F e a t u r e s Why
Image. Easy if you wear a uniform but what happens when you hang it up? Style and Image Coach Carole Stacey tells us why it matters
‘Why all the fuss about image?’ ‘It’s not what I look like, it’s the quality and output of my work that really counts.’ ‘People should appreciate me for who I am on the inside, not for the clothes I wear or the way I do my hair.’ ‘I’m unique. An individual and I’m not going to let anyone dictate how I should look or behave. If they don’t like me for who I am, that’s their problem.’
I’ve heard these sentiments and many others during my years as an image consultant, but the fact remains – image is important.
The saying ‘you can’t judge a book by it’s cover’, may be true but with thousands of books competing for your attention in every book store, those with poorly designed, unattractive or damaged covers will rarely draw enough attention to be looked at.
It’s the same for people. We live in a fast-moving, time-precious world and as a result, we have come to rely on our heightened sense of visual perception. Few people have the time to truly get to know a person before passing judgement or making an assessment. Instead, we take visual short cuts to access what we see and match it subconsciously to stereo types and our past experiences. This often ends up as a ‘gut feeling’ or intuition as to whether we like, trust or wish to do business with the person. The way a person dresses, moves and stands all tell the world a great deal about who they are, how they feel about themselves and others, where they have come from and where they are heading.
16 Winter 2007
ask the question, ‘Who am I when out of this uniform and what do I stand for?’
Bother About Your
Image?
The first step in understanding that you can positively influence their opinions is to accept the fact that people you meet will automatically accept the role that you have packaged for yourself. That said, your visual image will never replace your professional skills and work ethics. It will, however, afford you opportunities that a poorly presented person rarely receives.
Looking after your image is termed ‘impression management’. It is the manipulation of your appearance and interactions to suit a particular situation to gain a desired outcome. Your image will either enhance or detract from your abilities. It will either give you an advantage over your competitors or them an advantage over you. Socially, as in business, we all want to deal with ‘people-like-us’. By managing your appearance and behaviour you can attract the very people you want to do business or socialise with.
For you to work on your own impression management it’s important to realise that we all have a ‘personal brand’. Our childhood heavily influences our self-worth and self-image and these experiences can be carried through to adulthood and influence us hugely. We broadcast our personal brand on a daily basis through our dress, personal grooming, body language, tone of voice, core values, and personal beliefs. This shows the world what we want them to think about us, but we sometimes forget that our own perceived view of our brand may not equate with what others think of us.
People begin investigating their own personal brand for a number of reasons. It might be a student starting work, people returning to work, those considering promotion or a career change. People from a uniformed background can often find it very difficult if they have represented their organisation for a long period of time, they often
People do make erroneous judgments about us simply by the way we project ourselves. Images are being beamed out of us all the time and an indelible picture is being formed by the people we meet. Is it the correct picture or would we like to have some say about it? Of course we would!
To achieve the right brand takes insight, knowledge and strategic intention, and if you think that being ‘branded’ as an individual is distasteful, please think again. Developing your own brand is not about being flashy, although some people do take it to extremes. If you don’t blow your own trumpet and market yourself, no one else will. Build your brand with truth, dignity, honesty and without cynicism.
Do however, build on your existing brand with care – make sure that what you are building is strategically what you want. You may want to shed some of your less attractive traits along the way through in-depth personal analysis. Changing a well-developed, less-that-perfect brand can be a long, hard struggle.
Non-verbal communication, or image, is at the core of our personal brand, acting as visual shorthand and hopefully showing us at our best. Successful people generally look successful. They wear clothes that look attractive, they are well-groomed and they speak clearly and carry themselves with confidence. The image that comes across is that they feel good about themselves and can interact well and influence others. They have charisma – the magic element that we sometimes find so elusive.
Being current is an important part of having a good professional image. This doesn’t mean that you have to be a fashion victim, far from it; an over- trendy appearance won’t give an impression of a sharp mind but nor will a dated dress sense. If you wear clothes that show you are really aware of the economic and social climate, you will be seen as in tune with modern trends both in business and in your personal life.
Lastly, keep everything in perspective, I’m sure that there’s much more going on in your life than your clothes. It’s important to know when they matter and when they don’t. Life is short and we are only given once chance to make the most of it. Who we are, how we think, what we do and how we act, will indelibly be printed on those we influence. Vanity and pride, selfishness and greed all come from taking the importance of clothes, image and possessions to extremes.
For more information:
www.imageinnovators.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56