Motivation Exercise: The Power of Colours

Purpose

Colour can change the mood. In this exercise you will immerse the delegates in various colours and encourage them to see the effect of each colour on their mood. You can then discuss various uses of colours either in the environment or when used in products, advertisements or in other content.

You can also combine this exercise with other training activities, so that while delegates are going through a particular exercise, they are immersed in certain colours. You can then address various topics all in one exercise.

Objective

Observe your mood based on colour temperature.

What You Need

• A lighting gadget that allows you to produce various colours for this exercise. Many solutions exist and the choice largely depends on your budget.
• Use several colour lamps. Switch between them as you go through the exercise.
• Use a variable colour lamp which can change colour with buttons or a knob. Some sophisticated digital versions exist that you can also take advantage of.
• Create a number of slides that only show one particular colour. By navigating through the slides, you can create an effect that colour is changing. This is perhaps the cheapest solution if you are already planning to use a projector.
• Prepare a sequence of colours at random. Aim for basic colours such as red, blue, green and yellow first and then move to other variations.

Setup

• Dim the room lights as much as possible. The darker the room the better, so that you can emphasise the effect of a particular colour as you go through the exercise. If you are not using the projector, blank the screen (in MS Power Point press B).
• Immerse the delegates in the first colour.
• It is best if you fade from one colour to another so there is no abrupt change.
• Immerse them in each colour for about 30 seconds. If you are running this in a stress management course, you can extend the length and use it as a meditation time as well.
• Towards the end of the 30 second for each colour ask the delegates to state how they feel.
• Move on to the next colour and continue until your set of colours is completely covered.
• Aim for a 5 minute exercise.
• Bring back the room light to its normal state and then follow with a discussion.

Timing

Explaining the Exercise: 2 minutes

Activity: 5 minutes

Group Feedback: 5 minutes

Discussion

How did you feel about each colour? What did you think of the colours such as red, green or brown? These are the so called warm colours. What did you think of blue, green and purple? These are the so called cold colours. What did you feel most comfortable in? Which colour was your most favourite? Which colour did you not like? How can you apply what you learned here to colour choices at work?