It is very important to pre-test audio-visual materials before using them. This is particularly true for materials that have not been carefully prepared locally. Visuals that have not been pre-tested may not be understood by the intended audience or may be interpreted wrongly.

When you pre-test materials and messages, they can be modified to be more useful and effective for the trainees or the community for which they are made. A simple way to pre-test a visual aid is to show it to a small group of the THPs or community members for which it is designed and ask them if they understand it clearly.

You can ask some of the following questions during the pre-testing:

• Do the people understand the words? If not, which ones don't they understand?

• Is the material interesting? If not, why not?

• Do the people understand the message in the story?

• Are the drawings understood?

• Do the pictures represent their situation? If not, what changes need to be made?