Over the last six decades, the world of advertising, indeed business in general, has undergone an astonishing change. Gone are the days when billboards, television, etc. were the only ways to connect with your audience.
The 21st-century businesspersons have tremendous skills based on decades of management research. They have access to a kaleidoscope of tools, which help them create high-quality business presentations. The rise of big data means that you can now add compelling pieces of information to make your points.
The widespread availability of excellent online tools such as InVideo helps you craft vivid visuals based on the nature of your audience. However, the old-school values of a strong story, a connected narrative, and attention to detail remain crucial.
It’s All About The Details
According to the State of Attention 2018 report by Kelton Global, 9 out of 10 individuals surveyed picked a strong narrative as being vital for maintaining engagement of the audience.
You can have an intriguing story to tell, but small errors often combine to create a big impression. You can have the most visual of presentations, and you can create an amazing promo using a plethora of tools such as a free online promo video maker.
But the little details such as font and spelling mistakes can negate the positive effect of your great narrative and appealing visuals. This short article will help you understand eight rookie font mistakes that can hurt your presentation.
1. Decorative Fonts
You may have first made this mistake while creating your first presentation in school or college. Most likely, you would have chosen the showiest and decorative fonts like Caveat or Pinyon Script.
Unfortunately, this is a rookie font mistake that can crop up sometimes even while you are creating a business presentation.
It is okay to use a decorative font if such usage matches your objective. For example, Pinyon Script is considered a font of a romantic nature. It would be great if you are creating a card or letter for a loved one, but it’s best kept away from a business presentation.
2. Capitalization And Fonts
If you have ever spoken to a top-level consultant, they are almost obsessed with consistency in terms of capitalization and choosing the right fonts for titles and subtitles.
Now, you do not have a globally recognized standard of capitalization rules and font choice in business presentations. Nevertheless, there are a few common errors to avoid.
Firstly, you should be consistent with your capitalizations throughout the presentation. If you’re capitalizing the first letter of every word in headings, then follow the same norm for every heading.
Secondly, headings usually grab the attention of the audience. Therefore, they must be in a font that is simple and easy to read.
3. More Than Two Fonts
Using two fonts can be great, but using more than two is trouble. It is a classic rookie font mistake. You can add great infographics, have a compelling story to tell, and present it with passion.
However, if there are too many different fonts flying around your presentation, then they can potentially create a negative impression.
If you can consistently use only a couple of fonts, you will often end up with a clean business presentation.
4. Font Color Contrast With Backgrounds
Imagine that you have worked for days on your presentation. You are finally ready to deliver, but when you are presenting, people are unable to see the font on the projector! Such a scenario often happens when you do not take care of font colors.
Font colors should always contrast with backgrounds. Using a dark font color with even a moderately dark background can lead to a poor experience in a business presentation.
A decent way to check the contrast is to do your rehearsal with a projector, or take a black and white print out of your slide and see if the font is readable.
5. Narrow Or Complicated Fonts
Decorative fonts are on one part of the spectrum of rookie font mistakes. The other end of the spectrum is narrow or complicated fonts, which may seem cool to you, but no one else can understand them.
Because you look at your presentation multiple times, it is easy not to empathize and forget that your audience will most likely be seeing your presentation ones.
Sometimes, it is one shot and one opportunity that you may have. You want your audience to listen to the core points that you are making rather than being engaged in deciphering your fonts.
6. Not Researching The Psychology Of Fonts
Yes, fonts do have psychology behind them. Inconsolata brings extravagance, Calibri is an understated font with a focus on readability, Karla is all about flair.
Similarly, you can check out the significant body of research available on the effect on audiences of using different types of fonts. So, make use of the psychology of fonts to be able to utilize the right one based on your business objective.
7. Consistency With Other Marketing Collateral
Your website content is in Calibri and Cambria, your business presentation is in Times New Roman, and your brochure uses Helvetica. Such a scenario is common, but it is one of the biggest rookie blunders that you can make.
Make sure that the fonts are consistent across all collateral, whether it is your business presentation, or your website, or your offline marketing material.
8. Overusing Bold, Italics, And Underline
Bold, italics, and underline bring about attention to key points that you may want to highlight. But if you overuse them, you may end up reducing the readability of your text, while also making your presentation less clean. Use them with caution, only when you have a specific reason to do so.
Closing Thoughts
If you are a young person starting a career in marketing or an amateur YouTuber using a tool like a youtube video editor free to create your business content, the above font tips will help you create top-quality and professional-looking business presentations.
Ultimately, a high-quality business presentation is a culmination of getting several things right. It can often take years to hone excellent presentation making skills. But, avoiding rookie mistakes with aspects such as fonts can be one of the initial steps to become a dextrous professional.