Page 117 - The Voice of Authority

nancial officer. The second is a help-wanted ad for a jani-
tor. When you arrive in your office on Monday morning,
you see two people in the lobby, waiting for interviews. Do
you draw some conclusions about which job each has
come to discuss? Based on what?

Dress and Grooming—By Ice-T or Warren G.?
Lawyers tell their clients how to dress for a favorable jury
verdict. Producers wouldn’t think of shooting a movie
scene if the wardrobe wasn’t right. Consultants earn big
bucks advising executives how to dress to win the confi-
dence of Wall Street analysts and to woo investors.
Styles and suitability keep changing. If there’s one fash-
ion rule these days, it’s this: “Anything goes.” Ask around
about the appropriate dress for a special event, and you’ll
likely hear someone say, “Don’t worry about it—you’ll see
just about everything. Wear whatever you want.”
Not only can that be a career-limiting move but that as-
sumption as a long-term dress code can destroy credibility.
So how do you get it right? With the styles ranging from
the likes of Ice-T or Britney Spears to the throwbacks of
Warren G. Harding, what’s a person to wear on occasions
that matter most?
Three hints:

Dress to feel confident, be comfortable, and cover
yourself. And I’m not talking about wearing your pa-
jamas or having your hair “natural” so that it falls in
your face every time you move your head. But you
don’t want to be fidgeting with your clothes or hair
when your mind should be on your message.

Remove barriers between you and the audience.
Don’t show up at a beach resort retreat in a three-

Are You Credible? 105