I want to tell you another story. You like stories, right? It’s always good to learn from other’s mistakes and experiences.
Well, this story is about a colleague of mine. We were talking at a networking meeting a few years ago. He was telling us all this story:
He wanted to test out a little experiment about dress and appearance and first impressions and how it can affect what people think of you.
He went to a networking meeting where everyone was dressed in business casual. He showed up in jeans and a t-shirt on purpose. He walked in, sat down and slouched in his chair. He didn’t talk to many people at this meeting. He talked to the person who sat next to him, but no one else approached him.
The following week, he went to another network meeting, but this time he dressed in a full suit with the white shirt and tie. He walked in looking important. As soon as he was in the room, people started approaching him and introducing themselves. They just assumed he was someone to know.
A short while into the meeting, he overheard a group near him talking. Someone had asked a question that no one in the group knew the answer to. Someone else suggested that the person should ask the man over there and pointed to my friend wearing the suit. The man with the question did walk over and ask my friend who had absolutely know idea what the answer to his question was. My friend just laughed because he knew these people thought he was the authority on the topic just because he was there with a suit walking with an air of importance.
Do you think this could happen to you, if you tried out the experiment? Absolutely. Next time you go to a meeting, try this out. See what results you get. I have tried it, and it absolutely makes a difference every time. But remember, it’s not just your dress (or the suit), it’s how you walk in and how you carry yourself that also makes the difference.
