Later today, go into your closet and do a rough estimate of how much money you’ve spent on your clothes, shoes, belts, jewelry, and accessories. Chances are, it’s more than $1000, or even $10,000 or possibly $100,000.
Why do we spend so much money on clothing? It’s because we want to look our best, we assume, rightly so, that people judge us by our appearance.
But the aspect that’s most obvious for people to see in our professional lives, is how we speak, how we present, how we move, and whether we exude confidence.
Here’s the thing about nice clothes, anyone with money can buy them. You’re not going to distinguish yourself on your next job interview or your next pitch for venture capital or your next interview on CNBC by what you’re wearing. Unless you’re really awful, chances are people won’t even notice.
But they will notice what you say and how you say it.
If you can only afford a $200 suit, that’s fine earlier in your career. But it makes no sense to refuse to buy a $10 course on how to prepare for a job interview if you just spent $200 on your job interview suit.
If you are up for a six or seven figure C-level position and you have an interview with the board of directors tomorrow, it makes no sense to spend $10,000 on a new outfit if you haven’t made a substantial investment in what you are saying, and how you are saying it.
Nobody says let me “wing it“ and just throw together some handmade clothes, I’m sure it will look fine. That would be insanity. And yet people seem to think they can throw together their messages and how they present and how they come across just by winging it.
Can you relate to this?
We are all guilty of spending money in irrational ways from time to time. I’m no exception, and you can see in the video below a tour of my own closet today. But that doesn’t mean you can’t reassess what is in your best interest and then act accordingly.
For most people in most careers, the biggest impact on how far they advance is not what style of clothes they wear. It is how well they communicate, persuade, convince, and influence. And you can’t buy those things at Saks, Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Brioni or Kmart.
Chances are you’re already investing a lot in a car that none of your clients or colleagues see,, and shoes that clients and colleagues rarely see, and a house with a guest bedroom or two that nobody sees. Isn’t it time you actually invest in the one thing people will see and remember about you that could have the biggest positive impact on your life and career?
How you are presenting yourself to the world, your presentation skills.
I recently created a new hybrid coaching program that is ideal for successful executives, who want to become even better at all aspects of their communications. If you are ambitious and want to go to the next level, then please click here and schedule a call to speak with me today.
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