AGENDA

Make Your Handouts Stand Out

No meeting or corporate function is complete without handouts or information packages. But how many of these actually make it back to the office? Here are 5 ways to ensure that your handouts leave a lasting impression.

Be goal oriented: Decide what it is you are trying to accomplish and then design your handout around your goal.

Don't overwhelm with information: Just because you have the information, doesn't mean you have to use it. Everyone appreciates the concise approach, so only include information that directly pertains to your message.

Use graphics: A picture is worth a thousand words and in a handout a graph or chart, especially in colour, is worth even more. People are more likely to study a chart than they are to read text.

White space is good: Leave wide margins and room for notes. The general rule is to use no more than two-thirds of the page for information and graphics.

Combine form and function: Make sure your handout is attractive and well organized. Impress your reader at first sight because a well-produced handout can make the difference between a good presentation a great presentation.

Handout Helper: Handouts are frequently discarded because people have no place to put them in their already overcrowded offices. To avoid such a fate for your handout, distribute it in a pre-labeled file folder. This encourages clients, co-workers and customers to keep the material, and makes it easy to locate when they want to review the information.