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Tips for Using the LCD Projector

Oftentimes presenters do not take advantage of the many subtle ways they can manipulate their electronic slides to more effectively persuade the audience.

Color Considerations
Color has a great effect on the audience during a presentation. When used correctly and legibly, studies show that background and foreground colors establish an emotional tone for a presentation, help viewers understand and retain information, and influence an audience to take a desired course of action.

Choose legible colors.
  • Text and graphics colors need sufficient contrast.
  • Use darker colors for the background since a lighter background can create uncomfortable glare. (Yellow on black creates an ideal contrast.)
  • Foreground colors create a major impact on how well an audience understands and remembers a message.
  • Use one or two bright colors for emphasis.
  • Highlight important messages.
  • The eye has a difficult time reading certain colored text on certain colored backgrounds. For example, text and background colors in red and green, and blue and black make for difficult viewing.
  • Colorblind individuals may find it difficult to distinguish between red and green, brown and green, and purple and blue. Avoid using these colors together.
Background colors can subconsciously affect the audience:
  • Red - increases viewers' pulse and breathing and encourages risk taking but can also be associated with financial loss.
  • Blue - has a calming and conservative affect on the audience but can also create boredom among corporate audiences that are often inundated with this background color.
  • Green - stimulates interaction.
  • Black - conveys finality and certainty. Use it as a transitional color between slides when moving from one idea to another.
Fonts
  • One of the most common mistakes in any type of presentation visual is the selection of type fonts that are too small, too thin, or too difficult to read.
  • Design your visuals so that they are visible by the viewer in the last row.
  • Mixed case text is easier to read than text which is displayed in capital letters.

Another important attribute of fonts is whether any particular face is serif or sans-serif.
  • Serifs are small, usually horizontal cross strokes that are added to the end of a letter's main strokes.
  • Fonts with serifs have the ability to coax the eye along the line of type, and are generally acknowledged to be more readable.