Handouts are useful when your subject is complex, your message contains a lot of statistical information, or you need to introduce new vocabulary. When the speech is concluded, your listeners have your handout to remind them of your message.
There is one serious drawback to using handouts: They can distract listeners from what you are saying. If you distribute a handout before your speech, it will compete with you for attention. The audience may decide to read the handout instead of listening to you. Therefore, you should distribute handouts before your speech only when it is necessary for listeners to refer to them as you speak and you are confident of your ability to command attention. Never distribute handouts during your speech; this is a sure-fire way to divert, confuse, and lose listeners.
Dwight Davidson distributed a handout at the beginning of his speech entitled “Job Trends in the Twenty-first Century.” Dwight’s audience was able to follow him as he explained the statistical tables in the handout. Without such a visual supplement, his listeners would have been lost. George Stacey distributed a handout listing the steps involved in CPR after he ended his presentation. By waiting until he was finished, he avoided distracting listeners during his speech but still helped his audience remember the process. Your decision whether to distribute a handout before or after a speech must be based on the nature of the subject, how confident you are of your ability to control attention, and how you want your handout to function.