Have a Fontastic Presentation
By Kevin Lerner, Exec. Director of The Presentation Team

Next to graphics, type and fonts are the most effective way for communicating your message. Fonts add emotion and impact to your presentation. They also can create variety and help to keep the attention of your audience. Here are 10 tips for using fonts in your next presentation:

1. Include/Embed Your Fonts. If you don’t save your presentation with the fonts, the end computer may substitute a default font that could destroy the perfect presentation you’ve created. As an added safety factor, copy/save the actual font files directly to a disk.
   
2. Employ weight contrast for visual interest. Tahoma and Arial are good fonts with added impact in Bold style.
   
3. Use script-based fonts sparingly and only to project an informal image.
   
4. Limit Serif Fonts (Times Roman, Garamond) to Headlines. They often look busy on screen. Sans Serif Fonts (Arial, Helvetica) are easier to read when projected.
   
5. Avoid High Tech and Modern Typefaces. They’re difficult to read and detract from the message. They may be okay for the opening slide, but audiences will grow tired of them if they’re forced to read lots of text.
   
6. Investigate Slab Serif Typefaces like Lucida and Tahoma. Often overlooked, these sturdy fonts reflect a no-nonsense feeling of strength. They hold up well when projected.
   
7. Restrict stylized typefaces to titles and opening slides. Never sacrifice emotion for legibility.
   
8. Maintain maximum foreground/ background contrast. Be sure there is sufficient difference in tonal value between type and the background it appears against.
   
9. USE CAPITALIZATION WITH CARE. It’s harder to read and takes up more space. Caps are sometimes okay for titles, but better to emphasize with Bold and Underline.
   
10. Fine-tune the details. Typographic detail includes choosing the right bullets and their color, size and distance from text. Line spacing should be adjusted with a space between paragraphs. Force a line break with Shift + Enter. And of course, double check the punctuation.

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