Why must I maintain my Image for others?

Whenever I take a corporate session, I am asked by at least one participant, “But why do I need to dress a particular way or present a particular body language, to please others around me?”.

I always respond with the science behind Image Management.

The science says, your clothing and grooming affects:

the way you think,

then the way you feel,

then the way you act and behave

which in turn affects the way others react and respond to you.

Do you see, the first three effects that our appearance has is on us! Which means whenever I dress appropriately and attractively, I am ensuring I think positive, I feel good and obviously when these two are positive I behave positively!

And there is no chance that when I behave and present myself positively, will another person respond in a negative manner. So by maintaining an image or dressing appropriately, I am by no means doing it for others but for myself!

Let’s try this simple exercise for two weeks:

For the first week, wear inappropriate clothing to the various occasions (personal, professional or social) in your life, it could simply be something as simple as unironed clothes, unkempt hair and nails, ill fitting clothing or no make up and record how you feel and how others have responded to you in terms of the way they have spoken to you, comments that they made or simply the kind of daily projects or assignments given to you, in that week.

For the second week, put some thought, time and energy into getting ready for the same occasions in your life and dress appropriately, maybe even better than your usual way of showing up to work, personal or social events and now record the same. How are people responding to you, what kind of words and statements are they using with you and most importantly how are YOU feeling?

Do share your thoughts and comments below, after you try this exercise!