31. Shady Characters: The Wrong Way and the Right Way to Build Text

The default for building text in Microsoft PowerPoint—and the universal practice in presentations—is to dim the outbound bullet by turning it gray, making it almost disappear into the background, as if to say, “I’m done with that item.”

Small problem: You’re not quite done with it, for it is still partially visible to your audience, as in Figure 31.1.

Figure 31.1. Dimming an outbound bullet

If your audience wants to refer to one of the earlier bullets, they have to squint to see it. That’s a slight discomfort for your audience, but a discomfort nonetheless. If instead you changed the default so that you highlight the inbound bullet with a brighter shade and leave the outbound bullets in their original visible contrasting shades, your audience would easily be able to refer back to an earlier bullet and then return to the current bullet. See the difference in Figure 31.2.

Figure 31.2. Highlighting an outbound bullet

Get rid of those shady characters. Presentations are not ghost stories or film noir. Build your case with crystal clarity. Make it easy for your audiences, and they will make it easy for you; the alternative is not a pretty picture.