Personal Image and Appearance - Creating the New and Successful You

In 2008, I researched the effect my appearance had on how people view me and how they treat me. I recognized the impact the appearance can have on anyone’s daily life, and I wanted to figure out ways to improve it.

The reality is people judge you in the first few seconds of meeting you. If you don’t have the image you want, you won’t feel good about yourself and others won’t recognize your qualities either. Someone who’s polished tends to come across as attractive and trustworthy, while someone that doesn’t look sophisticated will be perceived the opposite way.

I made the decision to transform my appearance. This meant changing everything from my hairstyle, teeth, and clothing, to my posture and voice. In this way, I felt more confident and it altered others’ views about me as well. The general lesson here is that you should be the person you want to be to become a new and successful you. I can tell you some steps to becoming that person based on my own experience.

Changing your image should involve the following steps:

• Make a list of things you want to change about yourself.
• Ask your friends how they view you in order to determine some of your issues.
• Ask the experts for solutions (eg. a hair stylist can tell you what the best shampoo is).

Things you may want to change are your clothes, posture, hair, physical fitness, smile, or your glasses. The first step is knowing what you want to change. Once you know what you want to fix, you can get help from the experts.
Next, how do you polish your image once you’ve identified your issues?

To sharpen your image, you have to have a polished appearance. You should have quality clothes, and your shoes should be polished. Accessories could include jewellery, watches, and glasses, or even a car, a boat, or a house ;) Btw, white socks with black shoes and dark pants is a huge no-no – very scary.

Polishing your image doesn’t mean only altering your physical appearance. Your image is just as much about your posture, attitude, and body movements. The combination of the way you dress and the way you present yourself through your attitude, the way you carry yourself, and the way you move, is what I like to call the power image. The power image contributes to the general belief that you deserve respect and can accomplish anything.

Your posture and body movements can tell people a lot about you. Your posture and body movements can show whether you are confident or hyper, for example. If your movements are slow and smooth, people will think you are confident. It’s definitely important to pay close attention to your movements and posture so that you can present yourself better – it’s even more important than physical appearance.

Fitness training is a great way to create a confident appearance. In my opinion, martial arts such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu, and Karate give you a confident walk that people find appealing. Fitness training is a great tool for improving your posture and body movements, which will contribute to your overall power image.

You may doubt the importance of the power image, but I’ve seen some great instances of the power image in practice. For example, I witnessed two young guys yelling at a homeless man one day. The homeless man calmly yelled back and told them they had messed with the wrong guy. When the two guys continued to harass him, he stood up and somehow gave them the impression that he was too dangerous to mess with. Shortly after, the two guys decided to leave.

Although the wasn’t dressed too well, the homeless man understood the power of body movements and a calm speaking voice, and he escaped serious trouble that way. This leads me to another step in developing the power image.

Your voice can help you seem more confident. A deep, slow voice can help you display confidence to people, as in the case with the homeless man.

To be viewed in the way you want to be viewed, you need to have the right character and communication skills. It’s important to be a good listener (ie. Listening to understand), because people will appreciate speaking with you, and they will feel appreciated. Further, you can put people at ease in conversations by making small talk with them. Also, never underestimate the power of being polite with people and minding your manners around them.

When I put my communication skills into practice, I didn’t talk too much, and I appeared comfortable and confident. As a result, I came across as a mature, articulate businessman.

Your smile can help you seem more approachable too. A smile, particularly smiling with your eyes, can give you a friendly and approachable appearance.

To further create your power image and polish your look, consider changing your hairstyle, improving your skin’s appearance, having laser eye surgery to eliminate glasses, or even having your teeth whitened. In my experience, changing any of these things can get you positive responses from people and can give you a boost in confidence in yourself as well.

Similarly, certain clothes can give you a polished, confident look. Dressing well means having clothing that fit properly and aren’t showing signs of age. If you do happen to go shopping for new clothes, take a female friend along to help you make your choices, and experiment as much as possible with the clothing. You’ll find that by dressing well, you’ll keep getting positive responses.

One of the most important lessons you can learn about dressing yourself is dressing the part. Dress like who you want to be. If you aren’t dressed the part for a job you want, you won’t get it. You also won’t attract the people you want to attract, and you won’t get the promotion you are aiming for.

Further, presenting yourself well is just as important on the internet as it is in person. Your avatar can tell people a lot about you. Maybe you are trying to present your company’s image with your avatar. Is your avatar professional enough, or are you making a funny face? If your avatar isn’t professional, no one is going to take it seriously.

The best tips I can offer you for your avatar are: keep it professional, yet friendly, personalize your image, and keep it clean and simple rather than blurry.
To become a more successful person, you need to have a polished, sharp appearance. But more so, present yourself effectively through posture, body movements, communication skills, and the right attitude. Never underestimate the importance of the power image.