Without even saying a word, you are transmitting a message… with your appearance. Your physical presence is the foundation upon which you build your credibility. Analyze and thoughtfully plan how you will present yourself. Is your style on purpose . . . your purpose? Is the message your appearance gives the message you want people to receive? Do you project an attitude of success?
While attending a professional women’s meeting recently with one of my executive friends, I observed the two women running the meeting had appearances that in no way indicated they were high-powered. They both wore pink jersey knit tops and neither of them wore jackets. Their bras were obviously not the correct undergarments to wear underneath such thin, knit jersey tops, because their breasts were not properly supported. Both women’s breasts jiggled when they walked. Their nipples were standing out like headlights and one woman’s nipples were even at different levels by a couple of inches. These two women stood there, side by side, speaking with enthusiasm about their new organization, but I’m sure no one heard a word either of them said! It was impossible to concentrate on what they were saying, because their physical appearances were so distracting. There was one man in the group and he seemed to be trying to figure out where to look . . . or rather, where not to look.
We make judgments about others based on their appearance. In fact, in the first seven seconds of meeting someone, we make judgments about his or her economic level, educational level, trustworthiness, social position, level of sophistication, level of success, moral character, and even social and educational heritages. How many times have you heard people say, “They come from old money,” or “They’re nouveau riche (new money).” I doubt many people are even aware of how closely they scrutinize others.
However, there is probably not much they miss.
Just the other day, I caught myself making a judgment about the escrow officer who was helping me when I was signing some legal documents. She had shaved off her eyebrows and drawn new ones from the bridge of her nose straight up to her hairline, giving her the appearance of a devil or a Klingon from Star Trek! I was sitting there thinking, “She couldn’t be very smart if she’d do that to her own face. I wonder if she knows how that looks? I wonder what the purpose is for doing that to herself.” Then I
realized I wasn’t concentrating on the business at hand. Do other people do this as well? You bet they do. That’s why we don’t want our appearances to detract from the situation or keep people from hearing what we have to say.
We must think about our purpose and develop our style to enhance that purpose.
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