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‘The human senses are the doorway to the brain. Without the senses, the human mind will be disconnected from the world. It is amazing how a person can improve his capability, courage, confidence and charm by selecting what he feeds to his senses. The success of many people in present and in the past was achieved solely on the foundation of a strong will to overcome all obstacles and work towards achieving the vision. I feel it is because they know how to surround themselves with people of great determination and courage. Therefore, they constantly feed their eyes with the sights and speech of others whom are invigorated with courage and determination. In my classes, I teach my participants to do the same in their personal behavior and styling to experience amazing transformation’ ~ Ana Cheong, AICI CIP
14. 15.At AAA Academy and AAA Solutions Sdn Bhd (hereinafter referred to as AAA Solutions), we derive that a person’s image originates from her Inner Being and is expressed in her Outer Image. This is illustrated in the below diagram:
16.17. 18.
In our image consulting sessions, we have 2 main components :
19. 20.- Life Blueprint (Inner Being)
21.- Image Branding (Outer Image)
22. 23.I have had the privilege to learn from Science and Wellness Organization (www.swo.today) to understand how human mindset and beliefs are projected into their outer image and the way they live. I walk the years of my own personal journey with breakthroughs of my own mind and I am proud to share that I now understand ‘Personal Image’ in a broader view. All these concepts; image, dressing techniques, color analysis, fabric and texture, line and design of garment, can now be proved and backed by science which can then be illustrated in an easy to understand manner so that this knowledge can be made available to all.
24.It was in a conversation with the head of research of Science and Wellness organization, Mrs. Ainun Aida that I understood further how images captured by our brains are interpreted into different messages. Every detail that our eyes capture constitutes to others’ perception about us. The lack of knowledge and awareness in this science is the common reason why how we would like others to perceive us is not how they truly perceive us.
25.Also, it is a known fact that as human beings, we discover new things about ourselves in every passing moment. It is these inborn tendencies to get in touch with our inner being to understand ourselves that we have the faith to stretch, expand and advance in our capabilities to create, invent and innovate. Many success stories in the past and current has proven this point to be true e.g. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb hence now we can read at night, Elon Musk and his team invented the electric car and now it is gaining popularity in support of sustainability.
26. 27. 28.The science of inner being
The inner being is always described as the non-physical being. It encompasses a person’s true or internal mind, soul or nature. It can also be described as the way one behaves in relation to one’s inner psychic processes; it is the inner attitude, the characteristic face, that is turned towards the unconscious.
The physical body is made up of elements and electrical impulses and the mind and emotions is a result of interactions of chemicals and hormones / enzymes. How these chemicals and hormones / enzymes interact in the body help create different types of thoughts and emotions in the human mind.
Understanding this concept will help us understand better why people choose to look a certain way or may even help us to understand the underlying message of their appearance and behavior.
What goes on in the human mind affects their attitude and behavior, toward themselves or to others. It is also human nature to always look for ways to express their inner feeling, mostly in the form of art, music, painting, singing, acting, fashion and etc.
The inner self is a realm that is not governed by any specific science. It is subjective and cannot be calculated or concluded. We may try our best to understand the concept of inner self, but in truth, this field is still open to many possibilities.
To know the inner self is to know your purpose, values, vision goals, motivations and beliefs. Knowing your inner self requires a high level of introspection, self-awareness and self-reflection. Many people go through life with little or no regards to their inner self and lose themselves along the way; not knowing their strengths and capabilities. When this happens, self-doubt and insecurities will creep in and open doors for stress, depression, anxiety and mental illness.
Part of what governs the inner self is the inner psyche; which refers to all of the elements of the human mind, both conscious and unconscious. In colloquial usage, the term sometimes refers to a person’s emotional life. For example, a person might say that trauma has damaged a person’s psyche.
The life experience of a person contributes to the formation of a person’s current psyche. This includes what they have learned, witnessed and exposed to growing up (whether aware or unaware), what they felt, and what they have been programmed to accept as normal or abnormal behavior.
