Dressing for Work: How to Increase Your Power
One of the things that I often say is: “There’s so much out of our control in life and work. Why would we not control everything we can, in order to increase our odds of success?”
How you dress is, in fact, one thing within your control. And as was recently brought to my attention, how you can project power through your dress is another.
Last month, I attended an event in Nashville, called “Everything Counts: The Power Behind Dressing for Career Success.” As soon as personal stylist Cathi Aycock took the stage and opened her mouth, she surpassed my moderate expectations with her commanding presence and precise words. What really impressed me? She had facts and numbers about a squishy topic. After all, you know that numbers bring gravitas and make a story compelling.
Today, I want to share with you the one thing she said that changed my approach to getting dressed tout suite:
Wear a jacket.
You don’t have to wear a suit (especially while doing business in Nashville, don’t wear a suit; you’ll be weird). You don’t have to wear a dress. Heck, you don’t even have to wear dress pants.
But man or woman, if you want to make an impact, you must wear a jacket.
Cathi says that a jacket signals power, completeness, and intentionality. We humans are wired to look for authority, and wearing a jacket or blazer will do just that: signal to others that you are in charge (even if technically, you’re not).
A few years ago, one experiment demonstrated that when someone wearing a blazer presents information, content retention by the audience is over 40% more than if someone without a blazer is presents the same topic. Can you believe that? Forty percent!
Now layer this on top: guess how many hours of face-to-face time it takes to change a first impression.
Just guess.
Sixteen. SIXTEEN!
How many clients and colleagues will you even have 16 hours of face-to-face time with these days?
You know where this is going. Since hearing this one month ago, I’ve changed my routine for getting dressed. It’s now: build your outfit around a jacket when working, especially if there’s a chance that you’ll meet someone new.
After all, it’s so simple. Why the heck wouldn’t you make this one little tweak that is within your control? It increases the perception of your power – something so vital, which until now – you thought was outside your control.
