Tools for Writers & Speakers, How Writers & Speakers Can Use a Flip Chart Effectively

by Yvonne Ortega @YvonneOrtega1

How can writers flip the chart? Not their lid. If you have a breakout session or a small group discussion scheduled, you may want to use a flip chart. However, you want to do it with confidence and polish. 

The following tips will help you flip the chart. Not your lid.

Find an adjustable flip chart stand with a case.

Compare price and quality of what’s available at both a teacher’s and an office supply store. Also look online.  

The case costs an additional amount of money, but you will find it helpful when you travel.

Adjust the height of the flip chart yourself.

Once at an event, a person in the audience offered to help me set up for my presentation. I welcomed his offer. During my presentation, I tried to flip the page over and couldn’t reach to do it. I leaped into the air in vain. My helper was 6’8”. I’m 4’11”.  Since then, I adjust the height myself. 

Make sure the flip chart stand has wheels that lock.

You can move the chart to the side when you don’t need it, and roll it back in the middle when you do.

  

With wheels that lock, you can avoid a run-away flip chart. In the movie, Run-Away Bride, Julia Roberts as that bride is one thing. A run-away flip chart is another. You don’t want it to ram into your audience. 

Buy a flip chart with lined paper.

If your writing tends to go downhill, you’ll welcome the flip chart with lined paper. The lines will keep your writing level and help you print in a large font the group can read. I discovered it’s easier on lined paper to stay focused and fill in at the same time. I hope you do too.

Use a flip chart that comes with adhesive sheets. 

A flip chart with adhesive sheets allows you to keep filled in sheets visible. When you complete them, you can hang them on the wall.

You can also write one of your main points on a sheet and add feedback from the audience. Remove the adhesive sheet with ease from the flip chart and stick it to the wall. 

Have a roll of Scotch tape with you in case the adhesive backing wears out during your session. Find out ahead of time if the walls of the room are magnetic. If so, take a roll of magnetic tape with you and a small pair of scissors to cut the strips.

To wrap up, here are the main points again:

• Find an adjustable flip chart stand with a case.
• Adjust the height of the flip chart yourself.
• Make sure the flip chart stand has wheels that lock.
• Buy a flip chart with lined paper. 
• Use a flip chart that comes with adhesive sheets. 

Follow these guidelines and you will flip the chart. Not your lid.

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Yvonne Ortega speaks with honesty and humor as she shares her life and struggles through presentations that help women find comfort, peace, and purpose. Her background as a licensed professional counselor gives her a unique perspective into the heart of women. Her counseling experiences in jails, prisons, and outpatient services add depth and humor to her presentations, as do her years of teaching mostly high school and college Spanish. Her presentations are interactive and down-to- earth with application for the audience from God’s Word and his promises. 

Yvonne is also a speaking and writing coach and the owner of Moving from Broken to Beautiful®, LLC. She is the author of four books: Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer, Moving from Broken to Beautiful: 9 Life Lessons to Help You Move Forward, Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Forgiveness, and Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Grief. 

Yvonne is a member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA), the Christian Authors Network (CAN), the National Speakers Association (NSA), and Toastmasters International.