Summarising Spoken and Media Presentations

Visual information means ideas you can see with your eyes. Authors do not add pictures, graphs, tables, and charts just to make a page look pretty. They use them to explain big ideas and to back up what the text says.

Here are common types of visual information. Graphs, tables, and charts help you understand data or numbers. Diagrams and maps show how things fit together or where things are. Photos and drawings show what something really looks like.

First, read the title so you know what it is about. Next, look at the labels so you know what each side or column means. Then find the most important detail, like the tallest bar, the biggest slice, or the line going up or down. Finally, say it in your own words, like this: more students chose soccer than any other sport, or the temperature went up every single day.

When you can explain a chart out loud in one or two sentences, you have found its key information. That is a skill you will use every time you summarize a presentation that shows pictures or numbers.

Before you read an informational text, take a quick look at its text features. These are the parts that stand out on the page, like the title and subtitle, headings, photos and graphics, captions, sidebars, diagrams and charts, and bold or colored vocabulary words. Longer texts might also have a table of contents, a glossary, or an index.

Why scan first? Because these features tell you what matters most. The title and headings announce the big ideas. Bold words are the important vocabulary. Captions explain what a picture really means. If you scan first, you walk into the text already knowing its shape.

Then, as you read, pay attention to how these features organize, explain, or build on the main text. Ask yourself: what does this heading tell me to expect? What does this chart add that the words do not say?

This works for listening too. When someone reads a text aloud or gives a presentation, listen for the same clues: what the speaker announces first, what gets repeated, and what sounds most important. Scanning first and listening for signposts helps you catch the main points, which is the first step of any good summary.

No one source can ever tell you everything about a topic. Different sources zoom in on different parts, share different facts, or give different opinions. When you look at several sources, you get a fuller picture.

Here is how to combine information from many sources. Step 1: figure out what the sources have in common. What facts or ideas show up again and again? Those are probably the most important points. Step 2: notice what is different. Does one source add a detail the others skip? Does one disagree with another? Step 3: put it together in your own words, like saying, most sources say sharks are in danger, but this one also says some shark populations are recovering.

This skill is extra useful when the sources come in different formats, like a video, a chart, and a spoken report. A great summary often pulls the main point from each format and connects them into one clear idea.

Posters, graphics and other images communicate ideas. Learning to interpret them helps you summarize a presentation.

Notice what catches your attention first: perhaps a face, large number or bright color. Designers often use these features to draw attention. Size and placement also matter. A large or central feature often signals what the designer wants you to remember.

Ask who created the visual and who will see it. Consider the thoughts or feelings it aims to produce. Notice which details appear and which are missing.

Then consider any nearby words. A speaker or writer may choose a visual to support a particular claim. Explain that claim in one sentence, such as, "The chart shows that the team's number of wins doubled." Connecting visuals with their message helps you summarize material you watch or hear.