Your appearance ‘talks’

Your appearance ‘talks’ a lot. One can look shabby, average or excellent.. If you are shabbily dressed and groomed, you will be treated shabbily. To get importance, feel important and dressing right is essential to feel important.

One can generally judge a person by the way he is dressed and groomed.  Everyone knows the value of dressing well in an interview and candidates generally take care. But the ones with the habit of dressing well would definitely appear better: he normally dresses well and that day he takes extra care. Nowadays many understand that one’s appearance and the ensuing ‘I am  good’ feeling helps one perform better in any examination (it is after all a type of interview).  

Wear new clothes, a new pair of shoes - at least use washed and neatly pressed clothes and polished shoes- comb your hair in the most pleasing way and apply perfume (if you like) after shaving, trimming your mustache (if you have one), removing unnecessary hair from face,   pruning the nails of toes and fingers and taking time to shower and make your body immaculately clean. This is not only applicable on an interview or exam day;  let it become a habit. The more confidence you feel about yourself, the better will be the treatment from others.  The external world responds to you the way you feel about yourself inside. The well-dressed person commands more respect and gets more positive things. The shabbily dressed person is taken generally as careless, inefficient and is treated relatively badly too.

In my seminars when I mention this, participants always express the apprehension about their inability to afford the kind of clothing required. Dressing right does not always imply expensive clothing. But well–stitched clothes of better quality will give you a better feeling. Instead of buying three shirts you buy one which is a class in itself (like the branded ones). Instead of buying a number of slippers, get a good pair of shoes. Better quality stuff will last more and in the long run you are not spending extra. Take time to choose matching color, shade and texture; do not make a purchase until you are fully satisfied. 

The principle is applicable to ties, coats, perfume, body lotion, soaps and shampoos. (If you can afford better housing it would add up to your confidence too).  When you do all these, you will respect yourself more and others will also respect you more.  Remember your appearance talks to yourself as it does to others. Your gain is two-pronged and hence you take care to appear always the best.