What’s in a Cover?

My friend, novelist Morag Joss put an interesting post on her site recently about how her publisher had chosen two different covers and titles for her latest book  to appeal to two different markets – the U.S. and U.K. The covers are radically different  but the content is the same. One assumes that the publishers know their stuff but it is intriguing. The book for UK publication is called ‘Across the Bridge‘ and the US version ‘Among The Missing’.

First Impressions

One of these covers will probably attract you more than the other; you will be more likely to pick up one if browsing in a bookshop.

Whether we like it or not people judge a book by its cover. Every time you step into public view you are projecting an image. You may not like that idea and resolutely resist the idea that appearance matters and that will be the image you are projecting! It’s like your shadow, you can’t get rid of it, it’s always there. But you can choose, to a degree, what image you project.

So it is worth taking a few moments to consider if the ‘cover’ you are projecting to the world is the one you want out there. Is your ‘cover’ the best one for your target audience? When you first appear at an event or meeting, people look at you and make a judgement. It may be a positive assessment or it may not. If positive, you start with an advantage. If negative the reverse is true. You are on the back foot from the start and will have to work harder.

Which Cover?

Back to those covers. Here is the US version opposite. What do you think? Do you prefer the U.S version or the first? I’d love to know. If you are a US reader has the publisher shown the right cover to sell it to you, and likewise for the UK? Do tell!

And while we’re on the subject, what do you think of the cover of my book? You can be totally honest as hard copies are selling out and a new run will be coming soon. But there are still ‘first edition’ copies available!

Take Off Your Pyjamas!

Actually, that’s a message to me; I promise I haven’t suddenly gone all weird on you (well, no weirder than normal!) Read on…

Last week a lovely researcher from BBC’s Women’s Hour contacted me about a comment I’d made on women changing their names after marriage. I didn’t change mine and frankly am always nonplussed that women do, (although I respect everyone’s right to do what they want!) It’s not a legal requirement in UK, more a convention that has its roots in women having no rights and belonging to their husbands, but I’ll step off my women and empowerment soap box and get on with the post!

Radio Star?

The plan was that if time permitted, I would be called to share my views with the panel on the Women’s Hour programme, hosted by Jane Garvey. It wouldn’t really be decided until the day but if I was wanted I’d get a call about 10.00. I had no qualms about what I might say but didn’t expect to be thinking about what I was wearing. This was radio after all!

Now this may come as a shock to you, (!) but when I am working from home I am more likely to be found in old joggers and outsize jumper than smart working gear. And sometimes (sit down now) I don’t even get dressed until I have written for an hour or three and suddenly realise it’s 10.30! I know, it’s totally shocking! I am not always immaculate! As you all are…all the time…I expect. (Although I never coach in my jimjams. I just can’t do it!)

Dressing UP

So, 9.00 a.m. found me at my pc having already responded to several emails and I suddenly realised I wasn’t properly dressed. There was no one in the house, I wasn’t coaching, had no meetings, and the postman’s seen it all before. But I knew I couldn’t stay like that. If Jane spoke to me I am sure she would have known I was dishabille!

So I had to go and get dressed as I do when I’m working, proper working you know, with people looking at me!

I made myself laugh out loud, but actually there is a slightly serious point to be made here. Looking like a scruffy old woman would have taken a little bit of my confidence away. Dressing like someone who knew what she was talking about actually boosted my confidence, even though no one could see me!

It’s fascinating isn’t it? I think most women feel better if they think they look good but I was surprised that it worked even when no one can hear you scream. I mean see you working.

How about you? Are you affected by what you wear even when alone? I’d love to hear from you, especially if you’re women who work from home!

PS All my dressing efforts were in vain as I never got the call! I was mentioned on the show, but no actual appearance. I’m really glad I didn’t go as far as eye-liner now!

PPS. If the knowledge that I always dress well when coaching has enticed you to work directly with me, click here now!

And You Are…?

I don’t know about you but I really hate those networking events where you get one minute to put your pitch, then you listen to their one minute spiel, frantically swap business cards and move on. I never knowingly attend them but occasionally I get caught out and find myself in the circle of wordage doom being herded around like a sheep!

It definitely brings out my naughty child and I hear myself saying ridiculous things, which has conclusively proved to me that no one is really listening anyway, just concentrating on their up coming moment of glory! Sometimes, if I’m really lucky, I’ll encounter a fellow renegade and we’ll slope off together to chat in a corner and leave the one minute spielers to their fun.

So, what follows is nothing to do with awful networking events but is an exercise to give some thought to how you present yourself to people.

First Impressions

I occasionally use this exercise on my women’s courses, like RenewYou; you might like to try it yourself.

Think of three scenarios when you might encounter someone on whom you wish to make a good impression. These might be:

• a person you are attracted to
• someone you think could be a great mate
• a person who may be a potential employer or new client
• your old teacher
• your child’s prospective in laws
• new neighbours

In each scenario what are the key facts about yourself you’d like to get across? What impression would you like to leave them with? Rather than sentences you could try out a few adjectives about yourself.

