Using the Right Font for the Job IP10 Lesson 2 Friday, Sept. 5 th, 2014

Too Much Text! Too often many great PowerPoint presentations are ruined by the over use of text. PowerPoints are designed to be an addition to a presentation, not the whole presentation in itself. How many times have you sat through a PowerPoint presentation where the person at the front simply reads what is on the slides? Maybe you have done that yourself. I know I have! Today we are going to learn about using the right font for the job and figuring out just how much information is enough.

The K.I.S.S. Rule When you are creating your presentations, keep it simple silly! Don’t use 25 words to say something you could have just as easily said in 10 words!

Let Your Pictures do the Talking. Example: Quality shoes are important for people starting a running program If you were giving a presentation to a group of beginning runners, that’s all you’d need to write. You could then include several pictures of quality shoes and in your presentation TALK about the different types of shoes, explaining what they have to offer.

The size of font you choose does make a difference! Typically you want to stick to a font size of 20 to 28 for your presentations. Obviously, font that is too small will frustrate your audience as they will strain to see it. Font that is too large looks unprofessional. See the next slide as an example.

3 Sizes of Font This is a size 14 font. While reading it on a screen may not be too onerous, if used in a presentation the poor people at the back of the room would never see it! This is a size 80 font. Too big and gaudy. This is a size 28 font. Much more comfortable to read and easily viewable in the room.

Contrast Counts Make sure there is a good contrast between your font and your background. The next slide will illustrate that.

Example You want your font to have a sharp contrast with your background, this will make it easier for your audience. If there is not a sharp contrast it will be difficult to read.

Stick to Standard Fonts! These include, Times New Roman Garamond Verdana Tahoma We do this because you run the risk of having your presentation mess up if the computer your create it on and the computer you present with are not compatible. Your final presentation may look different because the computer automatically adjusted it to comply with it’s internal settings.

Be Consistent During your presentation, do not change from one style of font to another from slide to slide. It is okay to use a different font for your headings, but again, be consistent from slide to slide.

There is a Difference Between Shift and Caps Lock Remember, ALL CAPITALS IS THE SCREEN VERSION OF SHOUTING. Don’t use all capitals in your presentations.

Avoid Curly Fonts Fonts like Edwardian Script or Kunstler Script may seem pretty they are virtually impossible to read in a room.

Today’s Task So, you have the basics about font use. Today’s task involves creating a presentation that you will give to the grade 3 class (no not really, but at least you know your pretend audience). This presentation is all about how to make the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich. See the next slide for your criteria.

Criteria Your presentation needs: A title slide that includes your name and date as well as the title for your presentation A new slide for each step of the process There is no maximum or minimum number of slides required today. Just make sure you say everything you need to. A non-white background You need to pay attention to: Number of words on each slide Font size Font style Font contrast

When Done Save your work in your IP10 folder on the Common (X:) drive.