How to present in English

Here’s a favourite subject of mine. Fonts – I love them. I love the way you can use different fonts to show differing levels of formality.

If you read many of the books out there, there are often lists of fonts and when and how to use them. I personally use different fonts depending on the mood I am in. I have my email font set to lucida Grande. My main word processing font is this one (Helvetica) and my favourite presentation font depends on the type of presentation I am delivering. If my presentation is using a lot of ‘impact’ words then I am likely to use the impact font. If my presentation is more low key then I would more likely use Helvetica.

The problem with most presentational software is that they are set up to give you a default font. These fonts are likely to be either Times New Roman or Arial. Don’t use these fonts!

If there was one piece of advice I can give you that would make the biggest visual change to your standard presentation it would be change your font. Moving away from the standard fonts and using fonts that you like, can really make your presentation look completely different and also gives your audience something different to look at.

Below is a list of my favourite fonts and when I use them.

So before you make your next slideshow, take some time out to look through your font library and play with different designs. If can make a real difference to your presentation.

One word of advice when using different fonts. Try not to use too many different fonts in one presentation. Too many fonts, like too many colours can destroy the aesthetic of your presentation. So stick to one font for your headlines and one font for any text you are writing. This helps to maintain your theme and balances your presentation.

For a great place to get free fonts go to www.1001freefonts.com