If your image is a walking business card communicating who you are as a professional, then what does your image say about you? Just like marketing and branding your business, you want to be sure your focused and conscious choices about the messages your image ‘business card’ sends, noting especially if it is aligned with your professional aspirations. There is more to image than the clothes you wear. Image is the total package. Not only including clothing, how you accessorize, the way you communicate, how well- groomed you are, your poise and posture, the non verbal cues you send, your ability to maintain eye contact, and so much more. Do you know what message your image sends?
You might be vying for a promotion, looking for a new job, just starting your career or avoiding a layoff. Whichever situation you find yourself in, your professional presence needs to be commanding, polished, and credible. It is a fact that people make at least a dozen different assumptions about you based entirely on a first glance. These assumptions all have to do with the message that your image sends. This is the impact of first impressions, which I talk about frequently when I give seminars or workshops. You must nail that first impression in professional interactions because this sets the stage for how effective you will be at achieving your career goals.
Use these 5 tips from to help make sure your image is recession proof.
1. What details and characteristics do people associate with a person who is very successful in your field or type of career? Here is an example: successful physicians are known for being competent, detail oriented, intelligent and in charge. Marketing professionals who excel in their careers are associated with being creative, artistic, outside the box, and a strong communicator. Knowing the associated expectations that are assumed when people think of success in your particular field will help you to better communicate the perfect professional image that is appropriate for what you do, where you are, and where you want to go in your career. You need to be clear on what you need to communicate (via your image) for your position, corporate culture and industry.
2. Color is the most important tool in image. Colors affect us in profound ways that act on a psychological level. Knowing how to use color strategically will help you to master creating a powerful image. Colors convey their own ‘energy’ and can be used in business to achieve different outcomes. Darker colors convey seriousness, authority, and business. The most serious of these colors being black, with dark brown and navy blue coming close. Although brown can be professional, it naturally has less authority than black or navy and can convey reliability and security. (Think “earthy”, safe, and comfortable.) Although many people associate pastels with softness, approachability, and femininity, in fact pastels actually convey passivity. Red is THE power color, communicating strength, confidence, command and assertiveness and a bit of daring. Care is required when wearing red in business situations. Red is not a “no”, but should be avoided in high-stress situations or when dealing with a difficult client or employee.
3. Whether you are a professional on the fast track, a senior executive with a high profile position, an entrepreneur, business owner or a sales professional, once you are representing a company or interacting with customers or clients in any way, you become that company’s brand. You are the walking business card for your company in a powerful way. You are the personal contact for that company. The impression that a client has of you, will immediately be applied to the entire company. Does your personal brand synch with your company’s brand?
4. You must never let your image down, even for a day. Once your business associates and colleagues see you dressed to impress every day, they will associate you with the image of a person who gives 110% to their career and who cares about what they do, not just during critical times or special meetings. Consistency is vital to a powerful image. If you put as much care into how you present yourself as you do your work you will be noticed in the best possible light and will find yourself head and shoulders above of your peers who take their image for granted.
5. Make an immediate impression when you enter a room! You have just a few minutes to make that lasting first impression and either people will remember you forever or they will forget you as soon as you enter the room. ‘Presence’ – that ability to project a sense of ease, poise, command or self-assurance is an energy and an attitude. It is magnetic. It draws people to you. When you master ‘presence’ you have created the equivalent of a slam dunk, especially in your professional interactions. Get clear on the effect you want to convey to others. Then dress and act accordingly to achieve effective professional presence.
If you are still unclear how to create the most dynamic and powerful image, then contact me today.
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