Want to wow potential clients? These days powerful content is more essential than ever, but that might not be enough to get your foot in the door. You need to look good, too. We do judge a book by its cover, so it’s time to take a good hard look at this oft-underrated component of the speaking industry.
Does your brand include an element of style? Is style as important as substance these days? It’s very likely that speakers with a strong academic background would give substance greater weight. A number of famous keynote speakers would argue otherwise. These dazzling speakers keep their audience entertained and spellbound for an hour with a minimum of substance, and you can be sure they pay attention to how they look, because they are seasoned professionals.
Whether you’re an aspiring speaker or one who has achieved monumental success, in these financial times, you can’t afford to play Wardrobe Roulette® with your image. The speaking business is an art and a science. You need both style and substance.
However, experience has shown that style trumps substance any day. Even the most learned and esteemed of experts will have less credibility with a poor image. Your message without words, your image, conveys a message more powerful than words. Furthermore, your audience may nod off if you don’t deliver your message with passion and enthusiasm. It’s not what you say but how you say it, in other words.
Social psychologist Robert Cialdini, PhD, author of the best-selling book, “Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion” demonstrated that if you look good, it is assumed that you are good at what you do. And, of course, the opposite is true. Looking good doesn’t have anything to do with Hollywood glamour. Top speakers look classy, not flashy. Their appearance is polished and professional at all times.
There’s yet another important element to consider. Your perceived status. In the animal kingdom, the one with the highest perceived status is top dog and has the most authority. Among animals, the female lion may be the breadwinner, but the more regal-looking male lion is the one accorded the highest respect and greatest reverence.
According to PhD social psychologist Kevin Hogan, when you meet people you put them in one of three categories: Yes, No or Maybe. He asserts that most people are in the No category and they are dismissed entirely. Hogan says it is difficult to get out of the Maybe category and that only a few are in the Yes category. He contends that those in the Yes category basically have a high-status look.
So what is a high-status look? Here are the basics:
- A high-quality, well-tailored suit.
- Well-made shoes that are elegant but don’t stand out too much.
- High quality, fashionabley accessories such as brooches for women and elegant ties and watches for men.
- Good grooming from head to toe.
- Stylish, healthy-looking hair; or an artfully shaved head.
- Professional and refined makeup for women
Ultimately, a speaker enables his or her audience to discover themselves. It requires an element of trust before they will follow you along the path to self discovery. You must captivate your audience in the first few minutes if you want them to follow you. If you look ordinary, you’ll lose them.
As a speaker, you are a brand, and quality brands aren’t packaged in plain brown paper. Exclusive brands permeate the heart and soul of the public because they have a recognizable “branded” image that comes easily to mind.
Speakers Must Look Like the Experts They Are
Expertise is one of the four tenets of an NSA speaker, along with eloquence, enterprise and ethics. You can read more about the four tenets on the NSA website, www.nsaspeaker.org. As NSA speakers know, it takes years of experience before you become an expert in your field. Deliberate practice is the term Fortune Magazine gave to a phenomenon that Malcolm Gladwell also wrote about in his best-selling book “The Outliers.”
Both publications took their cue from a 1993 study made by Anders Ericsson related to expertise. Ericcson was the first to assert that it takes 10 years or 10,000 hours of practice in one’s field in order to lay claim to the title expert. In other words, nobody is great without work.
Ericcson cites Bill Gates, who spent 10,000 hours in 1964 programming a state-of-the-art school computer at the age of 13, giving him an enormous advantage over most people from that era. He may have been in the right place at the right time, but not everyone would have taken full advantage of such a unique opportunity. In terms of branding, he was the only dot.com “geek” who habitually wore a suit, perhaps giving him an edge when he bargained successfully with IBM.
The Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time. By the time they returned to England, they were not only experts, they also had a distinctive look, which is one of the most important tenets of branding.
NSA speaker and neuroscientist Scott Halford, CSP, has done extensive research in the arena of expertise, and he contends that it requires 1,000 repetitions in order to become an expert, amounting to an average of three years. Ultimately, all experts on the subject agree that you can’t be an overnight success when it comes to expertise. You’ve got to pay your dues!
