Personal appearance in public
When you are appearing in public for to make a speech, presentation or media interview then it is worth spending time thinking about your appearance.
Dressing the right way for the right audience is vital. Before making a presentation, speech or for any important event in your life you need to consider what sort of clothes are right for the occasion. It may be casual wear that is most appropriate, or more formal wear.
We do not recommend that you become an ‘identikit’ clone, but the average audience will expect certain standards of their presenter. You should allow your personality to come out in the way you dress, but the more you drift from accepted standards the more your audience will judge you accordingly.
For example, if you see a young man with short pink hair, a pierced nose, tattoos, jeans and ‘bother’ boots you instantly assume trouble. You might be wrong but you will have made a judgement based on past experience and pre-conceived ideas.
On the other hand if you see someone in a dark grey suit with neatly cut hair and smart black shoes you will assume a pleasant person who ‘conforms’.
So what is the best approach for a formal presentation?
- Well cut, washed and combed hair
- Clean hands and fingernails (unbitten)
- Clean un-scuffed shoes
- The minimum amount of perfume or after shave
- Discreet, non distracting jewellery
- Good looking, unstained and well ironed, unruffled clothes
There is much debate about what you should wear. But the tips above spell out the points that usually cause comment. If you wear clothes that look as if they have been slept in, have stains on them and fit badly then your audience will most likely assume that you are scruffy both in mind and dress.
Always look after your clothes, clean them regularly, empty pockets at night to avoid distorting the material and always hang them on a good clothes hanger (never a thin wire coat hanger).
Also wash your clothes regularly, especially important is the dry cleaning of suits to avoid crease marks and the smell of long past dinners tainted with cigarette smoke.
Similarly, the smell of cheap perfume, after shave or unkempt hair speaks volumes to the audience.
Too much jewellery might lead the audience to watch that clanging bracelet or wonder about the design on that tie pin rather than listen to the speech you are making.
It does sound obvious but just look at how many speakers or presenters you have seen who failed to make the right impact because they failed in one or more of these simple tests.
Below are checklists for men and women to consider when choosing their clothes. Whilst this is a checklist for a western audience the basic rules apply for any audience around the world. Quality, conservative dress counts.
For women
- Trouser suits should be classic, black, navy or neutral colours with minimum frills and patterns. Best suits are wool and silk
- Skirts should be knee length and again conservative colours without being ‘dowdy’
- Saris should be simple in design with few patterns. Colours indicate the seriousness of the presenter (see below).
- Blouses should be cotton or silk. Keep the style simple and avoid ‘busy’ patterns and plunging necklines
- Shoes should have medium or small heels (for safety as much as anything), should match the clothes. Avoid open toes, boots or sandals.
- Tights, at all times, neutral or dark tones and beware patterns.
For men
- Suits should be dark navy, black, charcoal or grey (light grey is seen as lightweight). Plain fabrics or discreet pinstripes. Ideally wool – especially in air conditioned rooms. In some more tropical countries it may not be the norm to wear a jacket and tie; nevertheless the emphasis should be on smart clothes.
- Belts or braces should be simple, matching and non traumatising
- Trouser length should not leave lots of crimpled folds around the ankle
- Shirts cotton or cotton blends, white or blue are best, avoid ‘pyjama’ tops and large patterns
- Ties should be silk with solid or simple patterns. Avoid vivid ties
- Shoes should be conservative, matching the suit, and well polished.
Naturally this is a list for more formal presentations and speeches. In most business and formal presentations these basic guidelines will work well.
A final tip on how you dress is the approach to colours. Research shows that audiences internationally view colours in different ways.
Colours
- Red is associated with passion, aggression and danger
- Yellow is a ‘feel good’ colour. However it doesn’t always go well with dark complexions
- Green is a soothing colour and can put people at ease
- Blue comes across as restful, relaxing but cold. Seen as a sign of respectability and trustworthiness
- Pink a loving caring colour although too much can be seen as a sign of insecurity
- Black is powerful, demanding and uncompromising. It gets you noticed but can sometimes be seen as threatening
- White suggests purity and cleanliness, gives an air of youthfulness
- Brown like beige can appear staid and boring as well as lightweight.
There are also some ‘image killers that you should watch out for. These all set an impression about a person – and not a good one.
Image killers
- Badges with slogans. Pens and pencils in top pockets
- Trainers, light socks under dark trousers, tights with holes in
- Overly casual clothes
- Loud ties, badly matching clothes, crumpled clothes
- Rucksacks, plastic carrier bags, bulging briefcases
- Badly cut or long hair
- Body odour or too much perfume/after shave, bad breath.
Your personality can still shine even within these guidelines.
When you plan the clothes you wear think of your audience. What will they expect to see? What is acceptable to them?
There is a big difference between knowing the theory and making it happen. For help in implementing your communications practices email us now.
