04 December, 2008

Underdressing For Public Speaking

I think Guy Kawasaki is correct. A person who underdress is showing off than he can underdress and still get away - Azmi Shahrin 


December 02, 2008 - http://marketingtowomenonline.typepad.com/blog/

Has a guy ever told you something, and you just had to go, "Really?  That's what you thought.  Really?"

I had one of those thoughts when reading Guy Kawasaki's Reality Check.  (a must read for every entrepreneur and marketer)

Guy gives tips about public speaking, and one of the tips was to overdress - never dress beneath the level of the audience.  I totally agree.   But it was Guy's reason not to underdress that made me go, "Really?  That's the signal it sends?"

You see, Guy feels that underdressing communicates this message:

"I'm smarter/richer/more powerful than you.  I can insult you and not take you seriously, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Wow - how interesting.   I always feel that underdressing communicates this message:

"I'm not professional enough or smart enough to want to dress in a way that will impress you."

We seem to think underdressing sends different signals.   When I see a speaker who is underdressed, I think the speaker is sending a signal that they are "less than" the level of the audience.

Guy thinks that when a speaker is underdressed, it's sending a signal that the speaker is "more than" the audience.

I wonder if this would be true for a female speaker?   Perhaps for men, dressing down is a sign of status, where as for women, dressing up is a sign of status.

What do you think?   If you see a speaker who is underdressed, what signal does that send to you?  

And is it different for male and female speakers?


--
Azmi Shahrin
012-9198557

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