And then next time you get stuck in a circle of wordage doom you can easily fill your minute! But make sure you don’t accidentally lurch into your ‘person I fancy’ spiel! Although, on second thoughts, it probably won’t matter as very few are really listening!

Career Tips for Women # 16

Three Minutes Count!

Julia Goodman runs a consultancy helping women perform well at interview. Using the research from Professor Mehrabian (which I’ve written about before, click here) on the impact of the non verbal messages we give, she films all her clients giving mock interviews.  This has given her a wealth of material to draw on for research.

Keep Focussed

Ms Goodman reviewed over 1000 of these role play tapes and discovered an interesting fact. The first three minutes really count, when you make your initial impression and set the tone for the interview. No real surprises there as we all know the power of first impressions.

However, she also discovered that many interviewees lost focus in the closing stages of interview but those that maintained focus right to the end, gave more successful interviews (at least in the role play interviews). The final three minutes were as important as the first. It makes sense, people remember the first time they meet you, and the last!

Relief

So next time you have an interview, don’t let your relief at getting to the end show too much! Remain focussed and alert and don’t begin to relax until you have left the building!

If you have any interview tips or stories to share, please use the comments box and tell us!

First Impressions Matter!

First Impressions

It is a very old cliché but you never get a second chance to make a first impression. But you do get a chance to revitalise your image and confound people’s expectations of you, which you will do if you change your personal image.

Almost all the people I work with tell me that changing how they dressed actually had a significant impact on how they felt which caused them to behave differently and as a result to get different reactions from others. Imagine turning up at an event severely under dressed (i.e. jeans and a sloppy sweatshirt when everyone else is in evening attire) you are likely to want to slink into the background and feel out of place; you will certainly stand out from the crowd and get noticed but it may not be the impression you want to create. If you dress differently but making sure it is appropriate, you can actually give your confidence a boost and cause people to behave towards you in a different way.

The Halo Effect

Much research has been done into how long it takes someone to sum you up based on what image you present; it varies slightly but an average is about 90 seconds. 90 seconds! That is particularly important when it comes to job interviews as I can testify myself. Having interviewed many, many people and despite always telling myself it’s the person that counts you just can’t help yourself being influenced by that first impression – which is invariably what they look like. Do they look like they’ve made an effort? Are they dressed appropriately? Do they stand, smile and offer you a firm hand shake as they introduce themselves?

It all contributes to the final package, it’s called the ‘halo effect’ and will influence how all other information is received, including answers to interview questions or whether they choose to buy your service!

Just a cliché?

Some of us find it really difficult to accept that how you look can have such an impact which invariably brings out another old cliché – Never judge a book by its cover. But if we’re honest we do, don’t we? How many of us will pick up a book in a plain brown cover with a dull coloured small type if we are looking for a light holiday read? Most of us are drawn to the brightly coloured and striking covers. But if we’re looking for a text book on say, contract law, we would be very suspicious of that brightly coloured striking cover fearing it would not have the right gravitas, we wouldn’t trust the content. Similarly, we need to dress for the market, or the customers, or the next job we want!

People receive messages about us in many ways and how we choose to present ourselves gives one piece of information about us. Even if we say we don’t care about how we look then that is the message we are giving others.

An Example

I used to manage a team of social workers in a large hospital. We’d never spelt out a dress code but there was one and we didn’t really think about it until someone transgressed it. We had a young man in our team for a short while. He was a good worker but his appearance belied this; he was scruffy and dressed as if off to a student party. I gently took him to task for his appearance which he resented, but he then went out and got himself a very smart suit, way above the usual standard of dress in the team. He did it originally to prove a point but it was fascinating to watch the effect it had.

When he went onto the wards staff gave him more attention and respect than he had previously received and he actually said it was akin to being treated like a consultant. His confidence improved, his standard of work went up and he certainly raised his profile.  He was the same person as before but then patients, usually elderly, had to overcome their feelings about his appearance before they could trust him; he did not have the luxury of time to demonstrate he was a competent worker. He had to give that ‘I’m a professional, you can trust me’ message very quickly and he learned that his personal image both helped and hindered him. With women the effect can be even more marked and research shows that people will always assume a woman in a tailored jacket is in a senior position.

Stocktake your Appearance

Take a few minutes to think about what you are wearing now and what this says about you and the service you offer. If you are in your workplace is it a professional and competent look?  Is that the image you want to convey or does your business call for a more approachable look? What is the dress code?

Where to get help

If you think you could do with a new look there are lots of places where help is available. There are many image consultants as a quick trawl of the internet will reveal but have you thought about trying the personal shoppers in major department stores? They usually offer their services free to men and women and in my experience are brilliant at what they do. Give them a brief and your budget and see what they come up with. You are under no obligation to buy.
 
Whatever you think about how we judge one another it is worth knowing for those times when you want to use it for your advantage. It’s a relatively easy way of giving out a message and giving yourself a boost in the meantime. Be bold!