With everyone’s experience being different and unique, therefore everyone’s psyche and mindset are also running on different platforms (may be similar, but different).
This creates your personal branding / character as your subconscious programming is projected to the outside world as how you behave, think, communicate, appear and present yourself to others.
Image branding
Personal image is a way you communicate with others about you. Personal image involves the science of how you present yourself in any occasion. Personal image includes :
How you look
How you behave
How you speak or talk
We often meet individuals who know how to dress well, carry themselves with confidence and communicate with others easily. However, we have also met many individuals who do not seem to know how to dress appropriately, are not aware of how to behave appropriately in the occasion and does not seem to be able to connect and communicate with others especially during important occasions and settings.
The reason for this is most of us are not taught formally in how to build our personal image at schools, colleges or universities. Some of us have the innate talent that naturally knows how to present a confident personal image but most of us do not understand how to do it.
We further take into consideration of human perception when consulting clients in the techniques of dressing. The general rule is considering how you want others to see you and the perception of others towards you whom are important or significant in your advance-ment and life. The aim is to present yourself in accordance to who you are and how you would like others to see you in a specific occasion. The art is to balance between the two aspects ~ to be comfortable in your own skin and at the same time your selfpresentation should be able to project the messages that you want others to know about you and what you stand for.
In our years of working with individuals and corporate executives, we have successfully unlocked the ‘Science of How to Look Good’. We discovered this through understanding the psychology of the human mind.
We can conclude that a person’s personal image communicates to others about him and hence forms an impression of him in another person’s mind.
At AAA Academy and AAA Solutions, we train and coach our trainees and graduates on the Art and Science of Image Consulting. AAA’s trainees and graduates impart this knowledge to the clients that they work with and guide them to use this knowledge can be apply in daily lives.
In our years of consulting sessions with top management executives, we managed to experiment with many techniques that ultimately help them to advance in career and personal life.
Psychology of Human mind and First Impression
How our mind works
The mind is usually defined as the faculty of an entity’s thoughts and consciousness. It holds the power of imagination, recognition and appreciation and is responsible for processing feelings and emotions, resulting in attitudes and actions. The state of a person’s mind / mindset will also govern their attitude towards life and reactions and responses toward daily incidences.
At the basic level, the brain receives and processes input from the senses (audition, smell, gustation, touch and vision). This information then goes through a process called association.
Association in psychology refers to a mental connection between concepts, events, or mental states that usually stem from specific experiences. Associations are seen through-out several schools of thoughts in psychology, including behaviorism, associationism, psychoanalysis, social psychology, and structuralism.
Association may or may not benefit to a person’s self-growth because the references are made to a person’s past emotional experiences. And the interpretation of information through association may be influenced by existing cognitive bias (a systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment).
In general, the mind constantly works on what is already stored in the cognitive faculty (such as memory) and this may not provide favorable cognitive behavior resulting in actions which is defensive and unwilling to learn.
A person’s life experience and associated memories will contribute to mind conditioning, habitual thinking and fixed thought patterns.
A person’s mind will also determine their beliefs and influence their behavior towards other people and in managing situations.
The mind, left on its own, will run on automatic mode, unless the owner decides to take action to intervene the process which usually comes through awareness and realization. Constantly providing new input and knowledge to the brain will help expand the mind and introduce new ways of thinking leading to new sets of behavior in life.
The resetting / reformatting of engrams (electrochemical processes that underlie specific memory contents) is also an integral part of reconstructing new mindset in order to eliminate cognitive bias).
How is first impression formed in the mind
A study done by Burt Decker, Founder of Decker Communications, proves that our brains make a first impression of someone we meet in just 2 seconds.
When we see a person, our eyes collect all the information and passes them to our brains as visual inputs. This information is then associated to past experiences / learnings / memories in order to understand, label, categorize the image and determine the appropriate behavior to apply to it.
As discussed before, this process is individualistic and the result of interpreting the first impression may be similar but will vary with different individuals based on their present mindset and perception.
