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| WHY IMAGE IS DARN IMPORTANT |
| by: Gayle Carson |
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For so many years in the modeling business, image
was my primary focus. When I left the business,
I thought some of that would disappear. And
although styles are different, lifestyles vary,
and the Internet has allowed us to work from home
a majority of the time, people do base who you
are by what you look like-whether you want them
to or not.
As you probably know by now, people form an
impression of you in the first 30 seconds of
meeting you. One of the decisions they make is
whether or not they will listen to what you have
to say. Unfortunately, you can spend the rest of
your life trying to change their perception of
you or you can make sure your image is right in
the first place.
I am often amazed by how styles vary from one
area of the country to another. Since I live in
a warm, casual, comfortable area, when I go up
north, I am always surprised how dark and formal
everyone is. On the other hand, even in the
department stores here, people are dressed in
black. The specialty stores are a little more "
kicky."
The most important accessory of all is your smile
of course, so keep that on as much as possible.
Another part of your image is your posture.
Since many women stoop as they get older because
of poor bone density and osteoporosis, make sure
your posture communicates health, vigor,
alertness and interest.
Don't slouch, fidget or pick at yourself.
Gestures should fit your words and thoughts, not
occur randomly. Don't ever cover your face and
putting your hand near your mouth when you're
speaking is especially detrimental.
Look at people directly to establish rapport and
credibility. Don't stare at people but do look
into their eyes when you speak to them. Make
sure your voice has authority and use variety,
tone, assertive words and careful enunciation and
pronunciation to suggest you know what you're
talking about.
It doesn't take a lot of money to look terrific-
it just takes a sense of style. If you don't do
a good job of that, surely you have a friend who
does. Take her shopping with you and have her
also go through your closet ahead of time. This
way, she'll know what you need and be able to put
great separates together.
If you've kept your figure, you might even have
some items that are ancient. Spunky Old Broads
know that what was old is very often new again-
just like us! When people say "You look great!"
that's when you know your image is working. Just
keep it up with your entire presentation, and you'
ll be as solid as gold. |
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This article was posted on June 28, 2007
and reads 15 times. |
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