What constitutes a good choice vs. a bad choice, when it comes to formatting slides? So many things! But for this blog post, let’s look at adding space between bulleted lines of text on a slide.

Let’s use the following two slides as an example. Both of these sample slides, Slide 1 and Slide 2, have 5 bullet points. Both have spacing between the bullets. But only one is built as a “good” slide (in our humble opinion)! 

Slide 1 – The Wrong Way: Extra Lines Between Bullets 

Our Slide 1 example has the most common formatting solution, which is also the “bad” formatting solution. An extra line has been added between each bullet. While this adds extra space visually, it introduces blank paragraphs and creates other formatting issues when the slide needs to be edited. 

Problems with this method (aka – why this is a bad choice): 

  • Inconsistent spacing if the font size or line height changes 
  • Screen readers or accessibility tools may misinterpret the content 
  • Extra lines count as content, which affects slide layouts and animations 
  • It is more difficult to manage or edit later 

Slide 2 – The Right Way: Paragraph Spacing

In our example on Slide 2, the professional formatting option is used to create added space between each bullet; paragraph spacing has been applied. Specifically: 

  • Paragraph spacing before each line of text is set to 18 pt (this can be increased or decreased for more or less space separating the bullets, designers’ choice!)
  • No manual line breaks are used 

Why this is the better method (aka – the “good” choice): 

  • Cleaner formatting behind the scenes
  • Consistent spacing, regardless of font or text size
  • Easier to edit, you’re not dealing with phantom blank lines
  • Better for accessibility
  • Simply, more professional formatting

TLC Creative’s Best Practice

When you need to visually group or separate bullet points: 

  • Use Paragraph Spacing “Before” or “After” in the Paragraph settings (we prefer setting “Before” spacing and leaving “After” at 0) 
  • Avoid manual spacing with extra lines (e.g. don’t hit that Enter key and quietly remove the bullet with a backspace, and please don’t do a Shift+Return for “soft returns”)—these shortcutscan cause long-term formatting frustrations
  • Bonus Tip: You can set paragraph spacing directly in your slide master for automatic, consistent formatting across slides

Conclusion

Adding space between bullets makes content more legible—but how you add that space matters. Using manual line breaks creates cluttered code under the surface. Using proper paragraph spacing gives you clean, consistent, and professional slides every time. 

Let your formatting work with you, not against you. 

-The TLC Creative Design Team