When was the last time you made a first impression? Probably today. Perhaps it was as seemingly benign as your encounter with the cashier at the grocery store, or it might have been potentially more life altering as in your interview for a coveted new job. Granted, the impact on your life is certainly different, but the question remains the same. Are you aware of what kind of first impression you make?
While first impressions are comprised of many elements, one of the most decisive and influencing elements is visual. In other words, your appearance and body language speak volumes. How you look and carry yourself gives people big cues as to who you are. It is your total image that is important. Based on this information alone, people will often make conscious and unconscious judgments about you. Sometimes this is all the information they use to make a decision about how they will interact with you. This could be good or it could be scary!
For those of you who say, “I am who I am,” it’s not quite that simple, or at the very least you could be missing an opportunity to make a purposeful visual statement about yourself. Some things, such as how tall you are, the color of your skin, shape of your face, size of your hands, etc., are matters over which you have no control. That said, there’s also a lot that you can affect, and here’s where it pays to do your homework.
While body language, eye contact, handshakes, and posture (to name a few) are all visual cues, the ones we’re going to address here are related to visual presence and image. How you present yourself visually will impact how others relate to you. What’s most important is not necessarily that you fit some prescribed notion of how you think you should look, but that you purposefully create the visual image you want to project. This gives you confidence, a more empowered presence, and offers the other person valuable insight into your personality. Leaving it to happenstance will only create confusion, distraction, and leave you disempowered.
First of all, let’s focus on two of the most important considerations. Ask yourself these questions:
1. Do I like the way I look and present myself?
2. Do I know what image I am projecting, and is it the image I want to project?
If you can answer yes to both of those, then you are golden. If not, then spend a little time considering this question:
What do I want my clothes/total image to say about me?
It is very important to be as specific as possible, so do not gloss over this. Then, stay tuned for 5 tips to help you make that a reality.
I’d love to hear what comes up for you if you feel like sharing!
