Much like painting, there is a great debate going on in presentation slide design.
What is the best color? What is the fashionable color? What is going to get the fastest buy-in? Well.
If it were only that simple.
We could just publish color books like a fashion magazine announcing trends.
It would read like the popular magazines with 'what's in' and 'what's out.
' Yet, in spite of trends, there is a best color.
Read on to get the 'color' training for presentation skills.
Find out what the best color is...
and how it can help you get faster buy-in for your ideas, recommendations and sales proposals.
Color.
Can't live with all the wild colors in the book during business presentations.
That would create a feeling of a circus more than a serious event.
Can't live without it.
Although some have tried, the days of black and white monotone presentations are long gone.
The perfect color, the best color has a lot more to do with your audience than with your personal preferences.
Here's what it means for your choice in preparing your slide presentation.
If you are working in a particular industry, there is a dominant color.
If you are working in a unique organization, there are favored colors.
Usually this color is seen in the company logo.
If it's orange, notice it.
It it's blue, be alert.
Notice the exact shade and usage of the color.
Here's why.
Your audience is familiar with this color.
They feel a strong affinity with it.
It's no longer a neutral color.
This color sparks feelings of belonging, identity and purpose.
This color is loaded with meaning.
Check out the color of logos that you see often.
Think about logos.
Let's practice with 3 prominent ones that you are likely to be familiar with.
McDonald's.
Golden arches.
John Deere.
Green tractors.
Think about the Red Cross.
You got it.
Now think about your organization's logo.
What color that comes to mind? Color is a powerful conveyor of emotion.
The flag of your country has specific colors.
The colors of a sports team.
The colors of a business.
Each of these is significant and important.
When choosing the best color for rapid buy-in, start with your audience in mind.
Ask three questions to focus your choice.
1.
What are people familiar with? 2.
What will bring a feeling of comfort and ease? 3.
What will show that this presentation is custom-built? By asking these questions, you show care.
Your attention and care builds a solid foundation for success.
When you have answers to these questions...
then you know the truth about the best color.
The best color to choose for your slides is the one that puts your audience first.
Naturally, there is a lot more to cover about color than we can in this short article.
If using color wisely is important to you, you may enjoy our new online presentation skills training.
It is built to put you in charge of making the best decisions for creating high impact presentations.
Start using color with awareness.
You will add energy and vitality to your presentations.
And you'll show your audiences that you care passionately about their issues.
This is one of several ingredients for getting faster buy-in and rapid decision-making.