Warning: Don’t Let Your Appearance Sabotage You

Appearance matters. It shows respect for yourself, your colleagues, and your clients. It shows your standards, and makes people feel confident that those standards will carry over to the way you do business.

I’m not just talking about clothing here. You need to take care of yourself. (That helps your clients feel you’ll take care of them.)

• Get enough sleep so that your skin and eyes shine.

• Keep your posture upright.

• Take care of your teeth, which I know (from personal experience!) can be an expensive proposition. But your smile can make or break a deal. Even more importantly, it can make someone’s day.

Take your style seriously. It is an extension of your unique self. As Stacy London, of What Not to Wear, points out, your style harmonizes “all that you are on the inside with what you look like on the outside.” The trick is to let your style be both an appropriate and authentic expression of yourself and your values.

You don’t have to dress in the latest fashions or shop at exclusive stores. Many a church thrift shop carries beautiful current fashions—from hats to shoes—for a few dollars. And while you’re there, you can donate clothes that you no longer want so someone else can benefit from them.

Give your shoes a wipe or a little polish before going out. As my mother always said, “People appreciate it when you show that you’ve made an effort.”

I’ve heard of business people who don a shirt and tie if they’re men, or a dress and makeup, if they’re women, to attend a phone meeting from their home offices, even if it’s not on Skype.

No one will see them, so why do they do this?

Because it helps them to feel professional, act professional. When they’re dressed like that, they probably sit up straight. They don’t feel frivolous, as they might in crumpled, novelty-patterned pajamas. Instead, they are alert and on their game.

You don’t need to go that far, and I’m not suggesting that you focus so much time and attention on your appearance that you neglect the requirements of your work. But taking the time to be presentable can affect the perception of our performance as well as our actual performance. It certainly affects how people we hope to influence perceive us.

Let your appearance speak volumes for you!

————————————————————————————————————————————————
About Lynette

Lynette Benton takes a light-hearted look at style and life on her blog, the Stylish Ole Woman. You can follow her @stylisholewoman on Twitter.

In addition, Lynette is a writer, writing coach, editor, instructor, and the owner of Tools and Tactics for Writers. See her writing tweets @lynettebenton.