Does Appearance Matter?
Our comments in a previous episode about being confident enough to use your voice sparked quite a dialogue about…appearance. Does appearance matter when it comes to authority?
Jonathan and I tackle this sensitive subject (and by the way we both agree that appearance DOES matter, although maybe not the way you think):
Aligning your appearance—how you dress and style yourself—with your brand of authority.
Why what matters most is what makes you feel confident and strong.
The dangers in making assumptions about your audience’s judgement (or listening too closely to critics).
How to match your exteriors with who you are, how you feel confident and the audience that you want to attract.
When—and how—to call in the experts.
Quotables
“If people don’t like your vibe, then okay—they don’t get the joke. Go find someone who does.”—JS
“There’s also a sense of privilege that comes with this. If you’re a white male, it’s easier to say, oh, it doesn’t matter what I wear, but if you’re female or you’re a person of color, it’s a lot more complex.”—RM
“It’s almost like a game. Can I be so good and deliver results that are so outstanding that no one cares what I’m wearing?”—JS
“It’s not that there is this one size fits all look that you need to have in order to be an authority. It’s a combination of what you want for yourself—what makes you feel powerful—and what helps attract the audience that you most want to attract.”—RM
“They weren’t looking for a guy to come in jeans and blaze orange sneakers and a black t-shirt so it was just a bad fit.”—JS
“Once I hit a certain level, I was like, I don’t care…I’m going to do that. And I don’t care if anybody likes it or not.”—RM
“If you don’t know what it is that would make you feel confident…just get an expert—just like you’re an expert at something.”—JS
“It’s finding the match between who you are, how you feel confident and the audience that you want to attract.”—RM
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