Is That Really A Color?
I said it as if it were a completely natural thing to say. There was no hesitation; it came out as naturally as reciting the alphabet or one's ATM pin.
"My favorite color is gray."
My head turned from left to right as I began to read the room. On a few faces I found signs of bewilderment, on others, doubt. There were those awkward few seconds left dangling in the the room...to give me a chance to formulate my explanation, and to let my statement ruminate. It worked. I watched the eyebrows lift and the smiles begin to appear as the fullness of what I had just said began to sink in. A couple of people gathered around the table even gave the impression that they could relate to my statement.
When I first began working in television, I was an easy target for the consultants. I likely still am, but in the beginning, before I began refining my TV news look, I made their work tremendously easy. Being a few pounds overweight, the comments came as naturally to the consultants as me making the statement about gray.
"Grow your hair longer, and only wear dark suits."
Those of you who are large boned like myself understand completely. Longer hair makes the face look less chubby, and darker colors are very flattering to a larger person. I didn't mind; I wanted to look good on TV. I was out to make Jim Tellus happy he decided to even give me a chance in front of the camera. Thank you, Jim, for this gift. I will never forget you.
So there I was in Macy's buying my new suits. I selected black, navy blue, and a dark charcoal. They had brown, but it wasn't dark enough. The consultants had created my look: Dark suit, plain white shirt, and a solid, brightly colored tie. That was to be how I would be presented to those of you glued to your small screens. funny thing about that, I really liked the look as well, and to this day when I'm in front of the camera, my attire is much the same.
The suit i gravitated to most was the gray two-button. Sorry, but I looked good in it, and could rock almost any color tie. This suit fit me the best, and as I lost a little weight, was taken-in to show off my success. I looked the best in this one, so it was my "go-to," if you will.
Things changed. I bought new black, brown, and blue suits that fit better and frankly were a higher quality. All of them fit well, and the consultants quickly ran out of helpful suggestions. Just Kidding. If you've ever worked in front of a camera with consultants, you know that you can do everything they ask, and they still have a knack for finding something to "fix." I say this with all the respect in my being, and yet must admit I'm smirking a little.
I had the newer suits, but I naturally gravitated back to my old friend. I began thinking about why this was happening, worried that my News Director was going to say "Stop wearing that gray suit!" She never did, and finally the day came when I realized there was something more.
Gray had become my favorite color.
First, it was flattering. I look pretty good in gray and black. But there was something else about gray. It was beginning to dawn on me that the color was more than a color; It was a way of looking at the world.
Imagine a world without extremes. If you embrace the extreme you could be more comfortable, but you also tend to be in the minority. What if instead of looking at things as "black and white," we began the conversation somewhere in the middle? Gray isn't just a favorite color for me. Gray is where I challenge myself to begin each conversation, each debate, and each day. Not the gloomy type of gray. No, no, I like to think of it as the "If we start here things can only be more enlightening" type of gray.
I didn't get the job I was interviewing for when I made the statement at the beginning of this post. But I'd like to think I still had a positive impact on everyone in that room with my explanation of why gray is my favorite color.
Embrace the gray with me?
"My favorite color is gray."
My head turned from left to right as I began to read the room. On a few faces I found signs of bewilderment, on others, doubt. There were those awkward few seconds left dangling in the the room...to give me a chance to formulate my explanation, and to let my statement ruminate. It worked. I watched the eyebrows lift and the smiles begin to appear as the fullness of what I had just said began to sink in. A couple of people gathered around the table even gave the impression that they could relate to my statement.
When I first began working in television, I was an easy target for the consultants. I likely still am, but in the beginning, before I began refining my TV news look, I made their work tremendously easy. Being a few pounds overweight, the comments came as naturally to the consultants as me making the statement about gray.
"Grow your hair longer, and only wear dark suits."
Those of you who are large boned like myself understand completely. Longer hair makes the face look less chubby, and darker colors are very flattering to a larger person. I didn't mind; I wanted to look good on TV. I was out to make Jim Tellus happy he decided to even give me a chance in front of the camera. Thank you, Jim, for this gift. I will never forget you.
So there I was in Macy's buying my new suits. I selected black, navy blue, and a dark charcoal. They had brown, but it wasn't dark enough. The consultants had created my look: Dark suit, plain white shirt, and a solid, brightly colored tie. That was to be how I would be presented to those of you glued to your small screens. funny thing about that, I really liked the look as well, and to this day when I'm in front of the camera, my attire is much the same.
The suit i gravitated to most was the gray two-button. Sorry, but I looked good in it, and could rock almost any color tie. This suit fit me the best, and as I lost a little weight, was taken-in to show off my success. I looked the best in this one, so it was my "go-to," if you will.
Things changed. I bought new black, brown, and blue suits that fit better and frankly were a higher quality. All of them fit well, and the consultants quickly ran out of helpful suggestions. Just Kidding. If you've ever worked in front of a camera with consultants, you know that you can do everything they ask, and they still have a knack for finding something to "fix." I say this with all the respect in my being, and yet must admit I'm smirking a little.
I had the newer suits, but I naturally gravitated back to my old friend. I began thinking about why this was happening, worried that my News Director was going to say "Stop wearing that gray suit!" She never did, and finally the day came when I realized there was something more.
Gray had become my favorite color.
First, it was flattering. I look pretty good in gray and black. But there was something else about gray. It was beginning to dawn on me that the color was more than a color; It was a way of looking at the world.
Imagine a world without extremes. If you embrace the extreme you could be more comfortable, but you also tend to be in the minority. What if instead of looking at things as "black and white," we began the conversation somewhere in the middle? Gray isn't just a favorite color for me. Gray is where I challenge myself to begin each conversation, each debate, and each day. Not the gloomy type of gray. No, no, I like to think of it as the "If we start here things can only be more enlightening" type of gray.
I didn't get the job I was interviewing for when I made the statement at the beginning of this post. But I'd like to think I still had a positive impact on everyone in that room with my explanation of why gray is my favorite color.
Embrace the gray with me?
Posted by Brian Calvert at Thursday, September 08. 2011 
Categories: PR, Radio, TV, Communications, Journalism, Social Media
Categories: PR, Radio, TV, Communications, Journalism, Social Media
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