Communication research on using visuals as an enhancement to presentations is supported by early researchers including Aristotle. "Although ancient orators weren't aware of our currently research on ishowspeed meme picture memory, they did know the importance of vividness. They knew that audiences were more likely to pay attention to and be persuaded by visual images painted by the speaker. In his Rhetoric (Book III, Chapters 10-11) Aristotle describes the importance of words and graphic metaphors that should "set the scene before our eyes." He defines graphic as "making your hearers see things." (Hamilton, 2006)

"Today's audiences expect presentations to be visually augmented, whether they are communicated in the guise of a lecture, a business report, or a public speech. What's more, today's audience expects the speaker to visually augment such presentations with a level of sophistication unheard of even 10 years ago." (Bryden, 2008)