2. Text

Presentation packages come with a large variety of text options such as font style, size and colour. Text enhancements such as bold, italics and underlines help to draw attention to particular pieces of text on a slide.

The choice of text is very important. It needs to be large enough so everyone in the audience can read the slides, even if they are some distance away from the screen.

The font style is selected to reflect the tone of the presentation. For instance the use of 'Comic sans' would not be suitable in a formal presentation on a serious topic.

Text colour can also be selected to provide the right look and feel to the presentation. For instance the colour choice may be based on a corporate 'house style. It is also important to ensure that the text can easily be read against the background. Clashing colours or colours which are too similar should be avoided. As should placing text over a background image.

It is also important to ensure that the right amount of text is used on a slide. Many people feel the need to write paragraphs of text; this is very poor practice. As a rule-of-thumb there should be no more than a handful of bullet points on each slide, perhaps 4-5.