Astute business people have always sought to make their documents more
visually appealing. Up until the late 1800s, they employed people who excelled in
penmanship to convey their messages.
In the early 1900s the manual typewriter came into general use, and
progressive companies immediately adopted it to improve the quality of their documents.
Other companies eventually followed suit.
Best way to upgrade appearance
After the second World War electric and later electronic typewriters with
single strike ribbons were hailed as the best way to upgrade appearance. In the late 70s
the dot matrix printer took over but was quickly replaced, in the 80s, by the laser
printer, which made a business' correspondence look even more professional.
What's next in the evolution to upgrade the appearance of our
communications? This decade's improvement centers around colour printers. They are
becoming more and more affordable, faster and capable.
Colour ensures your document will be read
No one can dispute the fact that a report highlighted with colour looks
better than one that's just black and white. Colour ensures your document will be
read. And, if you are delivering complex information, colour can organize a page
or a section and draw a reader's interest to critical details.
Likewise, if you give a presentation assisted by colour transparencies or
slides your audience will be more attentive, and they will better understand and remember
your data.
Why is this? Well, according to research:
people are twice as likely to read colour materials as
they are black and white ones, and
speakers who use colour overheads are perceived as better
prepared, more enthusiastic and more professional.
One more plus, studies show that audiences are more likely to be swayed by
a presenter who uses colour overheads.
Coloured presentation visuals make meetings more productive
Another proven fact-coloured presentation visuals make meetings more
productive. Apparently, the visuals focus people's attention and help them grasp ideas and
concepts more quickly so they can reach consensus and a decision faster.
Like anything, though, you can go overboard with colour and irritate your
audiences. Here are a few simple rules to help you make the best use of your colour
printer.
Use colour on only 25 percent or less of your page-any more and you'll
lose the impact.
Place colour on the headings, rule markings, logos and chart labels. Keep
the body of the text black.
Make headings all one colour
Be consistent. Make headings all one colour. You could choose a second
colour for sub-heads, but don't mix and match.
Remember that large areas of really bright colours can be overpowering,
while small areas of light colours can be overlooked.
Be careful with your colour choices. Yellow and red are creative,
energizing colours but don't use red for figures-it has a negative connotation. Be
careful using red and green together. Colour-blind people see both as muddy
brown. If you want to put people at ease, use darker more subdued colours.
Don't print photos, especially of people, in one colour. Either go to the
expense of full colour or leave them black and white. Some browns might work if you want
an old-time sepia effect, but blue people look cold, green people sickly, and purple
people weird.
If you are working with slides and want to use a dark background, use
light-coloured text such as white or yellow. Light blue is hard to read.
To sum up, colour enhances your professional image and increases the
chances of your ideas being read, understood and acted upon. And that's good news for you
and for your company's bottom line. Colour is the new frontier in the communications
evolution. Embrace colour to highlight your company's future.
©2002, Jane Watson is dedicated to advancing business communications.
She is a consultant, author, keynoter and trainer and can be reached at
jane@jwatsonassociates.com or (905) 820-9909. |