As recounted, Robert Cialdini, PhD, demonstrated that when you look good, it will be assumed that you are good at what you do. Obviously, a powerful brand requires a professional image, but it can be taken up a notch further. Your credentials may denote that you’re an authority, but you must also look like an authority. If you do so, he demonstrated that others will turn themselves over to you on a silver platter.
The most important ingredient is the “uniform,” and it turns out that a business suit is among the most powerful of uniforms. In Cialdini’s mock setup, casually-clad jaywalkers were called down and criticized sharply by onlookers, while jaywalkers clad in powerful business suits were not. In fact, they “inspired” others to do the same.
A more chilling mock setup demonstrated conclusively that we follow the orders of an “authority” even when we know it is morally wrong. In a mock laboratory, volunteer subjects submitted actors (it was not known that they were actors) to dreadful electrical shocks upon the orders of the “authority.”
Cialdini is not the only person to notice the power a business suit conveys. Paul Fussel, in his book “Uniforms: Why we are what we wear,” declares that the suit ennobles its wearer, and also conveys news of valuable personal qualities. Fussel’s book title says it all.
You didn’t gain your expertise overnight, so don’t tarnish your brand’s image by looking like you’re an inexperienced novice who isn’t clued in about professional image. When you know you look good, you stand taller and look people straight in the eye. You convey an air of confidence that cannot be overlooked.
A lot has been written about power dressing, but a man’s “power dressing” look is nearly the opposite of a woman’s. A fashion look for men greatly diminishes credibility and power, but a high-fashion look for women dramatically magnifies those qualities.
Fashion looks for men include dark shirts with ties in any color, perfectly-matched shirt/tie boxed sets, and ultra slim-fit suits that look more suggestive than professional .
Women have been told that a “classic” look is best for speakers. This is dated information from the Eighties. A “classic” look for women usually connotes a safe or conservative look that ends up looking androgynous or robot-like, because it consists of the ubiquitous man-tailored suit with little or no accessories. Female speakers need a high-fashion wardrobe, because it signifies success. It should be worn with polished and professional makeup, plus power accessories in order to increase their credibility and power.
Conversely, a classic look for men is derived from the British high-end tailor shops, where “old money” looks reign supreme. In this “mover shaker” arena, fashion looks are seen as being for dandies, gamblers or ladies’ men.
You’re a brand. The question is, are you an eye-popping, memorable brand that turns heads when you enter a room? The same principles of branding apply for both products and people:
- Be Distinctive. You must look head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd, so you stand out as a mover and shaker.
- Maintain a professional look. Never compromise your professionalism by giving in to “business casual” attire. Casual attire suggests a casual attitude. It also shouts mediocre instead of star. Mediocre products rarely become brands.
- Convey an air of trust. Unkempt hair, dirty nails, scruffy shoes and un-ironed shirts suggest carelessness. Designer stubble, garish makeup, dated garments or hair, and overtly sexy garments lower credibility and trust.
- Be Consistent. Product inconsistency has killed many a brand. When you speak at a weekend retreat or attend a client’s golf tournament, dress as if you just left the polo match, not a garage sale. Trust and credibility are destroyed when you let your brand down, because they’ll wonder which one is the imposter. Imagine seeing your airline pilot dressed in jeans and a T-shirt; you might decide to take another flight. Or imagine running into your favorite film star looking sloppy and unattractive. Don’t let your brand down by looking anything less than the polished professional you are.
To ensure that you are etched in the mind of others, it is necessary to craft a unique “signature image” so you will be remembered long after you’ve left the platform. Here are tips for getting started:
1. Choose Winning Colors
- Take the time to discover the colors that make you look better. One shade of blue, for example, will make you look healthy and vibrant; net another shade of blue will make you look sad, tired and boring. Studies at the Impression Strategies Institute have shown that most people don’t know what they look good in, and that they usually choose colors that make them feel safe. Once you know you look good, your confidence will soar.
- Men should wear dark suits in navy blue, grey or black for the most authoritative look. Navy blue, in particular, looks businesslike and authoritative on nearly everyone. In addition, if your budget is modest, a navy blue suit will look more expensive than its brown, grey or black counterpart. Use caution when choosing black, since some people can look forbidding in this color. Dark suits are not only authoritative, they are also more slimming, and “fit looking” people are judged to be more successful.
