of the session: in a far, dark corner. Don’t hesitate to move
the flip chart to a more convenient location.
5. Minimize the time spent standing in front of the flip chart.
Lots of people advise standing to the side, even when writing. I find
this difficult to do without compromising legibility. However, it is
important to quickly move off to the side when you aren’t writing or
drawing to avoid being an obstacle.
“Flip charts are more than just relics; they remain one of the most versatile tools readily available to speakers.”
6. Be neat… it matters.
If nobody can read it, it’s pointless. Practice your penmanship. It’s
not hard to do, but it does take practice as it is different than
writing on a desk or table.
7. Print.
Don’t write.
8. Print large.
Make sure every word you print can be read by the person sitting in the back row of the room.
9. Print straight across.
Keep your words/phrases oriented straight along the page.
Don’t dip down
as if your words are tumbling down a waterfall.
If you find this
difficult, pre-trace some faint pencil lines along
the flip chart pages.
10. Give the flip chart the focus.
If you are using both slides and a flip chart within the same
presentation, consider whether the two are needed concurrently.
If you
don’t need your slides when using a flip chart, black out
the slides
(use the “B” key in PowerPoint to do this) to put the
entire focus on
the flip chart.
11. Don’t use flip charts for lengthy sentences.
Focus on single words or short phrases. This will keep the
tempo quick and active — just what the flip chart should be.
12. Draw pictures. You don’t need to be an artist.
Of course flip charts are good for planned diagrams, but they shine when used for impromptu sketches. Use colors wisely.
13. Make tables, charts, or graphs.
Let your imagination go wild.
14. Pre-fill some pages, either in whole or in part.
It depends on your overall presentation plan, but sometimes it makes
sense to pr-write or pr-draw some or all of the pages. On pages meant
for brainstorming, I’ll often pr-write the column headings.
When using
diagrams, I’ll often draw out the main blocks using black marker before
my session, and then add color labels and highlights during the
presentation.
If you do this, be sure to leave a blank page in between
prepared pages so that the lines don’t show through.
15. chart pages throughout your presentation.
Help your audience draw connections by referring back to
relevant flip
chart pages from earlier in your presentation.
For example, I sometimes
open by brainstorming some big
picture questions the audience has about
my topic.
Then, as the presentation proceeds, I can refer back to
those
questions as they are answered. If necessary,
rip off the pages and post
them on the wall to ensure they
