How to Select and Use Fonts on Presentation Slides

How to Select and Use Fonts on Presentation Slides
By Dave Paradi, MBA, co-author of "Guide to PowerPoint"

One of the key choices you make when developing your presentation slides is what fonts to use and how to use them. Here are some guidelines to help you use fonts effectively in your next presentation.

Font Categories
There are three basic categories of fonts: Serif, Sans-Serif and Script. Here is a description of each font category, some examples of each and when each should be use.
Serif – A serif font is one that has serifs or the extra tails on the end of each letter. The most popular serif font is Times Roman, others include Bookman, Century, Garamond, Lucida and Palatino. The eye takes longer to read a serif font, so it is best used as a title font on a slide so that the viewer spends a little more time reading the title to understand the topic of the slide.
Sans-Serif – A sans-serif font does not the serifs or extra pieces at the ends of the letters. The most popular sans-serif font is Arial, others include Century Gothic, Helvetica, Lucida Sans, Tahoma and Verdana. A sans-serif font is easier to read, so it is best used for body text on a slide so that the viewer can quickly read the point and return their attention to the speaker.
Script – A script font is one that tries to emulate handwriting. Some script fonts are Brush Script, Edwardian Script, Freestyle Script, French Script, Papyrus and Vivaldi. A script font is quite hard to read and should not usually be used on a slide since the viewer will spend too much time trying to read the words and not be able to focus on the message.

Font Sizes
The minimum font size that should be on a slide is 24 point. Any smaller font will not be able to be read easily by the audience. You should try to use as large a font as possible so that it is easy to read. Some guidelines for font sizes are as follows:
Title Font – between 36 and 44 point
Main Body Font – between 28 and 32 point
First Level Sub-Point Font – between 24 and 28 point
Second Level Sub-Point Font – between 24 and 26 point
If you find that you need to include a few more words on your slides, change to a narrow font instead of reducing the font size and it will help keep the slides more readable. I agree with the 8 to 1 rule created by MediaNet, Inc. (www.medianet-ny.com). The 8-to-1 Rule states that 8 times the height of the image is the maximum viewing distance to read 24-point type. This means that if your image on the screen is 5 feet tall, the maximum distance that an audience member should sit would be 40 feet away from the screen if they want to comfortably see the text.

Font Effects
One way to make words stand out is to use font effects, such as these:
Bold – makes the lines of the font thicker. A very useful effect and the first choice to make a word stand out.
Underline – places a line under the word. The second choice for making a word stand out, but it can get tiresome if used too much.
Italic – slants the tops of the letters of the font to the right. An italic font is harder to read, so it should be used sparingly to emphasize words.
Shadow – places a dark gray shadow of each letter behind the letter slightly to the right and slightly below the letter. A shadow is a poor choice to emphasize a word because it is so hard to actually see the shadow in many cases.
All Caps – the word is typed in all capital letters. In the past, this was an acceptable way to emphasize a word, but today all capital words are considered to be shouting at the person and will not be viewed favorably.
Word Art – this feature allows you to distort the letters of the font in a variety of ways. Unfortunately many of these effects end up looking amateur and should be used with caution.

Bullet Points
Using bullet points on a slide is a great way to present the key ideas during a presentation. When selecting a bullet to use, consider these ideas:
Bullet Character – The most popular choices are a filled circle, filled square, open circle, hyphen and arrow. The characters with a large portion of the character filled are easier to see by the audience and are preferred. You can select a graphic as a bullet, but make sure that it does not detract from the slide by drawing too much attention away from the words on the slide.
Bullet Size – Try to select a bullet size slightly smaller than the font of the text so it does not overpower the text itself.
Bullet Spacing – make sure that there is sufficient space between the bullet and the first letter of the text so that the first word is readable.

By selecting and using fonts effectively on your presentation slides, you can increase the impact of your message.

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Dave Paradi’s Think Outside the Slide™ approach helps presenters get results by showing them how to quickly create effective PowerPoint presentations. He is the co-author of “Guide to PowerPoint”, part of the Prentice Hall Series in Advanced Business Communication. He offers a free PowerPoint e-course, newsletter and articles on his web site at www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.