: Good typography for a speech manuscript Consider this use case: I have to give a speech, and I cannot give it extemporaneously (too long, too little time to prepare), so I have to use a manuscript.

@Rambettina927

It's all about improving your delivery.


Increasing your leading or line-height will help your eye track back to the next line.
Increasing the font size will help you see the text at arm's length.
Decreasing the kerning will make the text more legible at larger font sizes.
A serif font (like Times) is allegedly more legible in print, though this may or may not be the case. I have found this to be true, but this is subjective.

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@Ann6370331

If you're reading off paper, a serif typeface is preferable. This helps your eye move from one character into the next, especially when you have black text on a white background. For on-screen cases, it's the opposite, especially when reading white text on a black background. In those cases, use sans-serif.

Keep your paragraphs short, maybe even a single sentence, with generous spacing between lines. It should be formatted more like a movie script than a printed article. Any quotations or diagrams should have dramatically different formatting, to break up the text and help you instantly re-find your place when looking up to the audience or other visual aide on stage.

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@Smith574

Most politicians on camera are probably using teleprompters. Teleprompters don't use the more impressive typography. They are almost always white on black, with a big sans-serif font. Sometimes they are all caps-sometimes not. If the speech is printed, it was probably done by a speech writer or assistant, with little consideration given to typography at all (after all, no one but the speaker will even see it).

The correct answer is really going to be based on what you find easiest to read and follow. Since you are printing this on paper, consider:


Using a sans-serif font with a large X-height and open apertures. (Good old Helvetica/Arial meets these requirements, is familiar, and is not distracting)
Use a generous leading so you don't get lost when shifting to the next line
Create visual anchors for places you know you are going to start/stop. If you anticipate questions or are going to involve the audience at all, you want some way to quickly find your spot, such as using a bold face for the first few words.
Consider a blank space between paragraphs--when you finish talking about a general concept, that's a natural time to pause and gauge the audience. The extra space is ugly, but creates very clear blocks of text.
Practice! Listening to someone read off a piece of paper is just as boring for the audience as it is for you.

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