Ah yes, the font…

Never has something so small created such grand disasters for so many. It may seem trivial, but when it comes to incorporating text into your slides font is everything. The size and style of the lettering you choose for your presentation can make your presentation take wing or make it crash and burn.

There is a reason why we’re not all graphic designers. Choosing great fonts can be question of taste, but there are a lot of basics that anyone can – and should – learn before deciding to fill slides with loads of words that no one can read.

Here are 5 font tips you definitely need to refer to before your next presentation:

Stand Out
It may seem obvious, but the most common mistake people make when choosing fonts is picking a style or color that blends into the background of their slides. Don’t do this! Your fonts need to standout from the body of your slides.

Don’t Get Fancy
Although I would love to see someone use some insanely baroque font and really make it work, most of us should stick to the basics when it comes to font styles. Keep it simple!

Same Same Same
Don’t mix up a number of font styles. I understand the need for more than one, but if you find yourself using three or more, you may be flirting with a readability disaster.

To Serif or Not to Serif
A serif is the little tail that appears on various letters in different font styles. When you are using a lot of text, serifs make for easy reading. That’s why most magazines and papers use them. However, lots of text is a fundamental no-no for PowerPoint presentations and I recommend sticking with basic “sans serif” fonts.

For example:

Times New Roman is a font with serifs.

Arial is a font without (sans) serifs.

Don’t Capitalize on Your Message

We’ve all seen slides where a presenter has insisted on CAPITALIZING EVERY WORD IN THEIR MESSAGE.

Isn’t that annoying?

When a presenter capitalizes unnecessarily it is as troublesome as mixing up too many font styles. The text becomes difficult to read and we quickly begin to lose track of - and interest in – the offending PowerPoint presentation. If you need to draw attention to a statement or a headline consider using bold text or even italics, but don’t overdo those either.

When it comes to fonts, less is more. Don’t agonize. Make it big and make it readable. Remember, this is a presentation, not a book!

About the Author: Scott Schwertly is an epic storyteller.  Today, he owns and operates Ethos3 Communications, a Nashville, TN-based presentation boutique providing professional presentation design and training for national and international clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to branded individuals like Guy Kawasaki.

He may live in Nashville, TN with his wife and three dogs, but he calls San Diego home – the place of his beloved San Diego Chargers.  Scott has a B.A. and M.B.A. from Harding University.

As you know, SlideShare is one of the best ways for you to get the most out of your presentations. With SlideShare you can make connections, increase the reach of your presentations, view presentations you didn’t have the opportunity to attend, and market your work on the Internet utilizing inventive, interactive solutions.

Discover all the ways in which you can utilize it to market your previous projects, or to promote your current work.

There are a number of ways to use these tools, but there’s no need to reinvent the wheel, learning by trial and error! Here are 10 great ways to make SlideShare work for you.

Start here, and then let your imagination run wild!

1. Get Down and Up Load
SlideShare can be used with a number of different file types. Not only can you upload your PowerPoint presentations to SlideShare, it can also interact with files from OpenOffice, Adobe .pdf files and more!

2. Share and Share Alike
SlideShare will allow you to share your work with millions of clients and colleagues across the Internet. It can also be a powerful, private distribution tool, allowing you to share presentations discreetly on intranets and networks as well as on private sites.

3. All Access Pass
SlideShare makes organizing easy. Use it to download, flag, search and categorize your own work and 1000’s of other online presentations.

4. SlideCAST
By combining SlideShare’s tools with your podcasts you can increase the reach of your audio content and better target your listening audience.

5. Sound Off
Add audio to your slides to create webinars, slide cartoons – even music video style presentations!

6. Meet and Greet
The social applications of SlideShare allow you to make new friends with similar interests as well as new professional contacts.

7. Join the Movement
On SlideShare, you can join groups and establish yourself as an expert in your field, or curate collections of presentations and start a group of your own!

8. Catch Up
In addition to using SlideShare to promote your own work, it can also be a great portal for discovering and viewing countless presentations by some of the best minds in your field.

9. Get Connected
Customize your SlideShare widgets and add them to emails, social sites, and blogs where you can drive traffic to your presentations.

10. Develop
SlideShare allows programmers and developers to customize applications and create presentation mashups!

About the Author: Scott Schwertly is an epic storyteller.  Today, he owns and operates Ethos3 Communications, a Nashville, TN-based presentation boutique providing professional presentation design and training for national and international clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to branded individuals like Guy Kawasaki.

He may live in Nashville, TN with his wife and three dogs, but he calls San Diego home – the place of his beloved San Diego Chargers.  Scott has a B.A. and M.B.A. from Harding University.

Every time we turn on the news lately, it seems we are confronted by one tremendous challenge after another: health care reform, finance regulations, real estate reform. Somewhere in the middle of all this noise, issues regarding the environment are still fighting for our attention and making a case that the circumstances involving the air we breathe and the water we drink should be our top priorities.

Although so-called “green” issues have taken a backseat to economic woes lately, the two really go hand-in-hand. After all, aren’t we all more frugal in our homes and at work than we may have been only a year ago. Ultimately, this is probably a good thing, but it can pose challenges at your next presentation.

When it comes to keeping your presentation green, you have two things to gain: First of all, you are doing the right thing and being a good steward of your world by not wasting energy and resources just because you’ve simply been too lazy to research alternatives. Secondly, you are racking up the cool points. Lets face it, green is in fashion and the presenter with the smallest carbon footprint will find that they are basking in a verdant glow of hip and happening at their next face-to-face. Plus, greening up your presentation doesn’t have to get too complicated. With just a few tweaks and a little common sense, your next presentation will be hugging trees!

Unplugged
This is one of the most obvious solutions for “greening” your next pitch. The fact is, many of us already rely too much on our PowerPoint and not enough on engaging our audience. By limiting the amount of time you devote to your computer and projector you will save energy and preserve your batteries, bulbs and gear. Chances are you’ll also put yourself in the position to become a much better, more personal presenter.

Employ Soy
One place that a green presentation can quickly get messy is with the creation of marketing collateral. Presentation folders, envelopes, propaganda of all kinds need to be printed and printing can be hazardous to the earth’s health. Luckily, many printers nowadays can offer environmentally-friendly soy-based inks. They look great and they give you bragging rights!

Less is More
If you have a lot of materials you’d like to leave your audience with, take the time to really seek out all the alternatives available to you. Nowadays most printers have a variety of styles and materials available that will allow you to create a complex, compelling presentation folder full of goodies without sacrificing style points or greenness.

Stick ‘em Up
One last tip for keeping your printing cheap and green: Consider using stickers instead of printing on folders and envelopes. Stickers can look really great and can allow you to recycle old collateral materials by relabeling instead of throwing them away and re-printing your next project.

Brag About It
While greening up your presentation may cost more in the short run, you can translate that cost into free promotion of your company as a cutting-edge, green firm. Make sure all of your materials are clearly labeled as recyclable and earth-friendly. By wearing your green proudly on your sleeve, you can generate the other kind of green by promoting your business as conscientious, progressive and ahead of the pack!

About the Author: Scott Schwertly is an epic storyteller.  Today, he owns and operates Ethos3 Communications, a Nashville, TN-based presentation boutique providing professional presentation design and training for national and international clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to branded individuals like Guy Kawasaki.

He may live in Nashville, TN with his wife and three dogs, but he calls San Diego home – the place of his beloved San Diego Chargers.  Scott has a B.A. and M.B.A. from Harding University.