To Amp Up Your Presentations, Banish the Beige!

Eleni KelakosExciting Presentations, Presentation Skills, Professional Tips, Public Speaking, Strategic Tips

If you’ve ever participated in one of my presentation skills training classes, you’ve heard me say the following words: BAN WISHY-WASHY! I even reinforce this point with a sign slashed through with a big red line. When it comes to public speaking, nothing irritates me more than ho-hum, sorta-kinda-not-really-sure-what-I’ve-decided-to-do-or-say-here moments. Unfortunately, most of the presentations I see are full of wishy-washy, bland, or what I call “beige” moments.

What Exactly Do I Mean By Beige?

For those of you who don’t know what beige is, here’s a nifty definition from Merriam-Webster dictionary: “A variable color averaging light grayish-yellowish brown… a pale to grayish color.” Ugh. Or maybe more like “Meh!”

Beige is fine when it comes to sand on a beach, vanilla pudding, or vanilla ice cream (all of which I do love). Beige is fine for high-heeled pumps or the paint on your living room walls. Beige is even fine for pasta or maybe a wedding dress. But beige is not okay when it comes to speeches and presentations.

Because beige doesn’t read from the stage.

Why Beige Doesn’t Work

That’s what my master-level acting teachers explained to me. As did the best directors I ever worked with. And they didn’t just mean that beige clothing gets washed out by the stage lights. What they meant was that beige, wishy-washy choices in content or delivery confuse your audience and make them work too hard to understand what’s going on. Neither-here-nor-there choices often elicit no more than a shrug from your audience… a sort of “meh” reaction.

Beige, wishy-washy choices in content or delivery are boring—not just for your audience, but for you. And a bored presenter is a disengaged (and un-engaging) presenter. Beige, wishy-washy choices in content or delivery are, in my humble opinion, lazy choices. They broadcast the fact that you really haven’t made a choice and are just treading water.

So, What’s Better Than Beige?

Your audience deserves a speaker who is willing to plant a flag and claim the words they are saying and the choices they are making—stories, anecdotes, data, examples, language, pacing, intonation, body language—to make those choices as compelling and sticky as possible.

Contrast—in tone, pace, emotion, proximity to your audience—is far more interesting than beige. Taking your audience by surprise—by slipping in humor, a compelling visual, an evocative pause, an interactive exercise, a meaningful personal story, a poem—is far more engaging than being wishy-washy.

Banish Beige When You Start…

Wishy-washy often happens at the opening and closing of presentations, at transitions from one slide or point to another, and when you make a point you’re not sure of or haven’t rehearsed enough.

As I like to say, “Start and end your presentations with a bang!” Don’t open in a wishy-washy way by saying something trite and yawn-producing like this: “Hello, everyone. My name is Sally Smithereenhopper and, as you can see from the title on the screen behind me, I’m going to be delivering a presentation called The Wonderful World of Widgets.”

Instead, try stepping directly into a compelling story: “It’s the middle of February, 2009. And I’m standing in three feet of snow, in a howling, blinding blizzard, with absolutely no idea where on earth I’ve parked my car…” Or try opening by asking a startling question: “How many people here would rather leap into a tub of live rats than speak in public?” Or make a bold statement that’s relevant to your topic and gets people’s attention: “80 percent of the population feels totally ambivalent about giving presentations! 80 percent!!!! That’s a lot of ‘Meh’ people!”

Banish Beige When You Close

And when you close your presentation, avoid beige, wishy-washy endings like “Uh, I guess that’s it. Anybody have any questions?” Beige endings leave your audience wondering, Is she done? Is it over? What do I do now? Help the audience know you’re finished by speaking your final words in a declarative manner (with your voice going down at the end of the sentence), and perhaps having that sentence be a strong call to action: “I challenge you to apply one technique I’ve taught you today in the very next presentation you give. And let me know how it goes! Thank you!”

The more willing you are to ban wishy-washy and to risk making bold, brave choices (and sticking to them), the less beige you will be—and the more your audience will engage with and benefit from your wisdom, your knowledge, and your know-how. Which really matters if you want to use your words to change your world.

Need some help banishing the beige from your presentations? Let’s talk!

Eleni Kelakos, CSP The Speaker Whisperer®