To dress for a specific purpose, however, such as for an interview or attending a networking meeting, a person needs to take into consideration what is expected culturally and socially for the specific setting, as these are the 2 main factors that heavily influence the formation of first impression in a person’s mind.
As humans are emotional beings, facial expression plays a crucial factor in helping to form a good first impression. Faces that show negative emotions compared to neutral faces will create negative first impressions. This is because when negative emotions are on display, a situation happens in the mind of the observer called the amygdala hijack.
An amygdala hijack refers to a personal, emotional response that is immediate, over-whelming and out of measure with the actual stimulus because it has triggered a much more significant emotional threat (amygdala is the part of the brain that plays a key role in the processing of emotions).
When this happens, a human is no longer using rational logic to make judgment but instead judgment is made based on an emotional response to what is perceived as a threat and this is no longer fair or actual.
Another area of thinking that needs to be looked into when discussing first impressions in the mid is the Halo Effect.
The Halo Effect is something referred to as the “physical attractiveness stereotype” and the “what is beautiful is also good” principle. Psychologist, Edward Thorndike, first coined the term in a 1920 paper, titled “The Constant Error in Psychological Ratings”.
Physical appearance is often a major part of the Halo Effect. People who are considered attractive tend to be rated higher on other positive traits as well. And people who are sociable and kind, may also be seen as more likeable and intelligent.
Several studies have found that when we rate people as good-looking, we also tend to believe that they have positive personality traits and that they are more intelligent. One study even found that jurors were less likely to believe that attractive people were guilty of criminal behavior.
How first impression affects the afterward communication and relationship building
First impression is very important to people just as important as their business card. It is the first thing that people see, it’s like an introduction before you even speak.
However, the way the mind works is such that a first impression is referenced to past memories and experiences and can / may result in comparing behavior.
A person’s first impression is now leading to the conclusion of whether or not the person is a threat / competitor to the observer which will affect communication, rapport and relationship building.
Therefore, a person’s image / appearance has to be curated with attention to details to form an appropriate first impression and obtain the desired reaction.
For those looking for approval into a circle of individuals, then a played down appearance is necessary so as not to appear as a threat. And for those who would like to seek to impress, then the appearance has to be played up to appear impressive and skilled.
Mostly, through appearance and first impression, we can predetermine the kind of communication and relationship that we want to invoke in others and obtain from that specific social setting. This field is always underestimated by many and they end up losing the battle before they even start.
An individual who truly wants to achieve success in life will understand the significance of appearance and first impression to elicit the exact response that he or she desires.
1. How Your Personal Image communicates to others
Albert Mehrabian, born in 1939 to an Armenian family living in Iran, is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Although he originally trained as an engineer, he is best known for his publications on the relative importance of verbal and nonverbal messages.
He developed a communication model, in which he demonstrated that only 7% of what we communicate consists of the literal content of the message. The use of one’s voice, such as tone, intonation and volume, take up 38% and as much as 55% of communication consists of body language.
However, there are also argument on ‘Busting the Mehrabian’ (www.creativitiyworks.net) that the communication model is not entirely correct because in general human communicate with words most of the time. In particularly when an expert is giving a presentation on his subject matter, the content of the presentation is very important. We agreed with this and we support the fact that when the expert can present his speech with the right tone, support with appropriate body language and dress appropriately for the occasions, it will be a very effective presentation that benefit the audience.
According to Neuroscience, how your brain interpret images is made up of 3 components which consist of Colors 50%, Shapes 20% and 30% Body Movement:
Ultimately, we have to agree in the current era of 2020, with the raising popularity of social media like Instagram, twitters, facebook, blogs etc. We can conclude that ‘The Look’ is important.
Mobile phone companies like Apple, Samsung and Huawei are competing to research and develop; and produce the best mobile phone camera that takes beautiful pictures. People enjoy posting photos of themselves, what they do daily, places that they visit etc. on social media.
