PR is all about image, yes? Well, what about your image? As a PR professional, your business success hinges upon not only your communications skills and connections,
but also how you present yourself. And it doesn't help if you dress like a slob.
"People have to remember that clothes send a very strong message about who we are," advises Diana Jennings, personal appearance coach and president of The Image Impact
Group, Orange County, CA. "You need to get dressed with the day's objectives in mind - who you are meeting with, how you want them to see you - and make your choices
accordingly."
Jennings provides the following advice for clothing and grooming choices as tools in the PR professional's image arsenal:
*Personal style, with some limits. Jennings doesn't advocate the cookie cutter approach to dressing, but she acknowledges there is a time and place for blowing one's
style horn.
"Individuality is very important, especially in the creative fields," she says. "Without hindering creativeness and individuality, one can still be appropriately dressed. But
business is business - people need to keep that in mind. There is a time for creativity to come out and a time for creativity to be held back a little bit."
*Just what is 'business casual'? The evolving style away from business clothing to business casual has reached far beyond the office environment (notice how often
President Bush makes speeches without a jacket or tie). However, Jennings rues the lack of a standard in defining business casual attire.
"Business casual is great," she says, yet quickly adds: "But the one thing that has happened is that companies are saying 'Help!' In many cases, business casual has gone to
extremes, with people crossing the lines."
For Jennings, appropriate business casual includes "a jacket or at least a shirt with a collar." She has no problems with jeans in the office, albeit with clear parameters.
"It depends on the workplace and it depends on the jeans," she says. "It is not a problem as long as they don't bare skin and they are not so tight that they look painted
on."
*Hairy situations. "We wear it 365 days a year," says Jennings of hair. "It is one of the most important aspects a personal image. But sometimes, people are stuck in
wearing the same hairstyle for years and years, and it could send a message that they are not current in their thinking."
For those who dye their hair, Jennings strongly urges covering up the dark or grey roots. "It doesn't look good," she observes. "One can be perceived as not being on top of
details of their work if they are not on top of details of yourself."
CONTACT: Diana Jennings, [email protected].