How can you choose the right font size for your corporate presentations?

Try the "The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint" by Guy Kawasaki (former Apple Evangelist). He writes: "a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points." He explains that most decks use 10 pt font because presenters don't know their content well enough and need to "read it," and because they think it will be more credible if there's a lot of text on a slide. I agree with his reaction: "Total bozosity!" :-)

In terms of slide content, less is always more. Visuals are more effective at communicating your message and keeping the attention of your audience.

Go to the room or venue before the event and test the presentation. Stand at the back of the room and see if you can read the font yourself. This is especially important with a multigenerational workforce. Also, I've learned that what may be aesthetically pleasing isn't always suitable for your audience. While I thought a medium gray tone looked appealing on a white background, I later received feedback it was tough for the audience to read.

Programs like Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Apple Keynote offer templates with pre-set font sizes that are generally considered readable. These can be good starting points. In addition, the ADA Signage Font Size Calculator or general readability calculators can be helpful to calculate the optimal font size based on the dimensions of the presentation screen and the furthest viewer distance.

Brand guidelines exist so you don’t even have to ask this question. Spend the time to create concrete guidelines to inform everything your team creates and keep your brand consistent across all mediums. It’s also good practice in these guidelines to have two typography options - recommended and alternative. Sometimes a certain font doesn’t look as good in a particular medium or a certain program doesn’t have the font you selected. Once these guidelines are created, not only will you have a concrete brand essence, you can save all kinds of time, energy, and effort for your team wondering things like which fonts to use!

If you don't have any Brand guidelines, consider this: The right font size for corporate presentations hinges on audience engagement and content clarity. Start by considering the room and screen size: larger venues necessitate bigger fonts. Aim for a size that's easily readable from the back of the room, typically between 24-34 points. Factor in the font style; some fonts require larger sizes for legibility. Remember, your goal is to communicate effectively, not to squeeze in as much information as possible. Test readability before finalizing to ensure your message is clear and impactful.

Bold san serif fonts and fat serif fonts with chunky, easily discernible serifs are more legible than delicate fonts and "travel" further visually.