In America, green is associated with jealousy or money. Here are some color references for America.

Red......excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed, danger. Blue.....(most popular) trust, reliability, belonging, coolness. Yellow...warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness Orange...playfulness, warmth, vibrant Green....nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance Purple...royal, spirituality, dignity Pink.....soft, sweet, nurture, security White....pure, virginal, clean, youthful, mild. Black....sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery, sexual Gold.....prestige, expensive, elite Silver...prestige, cold, scientific

This also means that color affect shopping habits. Red- orange, black and royal blue attracts impulse buyers. Pink, teal, light blue and navy attract smart budget Shopper. Pink, rose and sky blue attract conformists.

A great exercise to experience this -- visit large company web sites that have spent funds on this type of research.

Try McDonalds (http://www.mcdonalds.com -- bright red) or Wendy's (http://www.wendys.com -- brownish red). Jaguar (http://www.jaguar.com -- black for sophistication, green cool, and silver for prestige). It matches perfectly with their market -- high income-ers with a view on sophisticated.

If you are a service professional, how might you put colors to use for you?

First, make sure you have right target market. Young children materials contain large amounts of bright primary colors. These colors will attract child yet parents or grandparents open wallet. This means that for children you would use primary colors and for marketing material being read by grand/parents you would use reds, blues, pinks and yellows for trust, reliability, security, and playful.

If you a web site and you choose colors because they are your favorite, then you choose it could have chosen it for wrong target market -- unless, of course, you are only one or people just like you are only ones you want buying. Pick your colors for your market. This is anything you want to attract in America.

5. The “Me” Paradigm. Presenters often scan a table or graphic directly from their existing print corporate material and include it in their slide show presentations. The results are almost always sub-optimal. Print visuals are usually meant to be seen from 8-12 inches rather than viewed from several feet. Typically, they are too small, too detailed and too textual for an effective visual presentation. The same is true for font size; 12 point font is adequate when text is in front of you. In a slideshow, aim for a minimum of 40 point font. Remember audience and move circle from “me” to “we.” Make certain all elements of any particular slide are large enough to be easily seen. Size really does matter.

6. Reading. An oral presentation should focus on interactive speaking and listening, not reading by speaker or audience. The demands of spoken and written language differ significantly. Spoken language is shorter, less formal and more direct. Reading text ruins a presentation. A related point has to do with handouts for audience. One of your goals as a presenter is to capture and hold audience’s attention. If you distribute materials before your presentation, your audience will be reading handouts rather than listening to you. Often, parts of an effective presentation depend on creating suspense to engage audience. If audience can read everything you’re going to say, that element is lost.

7. Faith in Technology. You never know when an equipment malfunction or incompatible interfaces will force you to give your presentation on another computer. Be prepared by having a back-up of your presentation on a CD-ROM. Better yet is a compact-flash memory card with an adapter for PCMCIA slot in your notebook. With it, you can still make last-minute changes. It’s also a good idea to prepare a few color transparencies of your key slides. In worst-case scenario, none of technology works and you have no visuals to present. You should still be able to give an excellent presentation if you focus on message. Always familiarize yourself with presentation, practice it and be ready to engage audience regardless of technology that is available. It’s almost a lost art.