PowerPoint Guidelines

GCTV PowerPoint Guidelines for Television Presentations

All PowerPoint presentations for Commission Work Sessions or Meetings must be delivered to the GAC by 3 pm the day of the presentation.

PowerPoint presentations made during Commission work sessions and meetings will be broadcast live on television. Computer monitors have a much higher resolution than most television monitors, so presentations created using a computer monitor that will eventually be viewed on TV need special consideration.

The following guidelines should be adhered to as closely as possible.

Fonts

• The preferred minimum font size is 24 point.
• Thin serif fonts such as Times New Roman do not work well on TV
• Fonts that do work well include: Arial, Lucida Sans, MS Sans Serif, Palatine and Tahoma.
• Using bold fonts generally increases readability.
• Using all caps increases readability.

Backgrounds

• Dark blue backgrounds with white or pale yellow text work best.
• Neutral backgrounds with black text also work well.
• Simple backgrounds are best. (Most existing PowerPoint background templates do not work well on TV.)
• If a watermark graphic is used, it should be transparent or embossed in a solid background so that it does not interfere with the text.

Text

• Avoid too much text. (Headlines with bullets work best.)
• Set line spacing to 11/2 or 150% of font size.
• Avoid underlining. (Horizontal lines will vibrate on a TV screen.)

Safe-Title Area

• All text should be inset 1 inch from all edges of the screen.

Artwork, Photos & Clipart

• Ensure that you have the proper permission to use any clipart, photo, cartoon, and any film/video footage.
• Just because you find it on the internet, doesn't mean that you have permission to use it in a presentation.
• For more information call or email the Government Access Channel staff or visit the U.S. Copyright Office website.

Audio & Video

• Please contact the Government Access Channel staff if you plan to use audio and video clips in your PowerPoint presentation. Some audio and video generated from a computer is not compatible with television output.
• To make arrangements to use a PowerPoint presentation during a Commission meeting, please contact the Government Access Channel at 704-869-7317 or by email.