- Women: In addition to the classic suit colors, you can also wear bold colors such as royal blue, ruby red, racing green, magenta, white and royal purple. Gender bias expert, nancy, demonstrated that women are hesitant to brag, fearing they will be ostracized by their female peers. That’s why they show up in business environments in non-descript, passive colors that are said to be “understated.” Assert your expertise by dressing like an authority, not passive bystander..
- Most people do not look good in grunge colors, so avoid drab colors like olive green, basic brown and most “earthy” tones. Neon colors should also be avoided, since they are deemed flashy. The darker the color, the higher the authority; thus, pastels can make you look passive or timid. Pure white and lemon yellow are not pastels.
2. Choose Garments & Accessories that Suggest Authority
- Choose garments made of quality fabrics. They fall better and are more flattering to the figure, plus they don’t look rumpled at the end of the day.
- Women: Choose distinctive-looking jackets that are well tailored to suit a woman’s hourglass figure. Avoid shapeless blazer-style “daddy jackets.” You don’t want to look like a miniature man. Solid colors look more professional than patterns; and large patterns make you look larger. You will look taller (and slimmer) in a pantsuit in one unbroken color. However, skirted suits convey more authority, because they are more formal. Knee length is best for skirts.
- Men: Wear styles that flatter your physique. If you’re fairly short, dress in one solid color from head to toe so you are visually elongated. If you’re heavier than you’d like to be, wearing one unbroken color will also make you look slimmer. This means wearing a suit instead of tan trousers with a navy blazer, for instance. The best way to conceal a paunch is by wearing a suit. The jacket is always worn buttoned except when you are seated. Most men look better in a two-button suit; a three-button suit often looks “too buttoned up.” Avoid pinstripe suits (banker’s stripes) unless you’re presenting to those in banking or finance, since they are perceived as less friendly outside the financial arena.
- Men: Select ties with small repeating patterns instead of those with abstract patterns, floral prints or cartoon motifs. Avoid “boxed sets” with matching shirt and tie, as they never look businesslike. Your tie must always dominate your shirt and suit. Think contrast, which means you will never again wear a blue tie with a blue shirt. Best shirt colors are white (the most formal), Oxford blue, French blue, and stripes in blue and white.
- Women: Bold accessories such as brooches and chunky hoop earrings make you look more important and authoritative. Avoid large hoops and all dangly earrings, as they are distracting and shout “teenager.”
- Keep shoes simple and unobtrusive. Avoid shoes with square toes or very rounded ones. Plain pumps are best for women; avoid ultra-high stilettos because they givwe the impression you can’t more freely. . Classic cap-toed laceups are a good choice for men.
3. Women: Wear Professional Makeup.
- Professional makeup enables you to look more worldly and sophisticated. You will also be deemed more professional.
- The most natural looking foundations have subtle pink undertones. Look for soft pink or orchid-toned blushers to harmonize.
- Avoid brown-toned lipstick. It makes you look washed out and dreary. For a natural look, try soft orchids; for a power look try fuchsia, cherry red or true red. Avoid turquoise eye shadow, heavy black eyeliner and black nail polish.
NOW Is the Time to Transform Your Image
We do judge a book by its cover, because the way you look and dress announces the outcome other people can expect from you. It also announces how you feel about yourself, and you’ll be treated accordingly. If you want to walk into a room and own it, then you must own your image.
You may disagree with some of the principles set forth in this chapter. You may even feel insulted by them. However, if you follow the suggestions given, you’ll put money in your pockets! And you’ll own your image. Twenty-five years experience as Executive Director at the Impression Strategies Institute backs up every principle in this book
Ultimately, the way you dress defines who you are not only to others, but to the person in the mirror when you leave the house each morning. Get up in the morning and dress as if you were the number one speaker in NSA. When you change on the outside, people treat you differently, and then you change on the inside - profoundly. Image doesn’t cost, it pays
Sandy Dumont, CEO at The Image Architect, is a speaker and internationally-known expert in the arena of professional image. She works with speakers, VIPs and corporate executives, and she has presented on three continents. Sandy Dumont has produced numerous books, DVDs and boxed sets on the subject of image and Branding for People®.
