Public Speaking

176 CHAPTER 13^ Presentation Aids

2. Repetition:^29 Select a theme and use the same elements (fonts, colors, and so on)
   throughout your visuals. Use one font for all your titles. Do likewise for the
   subtitle and text fonts. And limit yourself to a couple of complementary fonts such
   as Candara and Candara bold.^30


3. Contrast: Add visual interest by adding color or formatting for contrast. For
   instance, centering the title, underlining the subtitle, and bulleting the points can
   help your audience better see the relationships among ideas. Using boldfaced
   formatting makes letters show up better on slides. And attributes such as italicizing
   can highlight and emphasize specific ideas, but use these features sparingly, or the
   impact will be lost.


4. Spacing: Balance your material across the entire visual, but leave plenty of negative
   (unfilled) space. Many designers recommend the “rule of thirds.” Divide your
   visual into thirds horizontally and then vertically. You’ll end up with nine areas of
   the same size. Place important elements along the lines or on the places where they
   intersect. For additional information and many excellent examples, do an Internet
   search for “rule of thirds PowerPoint.”

Choose a Readable Font

Whether you create your visuals on poster board or use a computer program, readability

should be your primary concern, so choose a font your audience can read easily. Here

are some ideas to help you choose among the hundreds of available fonts:

1. Use title case (Capitalize the First Letter of Major Words) or sentence case
   (Capitalize only the words you’d capitalize in a sentence), and avoid all capital
   letters.


2. One type of font is not necessarily better than another, but research shows that
   readers prefer serif fonts (with cross lines at the top and bottom of letters) for
   handouts^31 and that sans serif fonts (with no cross lines) work well on slides.


3. It goes without saying that letters should be large enough to be visible and that
   titles and first-level material should be larger than second-level material.
   For more information, search the Internet for “personality of fonts.” For example,
   fonts are seen as stable (Arial), polite (Cambria), rigid (impact), and so on.^32 A British
   psychologist called the font Georgia “individual, sophisticated, with a curviness that
   suggests a little bit of rocker chick.”^33 Fonts with rounded O’s and tails are “friendly”
   but more angular fonts are “cold.” Cities, celebrities, and politicians select fonts. For
   instance, both the city of Seattle and President Obama chose Gotham as their signature
   font.^34
   Evaluate the effectiveness of each of these student-designed slides. Figure 13.4 is for
   a speech on the history of art therapy, Figure 13.5 is on traditional Chinese weddings,
   and Figure 13.6 is on nuclear fusion. What suggestions, if any, would you give each
   student?

Use Color for Emphasis

Color adds interest and emphasis and attracts and holds attention. However, carefully

plan your color scheme because colors have cultural connotations. For example: red can

be a good emphasis color, but it is “culturally loaded.” In the United States it symbol-

izes anger (“seeing red”) or danger (being “in the red”); in China, it symbolizes luck and

celebration; in India, it is associated with purity. Red is the most common color found

on national flags. Blue may be the “safest” global color. In the United States, it symbol-

izes stability (“true blue”). In China, it connotes immortality; the Jewish faith associates

it with holiness.^35

serif fonts a font with cross
lines at the top and bottom
of letters

sans serif fonts a simple
font with no cross lines on
each letter

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