USING FLIPCHARTS

Robert E Gerber, Faculty of Education, Port Elizabeth Technikon, South Africa

After the overhead projector, flipcharts are probably the most common of visual media used by trainers. The following suggestions may help you make your use of this medium professional and trouble-free.

1 Set it up before you start.

Some flipchart stands have a will of their own, and seem to come provided with three legs of unequal length. Don't let your participants see you struggle with the thing!

2 Bring your own pens.

There's nothing more frustrating than a flipchart without proper pens. Overhead projector pens will do in a crisis, but your lettering will look spidery and may be hard to read at the back of the room.

3 Don't put too much on a flipchart.

It's best to 'write big' and use broad pens, so that everyone can see all the words without difficulty. Unless your handwriting is unusually good (neither of ours is!) you may find it best to print capital letters when writing on flipcharts. But remember, too many capital letters tend to generate eye fatigue.

4 Don't forget your Prestik.

You may often want to display several flipcharts at the same time, so make sure you've got that essential means of sticking flipcharts to doors, walls and even windows. Be careful, however, if walls are wallpapered - it's still possible to stick flipcharts to such walls as long as you develop the knack of using Prestik sparingly, and gently peel off the chart with the Prestik still sticking to the chart rather than to the wallpaper.

5 Make it easy to tear off successive flipcharts.

With pads of perforated flipchart paper, this is straightforward. However, usually you will have to make your own arrangements for removing sheets. Often, it helps to simply unscrew the two knobs which secure the chart to the easel, allowing you to make clean, neat tear-offs at the very top of the pad of charts.

6 A sharp knife can be useful.

For example, there are small collapsible razor-knives. With these, you can (with practice) score along the top of a chart neatly and tear it off leaving a straight edge at the top. Be careful not to cut more than one sheet at a time though!

7 Decide when 'live' flipcharting really is a sensible choice.

Don't end up writing long sentences dictated by participants. Flipcharts work best for keywords, for example in brainstorming sessions.

8 Prepare important flipcharts in advance.

For example, if you're going to use flipcharts to write up tasks for participants to do in your training event, it's useful to be able to turn straight to a ready-made flipchart rather than write it all out with them watching.

9 Get participants to use flipcharts.

For example, giving a syndicate a flipchart as a means of reporting-back on the task they are doing can help concentrate their minds on the task in hand, rather than engaging in sophisticated work-avoidance strategies!

10 Always have some rubber bands.

Often, you'll want to take away the flipcharts produced at a training event, so you can write up a report on the event, or collate and distribute the products of the event. An armful of loose flipcharts is not an easy package to carry away - but rolled up tightly with a couple of rubber bands, they're much more manageable.