A text hierarchy is the visible order of importance on a slide: the title first, then headings, then body text, then small notes. You show that order through size, weight and colour, and you keep it the same on every slide. Readable hierarchy is a natural marking point in presentation tasks, so check the wording of your own brief.
This lesson follows building a consistent master, because the master is where the hierarchy is stored. Everything in the examples is invented practice material.
How do you build a hierarchy?
- Decide the levels. Most slides need three: title, main text, and a small source or caption line.
- Separate levels by more than a little. Titles at 36 points and body at 24 points are clearly different. Titles at 20 and body at 18 look like a mistake.
- Add weight or colour sparingly. Bold the title. Keep body text regular. Use one accent colour for a key word, not five.
- Check contrast. Dark text on a light plain background, or the reverse. Avoid text over a busy picture.
- Align consistently. Left-aligned text is easier to scan than centred paragraphs.
- Limit the lines. A few short bullet points per slide. Full sentences belong in the speaker notes.
These values are guidance for a readable result. The exact numbers matter less than the clear gap between levels.
Worked example
Invented slide for the Pantai Kerang Beach Clean-up Club: “Why we collect plastic bottles”.
Before: every line is 18 points, in three fonts. The title is the same size as the body. There are 9 lines of full sentences, on a yellow background with white text over part of it.
Step 1, levels: title (36 bold), three bullets (24 regular), caption (14 grey, “Source: club records, invented”).
Step 2, cut the words: “Plastic bottles are the most common item that we find and they take a very long time to break down” becomes “Bottles: most common item found”.
Step 3, one font family for headings and one for body, both set on the master.
Step 4, contrast: dark blue text on a plain white background.
After: a title, three short bullets and a small caption. The reader sees the main point in about two seconds.
The mistake to watch for
Mistaken approach: the text overflows the box, so the student lowers the size to 14 points and keeps all nine lines.
The text now fits but nobody beyond the front row can read it.
The correction is to cut the words, not the size. Ask “what is the one thing the audience must remember from this slide?” and keep only text that supports it. Move the rest into notes.
Check yourself
1. A slide has title 20 points and body 18 points. What is the main problem?
Show answer
The two levels are too close in size, so the title does not stand out. Increase the gap, for example title 36 and body 24, and set it on the master.
2. Name two ways to separate a heading from body text without adding a new font.
Show answer
Any two of: larger size, bold weight, a different colour, more space above it.
3. White text sits on a pale yellow background. What should you change?
Show answer
Raise the contrast: use dark text on the pale background, or darken the background so that white text stands out.
Where this leads next
When words stay crowded, a picture may carry the idea better, as in using a diagram instead of a dense paragraph. Return to the Presentations module for the whole route, and try the practice set when you are ready.
Choosing what to cut is a judgement skill, and it improves quickly with feedback. Our teachers can give that feedback in online one-to-one ICT tuition.