Page 76 - How To Sell Yourself

Selling with the Right Signals 75
Women should wear blouses buttoned high; at least above the line where the cleavage begins, and in public appearances, no slit skirts or mini-skirts, please. The people in your audience shouldn’t be encouraged to take physical inventory when they should be concentrating on your message.
If the room is likely to be overheated, take off your jacket
or sweater before you enter the
room. There’s something sug-
gestive of a stripper when you
take off clothes in public. The
act of removing clothes also
tends to highlight the curves of
the form and that always calls attention.
Dress up, not down.
Jewelry
The same rules apply to jewelry. In social situations, almost anything goes, but when you’re in the spotlight, your audience shouldn’t be aware of your jewelry. Anything that catches the eye (or the ear for that matter) tends to distract and make it harder for the audience to stay with the message. Your jewelry should be subdued for professional or presentation situations.
Some women don’t realize that dangling earrings move with even the slightest head movement. The object in motion captures the eyes and, fascinated by the side-to-side, hypnotic movement of earrings, the audience loses sight of what the speaker is saying.
Because we watch the object in motion, the only really appro- priate moves are speaker moves—gestures and steps taken to vary the physical position. These should be varied, natural, appropri- ate, and genuine so the audience isn’t aware of them.
Also, keep in mind that heavy, expensive-looking, glittery, or ostentatious jewelry that may be appropriate in the social setting won’t work on the platform.
Bare skin is a no-no.
It stops the message cold.