Why the Right Color Can Make or Break Your Presentation

Slide colors are important because color affects our mood, which in turn can affect whether or not your audience will agree with you. I was reminded of this important point when I stumbled across this image of the funeral procession of North Korea’s fallen dictator, Kim Jong-Il.

The image on the left was shot by Kyodo News of Japan. The one on the right, doctored in Photoshop to remove the stray crowd in the lower left (and to brighten the snow?), was released by the North Korean Central News Agency.

Look at the image on the left. How does it make you feel? Now look at the image on the right. Do you feel any different?

I can instantly feel more energy, optimism and joy looking at the image on the right. Don’t take your PowerPoint slide color choices lightly. You may want to pick up one of these fine books for advice on selecting slide colors: Speaking PowerPoint (my book), The Non-Designer’s Design Book (Robin Williams), Slide:ology (Nancy Duarte), Presentation Zen (Garr Reynolds).

About the author: Bruce Gabrielle is author of Speaking PowerPoint: the New Language of Business, showing a 12-step method for creating clearer and more persuasive PowerPoint slides for boardroom presentations. Subscribe to this blog or join my LinkedIn group to get new posts sent to your inbox.