We now live in the society that do care about how we look … or at least most of us do care. I feel the need to derive some guiding principles that layman can refer to enable them to dress well in their daily lives and especially in important occasions like getting the job that they want, going out for the first date, giving an important presentation in the board room or on stage, negotiation, pitching for a tender and selling high ticket items.
1.1. How you look
In the book ‘Mind What You Wear : The Psychology of Fashion’ by Professor Karen Pine1 Professor Karen Pine shared as humans we communicate a great deal about ourselves via the medium of personal style and dress. Recent research on enclothed cognition demonstrates a powerful link between a person’s attire and the way they behave, and evolutionary and cognitive psychology can help us to understand the inner drivers for people’s clothing choices, and the effect upon others.
The Science of Vision
Your eyes see but your brain interpret ‘What it is’.
We only see colour in our central vision. We use central vision to read, drive and see pictures or objects. When you have good central vision, you can see shapes, colours and details clearly. It is located in the center of the macula lutea of the retina. Interesting points about the brain :
- When there are too many things to look at, the brain needs to work harder, and there is a higher risk that you will stop looking at it. Our brain is just not good at looking at many objects at one go.
- The brain will pay attention to either beautiful or nice things OR ugly or unpleasant looking object. The earlier will evoke a nice feeling in your body and vice versa for the later.
Beauty as a Sustainable Strategy
What we consider to be beautiful changes over time. But there are some common characteristics that pass the test of time, says Nicolai Bo Andersen, associate professor at the Institute for Architecture and Culture at the Royal Danish Academy for Fine Arts, School of Architecture.
It’s a question of how we experience architecture. A building’s form, colour, proportions, materials, and daylight, directly affect the human body and give a feeling of connectedness to the world. Beauty may be understood as the uplifting feeling experienced through the body and the senses, says Andersen.
In image consulting, we too utilize the same art and design elements as in architecture ~ colour, proportions, shapes and etc. to enhance a person’s appearance or camouflage a body figure challenge.
How you look affects your success
Darlene Price, president of Well Said, Inc said “Let’s be clear: In the big picture of ultimate reality, what you wear neither defines who you are as a person nor determines your value as a human being”. She is the author “Well Said! Presentations and Conversations That Get Results”. She further shared that realistically people do judge us by how we look and dress. This is especially true at workplace that clothing plays a significant role in influencing how people response to you.
Another principle that works well for almost all people is dress by occasion. Simply explained as you should have your working or business wardrobe, casual wardrobe and formal function wardrobe. When you are in a business suit, the way you think, move your body and talk means business whereas when you are in your jeans and t-shirt, you will act in a more relax and casual manner. However, the emerge of organization like Google, Facebook and Alibaba, it permits employee to wear casual or smart casual attire in their seemingly casual environment. It does change the landscape of the business settings and the requirement to dress formal for business meet. The idea of allowing the employees in those organizations to dress casual is because it promotes creativity and also allowing them to be comfortable in their clothing when working long hours.
In an interview, you dress for the job you want or you dress, speak and behave to get hired. The common interview dress code is either black or dark blue suits with black leather dress shoes and white shirt. It is a benchmark across all industries that you practice this dress code during interview especially when you go for your first job interview, you must look professional and credible.
A research from Office Team on clothing and promotability, “What you wear to work may be preventing you from getting a promotion.”
A key finding from the survey: 86% of workers and 80% of managers believe “clothing choices affect a person’s chances of being promoted.”
My view is, it is important to observe the norms and dressing style in each industry. By dressing up to meet the unspoken dressing benchmark in your industry, it will help you open door to opportunities, career advancement, new business projects and etc. Of course, your capabilities of your field of expertise have to be able to match your top-notch image to perform the given task, projects or holds a higher role in the organization. In my own experience, dressing well alone is not sufficient to get you the job or the contacts you want, but not dressing well will not support your advancement in any form. Are you planning to send the right message or the wrong ones?
The Formula of CPSFS
In my more than 2 decades of works in image consulting, branding and business consulting for peak performance and productivity. We derive the 5 main components of “The Look” for an individual.
