You’ve written an impactful report or delivered a convincing pitch. It’s thoroughly researched and presented with enthusiasm. Then someone points out the typo, or comments on the spacing. How petty! Yet, that is the issue with bad formatting; it distracts attention and prevents clients from focusing on your message.
Why do we notice bad formatting?
While it is frustrating that people spot the errors, it’s natural. Our brains are adept at finding patterns. When the pattern is consistent, we get into the flow. We listen or read without distraction, and we focus on the message. However, we are hard-wired to detect anything that doesn’t fit the pattern. That’s why bad formatting stands out and breaks our concentration.
This ability to notice the small element that doesn’t fit the pattern is an ancestral survival trait. Hunter-gatherers needed to be quick to spot a broken twig, a mark on a tree, or an unusual dent in the soil. These details provided information and alerted them to potential dangers. They needed to quickly identify a break in the pattern, and then work out what this oddity meant.
Few of us can spot these signals in the natural world. However, our brains still pick up things that are out of line. When we see issues, such as a font variation, missing letter or overlapping text, we pause to work it out. What’s happened here and what does that tell us? To our brains, this takes priority over the core message.
What is bad formatting?
So what counts as ‘bad formatting’?
- Bullet points where some have full stops, but others don’t – ‘some of us follow the rules, some just rebel’.
- Random spacing, especially a gap at the start of a paragraph – the mysterious indent nobody asked for.
- Mixed text alignment – where bits of your message have wandered off, with no relation to anything else on the page.
- Misaligned objects, shapes, images or icons – OK, why is that one all the way over there?
- A random double space between two words in a sentence – like the bear, why the big … paws’?
- Unintentional font changes – why did we switch from clean Calibri to traditional Times New Roman mid‑sentence?
- Colours that don’t match – when your brand palette is ‘close enough’ (green is green, right?).
- Stranded words or sentences – when one word or part of a paragraph is abandoned at the top or bottom of one page in your document.
- A wall of text, not broken into manageable paragraphs – get your climbing gear, folks.
- Overuse of bold/italics/underline – the formatting equivalent of shouting, whispering, and panicking all at once.
- Images stretched out of proportion – distorted logos and pictures where the people suffer dramatic weight loss or weight gain.
- Multiple styles in one document – e.g. headings that all look different, no consistency, just chaos.
What impact does bad formatting have?
When you have an informed, insightful, and inspiring message to deliver to clients, stakeholders, and employees, that’s what you want them to focus on. Your goal is to be regarded as a trusted authority who others want to align with. Therefore, your credibility mustn’t be undermined by bad formatting.
Whether they say so or not, people do notice inconsistencies and errors. These are as much of a distraction as a jarring background noise or a sudden, unexpected movement. It breaks the flow, and you lose their attention.
You might compare this to a delicious meal. It looks great, and you are keen to taste it. You start tucking in. Then you see a dark bit, which turns out to be a small fly. Your focus is diverted from the tasty recipe to a mental assessment. Is this food safe to eat? Suddenly, your desire for the meal is lost. It could be argued that in a lovingly prepared meal featuring fresh ingredients, this is a minor detail, but it puts the diner off.
In the same way, inconsistencies and errors create doubt, and this makes it harder to convince the reader to buy into your vision. What’s more, poor layout makes information difficult to read, and when it feels like hard work, people give up.
As a result, bad formatting can cost you clients, lead to unsuccessful pitches, or mean that team members don’t take on board the full scope of your messages.
Why is it hard to spot our mistakes?
If we are so good at spotting inconsistencies, why don’t we notice them when creating our documents and presentations?
Unfortunately, it’s harder to see errors in our own work, as we know our intention. We’re focused on the message and the overall meaning, so we read the content as correct. We have no trouble reading long sentences and overlook a missing word. For this reason, it is useful to have one or more ways to review important content before it’s finalised.
How to avoid bad formatting
What can you do to minimise the risk of distracting the reader? Here are three steps that can make a difference.
1. Read Aloud
Firstly, I recommend using available Word tools. These include ‘Headings’ to break up blocks of text, along with ‘Spelling & Grammar’ checks. I also rate the ‘Read Aloud’ option in the ‘Review’ tab, as hearing the content helps you to spot issues.
2. Independent checker
Secondly, get another opinion. Ask a document specialist, proofreader, or colleague to check the format and content of your pitch, presentation, or document. Who can you trust to give you honest feedback?
3. Preformatted document templates
Thirdly, ask me to create pre-formatted templates that ensure consistency. Tailored templates have a set layout, font style, and branding. When the formatting is preset, it saves you from starting from scratch each time. This standardises and simplifies reports, newsletters, presentations, and more, while reducing the chance of errors.
Make the right impression in business
When you need to convince others that your company is the one to invest in, work for, collaborate with, or buy from, formatting matters. It may seem petty to notice a minor detail, yet this is human nature.
Make the right impression by using my recommended three steps to check your work. Then, your message can be communicated without distraction.