APPEARANCE

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Figure 7: Competence ratings

competence), but are not considered when assessing personal factors (e.g. approachability and personality).

Employability Participants were also asked how likely they would be to employ the personal trainer. Those who saw the positive body language with smart clothing photo were much more likely to employ her than any of the other conditions (see Figure 8). Ratings for positive/casual were significantly higher than negative/smart, once again indicating that positive body language might be the most important cue when making judgements regarding how likely they would be to employ her.

Practical application These results show that body language and clothing cues are used to make judgements regarding the approachability, personality, competence and employability of a personal trainer.

We should therefore be more aware of the non-verbal cues that our clients are picking up on. After all, it is argued that only 7% of communication comes from the words you use (5). Positive body language combined with smart clothing clearly creates the most positive impressions, with negative body language combined with casual clothing creating more negative impressions. Competence appears to be linked to smart clothing more than personal factors such as approachability and personality.

Positive/smart Negative/smart Positive/casual Negative/casual

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