Improving Your Image.
Feb 27th, 2011 | By Paul | Category: abundance, Career advice, communication skills, confidence, professional image, skills, strategy, training
: Just being yourself should be good enough, but look at most successful people and you may notice they work very hard to present a desired image. Either consciously or subconsciously we all adopt the language and mannerisms of those that impress us. Just think of how many slang words and expressions have been added and dropped from your vocabulary over the years. Often the changes are subtle, and we hardly notice as we add and drop language and styles to stay with the times. Why not pay a little more attention and make changes that improve your image?
: I often though that everyone should take some acting and voice lessons. I never did, but still think I could benefit from them. Over the years I met several people who took courses in broadcasting and public speaking, and the difference was really noticeable. While they all did not have deep baritone or smooth as silk sexy radio voices they all were able to command attention at meetings, and gain recognition as public speakers. It was not only the ability to speak loud and clear when necessary, it was their ability to use the right tone to get their message across.
: In a similar manner, acting lessons teach students how to use gestures and facial expressions to reinforce their message. Although many people believe that face-to-face communications are giving way to the electronic media, it is still important to be able to give good presentations, and be convincing when you speak. If you want to see the difference acting lessons make, watch a game show on TV where the host is a professional actor, and the contestants are not.
: Much of our persona is adopted from watching others. It is not such a bad idea to pick a movie star that you admire and emulate them. There is a little psychological trick that you can use; just before you speak ask yourself, what would your favorite movie star say? I still have to smile when I remember the days of the Clint Eastwood – Dirty Harry movies. How many times a day did you hear the phase “Make my day”? Most of the people who used the phase were nowhere as mean and serious looking as Clint Eastwood, but that was the image they were trying to project. Most seemed a bit ridicules, it was more like Pee-Wee Herman than Clint Eastwood; and to be fair Clint Eastwood usually had a large gun pointed at the person he was trying to convince.
: If you are going to copy a movie star, ensure that the traits you choose to copy are appropriate for the office. The tough guy image is usually out of place in an office setting. Again I am not suggesting that you copy the character, but the actor. Facial expressions, gestures, and tonality are some of the keys to projecting you image.
: The PracticaL Mentor
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