Comments on: Hey Good Looking – Are You A Presenter?

By: Do First Impressions Count When You Are Speaking? (public speaking tips to boost presentation skills and business presentation) | The Accidental Communicator

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:06:14 +0000

[...] clearly people will be making snap judgements about you simply based on how you look. Pick your clothes carefully. You want to look sharp and polished. The rule of thumb when giving a speech is that you always [...]

By: Dr. Jim Anderson

Dr. Jim Anderson — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:06:41 +0000

Prajna: Great point! I guess the same could be said for any new clothes – they can be itchy and have extra tags that we don’t know about the first time that we wear them…!

By: Prajna

Prajna — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:04:22 +0000

I had to make this important presentation and I had a really bad time because I made the mistake of wearing new footwear and ended up with blisters and shoebitesÃ¢â‚¬Â¦always wear footwear which has been Ã¢â‚¬Å“broken inÃ¢â‚¬Â otherwise youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll end up cringing with every step you take like I didÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

By: Dr. Jim Anderson

Dr. Jim Anderson — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:32:34 +0000

E.G.: You’ve hit on one of the trickiest challenges that speakers can encounter – how to be the best dressed person in the room if everyone else is “business casual”. I try to solve this problem by wearing the old standby – the sport coat. Since I’m not wearing a tie, I’m sorta business casual; however, the sport coat sets me apart from everyone else. As you said, it is always better to overdress than underdress.

By: Dr. Jim Anderson

Dr. Jim Anderson — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:27:31 +0000

Technocrat: I must confess that I had not even thought of this (probably a fault of being male). However, I think that you may have a point here. Although how you smell (or how strongly you smell), may not matter when you are up on a stage, you will undoubtedly be spending some time close to the person who invited you and overpowering them with smells would be most unkind…!

By: E.G. Sebastian

E.G. Sebastian — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:07:10 +0000

In my speaker training I learned NOT to wear rings, bracelets, or anything fancy that would distract the audience from my message; this included NO fancy hairdo, or crazy outfit (purple suit with green shirt, etc.)

9 times out of 10 I wear a suit and tie. I feel comfortable in it and the audience feels that they have a professional talking to them. However, some organizations tell me up-front that their event/retreat will be a more relaxed one, so “don’t over-dress.”

I’d say, though, as a speaker people want to look up to you and admire you, so it is always better to overdress than underdress.

E.G. Sebastian
Author, Speaker, Leadership Development Coach

By: Technocrat

Technocrat — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 09:05:22 +0000

Its been rightly said, “FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE BEST IMPRESSION”.

It would be good, if you can add one more point as that of, Avoiding the use of strong perfume. I myself have suffered such situation, as some people tend to use strong perfume that almost put the other person in a state of headache

By: Dr. Jim Anderson

Dr. Jim Anderson — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:08:52 +0000

David: good point. I gave a presentation to a college audience awhile back and I had decided to take the “casual & cool” approach – sportcoat, no tie. Well, it turns out that my host had really wanted to show the students what a “working professional” looks like (by his opnion) and he was disappointed. I guess that you not only have to know your audience, but also your host!

Remember what they say about being a speaker: always be the best dressed person in the room!

By: David Portney

David Portney — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:49:27 +0000

In the workshops and trainings I teach, I’ve experimented with various wardrobe variations (no tie, full suit, jeans instead of slacks) and I’ve found that people’s reactions seems to vary; some enjoy a more “relaxed” look (no tie, for example) whereas others do react to a full suit as being more professional. In the final analysis – and if I had to only choose one way to dress for all time – I’d have to go with more dressy rather than less dressy, and no distracting pins or other wardrobe accessories that would take attention away from the message / teaching.

David Portney