Appearance: Influence Via the Obvious

As we mentioned in April, this month starts a three-part series on the Image ABCs — powerful tools of image management you can use to create a positive, productive influence on others. This month it’s Appearance.

Making Impressions

I’m sure you’ve heard that it takes only seconds for someone to form a first impression. It’s true, it matters and your appearance makes up most of your initial visual impact. Before you speak a word, others have (usually subconsciously) decided if you’re worth listening to and maybe can be trusted. Yikes!

So you have to get your visuals right, not only for first impressions but so you can maintain a positive impression over the long term. It’s said that we “shouldn’t judge a book by its cover,” but we do. Marketers put tedious amounts of time and funds into perfecting this game. Whether it’s a product or a person, appearance includes many characteristics. But for the moment we’re focusing on color, line and design; they’re the foundation on which everything having to do with appearance rests.

Your Appearance Tool Chest

Within the steps you take each day to select your garments, create a “look” and get dressed, you have tools and strategies that will influence others either positively or negatively. These come from tested design and communication theories that can be easily implemented into your own routine.

For example, Adam and Galinsky’s “enclothed cognition” studies illustrated how clothing affects human cognition based on the co-occurrence of its symbolic meaning and how it’s actually worn. This was exhibited in one experiment in 2012 using white lab coats. It was one of many efforts to explore the psychological/physiological effects of clothing, color and design in relation to communication principles and human reactions.

Color

Color is a type of nonverbal communication that has been part of ancient cultures and is still practiced today to convey meaning. For example, when you see a red street sign/signal, you know to “stop.” At the deepest level, it’s the color of blood and it communicates danger and aggression as well as energy and passion.

Color is by far the most rapid method of expressing messages and meaning. You can use it as a tool to create influence without ever saying a word. Consider what you want to communicate and then select colors that will support your intentions:

Using color as a strategy and tool will strengthen your influence; set expectations, behaviors, mood and stress levels; and help your message be heard correctly. Click here for more examples and information about communicating with color.

Line

Line, similar to color, is a type of nonverbal communication. Sometimes line and color are mistaken for being “just fashion.” But there’s significance within the lines that garments/ensembles create. For example, the black monochromatic ensemble (i.e., wearing all black) establishes a strong vertical presence. It creates the illusion of height and makes you appear sophisticated, elegant and powerful. (It might even lead others to see you as potentially unapproachable and mysterious.)

Actually, wearing any monochromatic color scheme or using a vertical column of color as part of your ensemble will create a similar impact of height and stature. One example is a black jacket and pants/skirt, black hosiery/tights and shoes, with a colored shirt/blouse. Wearing other dark colors (e.g., navy) still communicates height, authority and power, but with a slightly softer tone communicating approachability, stability and trust.

Design

Design also influences how we perceive a look and the individual wearing it. When it comes to design, you’re looking for what’s called The Magic Y. Think of an inverted triangle, with the tip at the mid-chest and the base at your forehead. It silently leads the gaze of those you’re talking with up to your face and eyes and into the “business zone,” which is where you want someone’s attention to be in any conversation.

Consider a jacketed/layered look for any gender. A work or dress shirt or a V-neckline/collar will lead someone’s eyes from the center of the upper torso, up to the collar or V-neck, and on to the face and eyes. The Magic Y of design at work in daily reality!

Take time to consider those you come in contact with and the impression and influence you’d like to create. Using these appearance tools and ideas as part of your overall image management strategy will create positive outcomes before you’ve said or done anything else.

In the June issue of Image Matters News we’ll continue our ABCs journey by exploring how behaviors can create a positive influence.