Lately I’ve been reading, researching, and meditating on alot of detail concerning appearance and perception. I admit it, alot of these thoughts initiate from comments to me; comments that show that they are unable to see my interior reality. (Perhaps this feeling that nobody gets me is indicative of a mid-life crisis? lol)
At any rate, while there is alot of information here on the blog already, there is still TONS I haven’t figured out. But I’m feeling ambitious, so I’m delving into researching the connection between certain visual elements and specific perceptions. Leave a comment if you have a clue. And I thought I’d begin with something relevant to career women, because I love them too!
Credibility: attitude toward a source of communication held at a particular time by a message receiver. It consists primarily of expertise, trustworthiness, and good will. (Dynamics of Persuasion)
Another source put it slightly differently: Expertise, Trustworthiness, Similarity, and Physical Attractiveness (I suppose the author of a textbook may find physical attractiveness to be too loaded a topic to address it).
Bernie Burson, Image Consultant, in her sidebar on Psychological Dressing, says:
When you receive your personal color palette, you learn that wearing your eye-related color makes you appear sincere and honest and wearing skin tones makes you seem friendly and approachable.
So, if credibility is a three-legged stool consisting of expertise, trustworthiness, and good will; wearing my recommended simple color palette (based on your own coloring) will get you two legs (and physical attractiveness as a bonus). Not enough. Establishing expertise, I suspect, is done through visual cues specific to the industry. Even if the industry is raising children.
What are the visual cues to expertise in your field?
On the pool deck, a race t-shirt from a 5 or 10K swim, or a t-shirt from an important meet is always good. 😉
Teaching crafts & calligraphy, I try to take an opportunity to dress a bit more creatively. I look for little touches, covered buttons, surprising details, and generally wear hand made jewellery.
I don’t know if that enhances my credibility in any way, but I like to think it reflects what I am doing.
I am a scholarly book editor. Glasses are an essential part of editorial authority (and I can’t see three feet in front of me without them–so that’s no problem!). It seems to me that most editors fall into one of two style camps: sleek/urban or preppy/tweedy. Darker colors and fairly classic cuts of clothing are common to both looks.
When I was an officer in a school district parent organization I had instant credibility when I got a ten dollar sculptural short haircut and wore “important” (not sexy or trashy) conservative earrings – vs. no earrings. I had to go through a perfunctory review before my re-election candidacy and the comments were full of how I’d “grown” in office. Not a word true – I considered I brought them my own expertise. It was all owing to that ten dollar haircut. So, controlled looking hair.
I think that, in general, credibility is helped by smooth fabric, relatively businesslike attire (modest and not sporty/playful) and perhaps collared shirts.
“I think that, in general, credibility is helped by smooth fabric, relatively businesslike attire (modest and not sporty/playful) and perhaps collared shirts.”
Well, not of course if you’re a canoe tour guide.
I’m thinking of a young mom I know who has a reputation for being an organized supermom. I think a lot of it has to do with her appearance. When she dresses up (for work or church) she looks sleek and polished. She wears stylish professional clothing and the right accessories. When you encounter her on a stay-at-home day, she still looks nice…Properly-fitting jeans, a nice shirt, and pretty shoes. She seems to have mastered a simple uniform that works. I have noticed that if she’s rushed for time or staying home and doesn’t have time to “do it all” she chooses EITHER perfect hair or perfect makeup (and an updo).
Her kids are loved and well-taken-care-of, but she doesn’t obsess about presenting a perfect image with them. They just look like healthy, comfortable children, not little models. Her appearance, however, makes you feel that she’s a together, dedicated person. (And she is.)
By the same token, I find that a mom in baggy capris and crocs is often not taken seriously. Unfortunately, perception affects how we’re treated.
Credibility without likeability is far less effective, (And I will quibble with goodwill as an element of credibility- I think it’s an outcome.)
As for the contribution of physical presentation to credibility in the workplace:
1. Dress consistent with role expectation. (A dentist would not wear a tee shirt and studded jeans.)
2. Dress in coordinating colours or in tones of the same colour.
3. Wear the ‘success markers’ consistent with your occupation, such as good leather shoes, a nice pen, real jewelry, a good briefcase instead of a limp fabric tote bag.
4. In the professions, except the most creative fields, a suit still signals credibility. You can soften the suit (e.g., wear a twin set, as Michelle Obama does) but a suit is more credible.
You can tone down the high-cred look once you have established yourself. (Few people look as good on the job as they do for the interview.)
5. Avoid extremes of hair cut, colour or body adornment (no nose stud, etc.)
6. Keep grooming impeccable but low key: keep your eyebrows and nails professionally groomed.
Two other very important elements are the vocal tone/delivery, and posture/movement.
My job: engineering consulting. That often means having to demonstrate credibility in the executive conference room and on the plant floor on the same day. Dressing in a way that works for both situations is tricky. It’s easier for the guys – most men can wear chinos and a polo shirt and and sturdy shoes and look decent and functional (if a little dull). Most women in a similar outfit would look like an Applebees hostess.
If I had to summarize the standard for my field, it would be conventional and context-appropriate. Looking good is fine, but making a strong sartorial statement will generally look out of place when you’re among technical professionals. I’m possibly the most fashion-forward person in our office, though by absolute standards my tastes are very conservative.
Steph – since my hair nearly effortlessly looks good, does that mean I can go to the home warehouse store, grocery, or work in the yard without makeup? 🙂
Duchesse – recently I had an opportunity to volunteer with an organization I had not previously done anything with, meeting an entirely new group of people. I thought it wise to dress in a manner scrupulously consistent with my personal idiom. Perhaps in the future, when the group knows me better, I may relax a little; but for the effort of it, I was extremely pleased with my reception. Who knows whether they would have been as friendly to me if I had shown up in jeans and sweatshirt, as many of them were, but I certainly wouldn’t have been as comfortable.
Mel – your industry is just like the hero’s. He doesn’t have polos in his idiom, so he wears twill trousers, a button-down or collarless dress shirt, and black or brown leather shoes. Except Fridays. He and some of his buddies cooked up “African Shirt Day”, so on Fridays he often wears twill trousers, African shirt, and black or brown leather shoes. lol
The ladies in the office do have a harder time. (For the most part, I think, they’d do better if they’d get themselves some actually clothes.) And, since they are architects, they probably can get away with a little more fashion. Perhaps it would be fun some time to put together a post on business casual for the technical professional. Because it is different from a business office, but it shouldn’t be hard.
It would be a good post – if only because engineers often need extra help with that sort of thing. 🙂
I work in a creative field within a moderately conservative industry (health care), so expertise in my area depends on adding some “interest” to a standard work wardrobe. The ladies might wear a vintage piece or some interesting hosiery or a funky necklace, but not all three. The men might wear trousers in an interesting fabric, well-tailored button down shirts, and cool shoes. It is always a challenge to me to not look boring. Everyone wears fun eyewear (and mine are, sadly, a little boring, I think). I’m doing some fun things with scarves (always) and ruffles (new this year) and have discovered that paisly works better for me than florals.
Does credibility as a retired person call for avoiding the trappings of business-wear??? Hmmm.