How to go from Vanilla to Vivid in your next presentation

‘What are some clichés you’ve heard that we could do with a little LESS of?’ That was the question PSA President and all-around wonderful human Sally Foley-Lewis, CSP, asked in one of our recent WhatsApp presenter chats.

The group never had so much fun. I know, get a life. But remember we are all professional speakers, so words are our business. Here are a few phrases that got offered up for ceremonial removal:

Let’s unpack this…
Move the needle…
Be comfortable with being uncomfortable…

Clichés reduce a presentation to vanilla. The audience can mouth the words along with you, because they’ve heard them a thousand times before.

And now AI has added its own flavour to the mix. Suddenly everyone is delving. Delving into leadership, delving into strategy, delving into innovation. At this rate, someone is going to delve into a sandwich.

A vivid presentation isn’t built from bigger words. It’s built from specific ones. The phrase that came out of your own worst client call, your own weird brain. That’s the stuff nobody else can replicate.

So, the next time you feel the pull to unpack something, move a needle, or delve into absolutely anything, stop. Take a breath. Ask yourself what you’d actually say if nobody had ever taught you the ‘professional’ version.

Whatever that sentence turns out to be, that’s your vivid.