Couloirs
Proportion
Shapes & patterns
Fitting
Style
My aim is to allow working professional to have the Sartorial Look with a comfortable budget (according to www.evoluzionestyle.comsm in the age of Expression. The definition of Sartorialism has evolved from one that pertains purely to tailoring, clothes, or style of dress...
The modern Sartorial Expression is now about tailoring trends and customizing an aesthetic that is unique to the individual).
The goal is for individual to dress to complement their features and express themselves to exude the confidence and perceived credibility at workplace or business setting. He should be comfortable in those clothing be it social or business wear.
To achieve this goal for working individual with a budget, we should focus on The Parcel of 4
A minimalist high-performance wardrobe
Investing in quality items rather than quantity
Identify the important stakeholders that you meet, connect and network
Cultivate discipline on getting the ‘right’ items rather than a good buy item
The Parcel of 4 can be illustrate as below ;
- Parcel 1 : High performance Wardrobe
It refers to a wardrobe that comprises attire of categories for all occasions in your daily life. Each category of clothing consists of 3 to 5 sets of attire. The number of attires in each category will corelate to the frequency of use for it. Example if 70% of your daily activities is to attend meeting with potential client in your business than 70% of your wardrobe will make up of this category. The pyramid below illustrates “High Performance Wardrobe”
The above pyramids and its categories of wardrobe changes depending on the individual’s life style. Example as below :
Example 1
If an individual’s profession is a lawyer whom most days attend the courts follow by attending dinner or cocktail functions 3 time a week then 70% of his wardrobe will be formal business, 20% of his wardrobe will be dinner and cocktail events apparels and 10% will be his casual and smart casual clothing.
Example 2
Whereas if a person is an IT personnel whom most of the time stationed in the office, 70% of his wardrobe will like be smart casual outfits like jeans, khakis with casual shirt and polo t-shirt, 20% of his wardrobe will be Business Casual, 10% of his wardrobe is casual and dinner functions.
- Parcel 2 : Investing in Quality Items
In order to know how to invest in quality items, you have to first know what is the criteria that constitute a quality item in the wardrobe. Below is the 4 main criteria :
The visual appearance of the item
The perception (message) of the item present to you and others
The fitting of the item on you
The ‘Used Value’ : possible of the frequencies of the item used for you and the purpose of its usage.
Visual Appearance
When an object or items display of high level of finishing in all the details of the it, it shows that the maker of the items has put in the effort and time; and at the same time possess the required skills to produce a good item.
Example 1 : A pair of pants
The sewing and stitching of the pants are refined and in proper order. The thread used delivers aesthetics and performance in stitches and seams. The color of the thread is similar or complement with the color of the fabric of the pants. The cutting and the design of the pants are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. All other accessories in the pants e.g. buttons and zipper are made of good quality materials that can endure the usual wear and tear of the pants without looking dated after a few washes or dry clean of the pant. Most importantly all the other accessories add on the aesthetic look of the pants.
Example 2 : A pair of dress shoes
When searching for a pair of men dress shoes, it is important to check the finishing of both the inside and the external look of the shoes. The visible glued seam showcases the shoes is off low quality. Check the shoes of both the right side and the left side whether is symmetric in design of every detail. As human, we are born with slightly different size of the feet. However, for a pair of good shoes, we are looking at symmetric design, cutting and other details in both side unless the design of the shoes is meant to be asymmetric. Genuine leather will be preferred over PVC leather as the genuine leather will seasoned off with a nice tone as compare to PVC leather. Also check the stitching of the shoes, is there any loose thread that is apparent to the eyes, if there is, it showcases a lower quality of the shoes. Genuine leather shoes are a worthwhile investment in the long run because it last longer.
Perception
In psychology and cognitive science, perception is formed through human being collecting data of information through the senses i.e. seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling. This information goes through the brain to be processed with the influence of the person’s belief system, past experiences and programming.
In image consulting, perception is the way you think of a person or your impression of him when you look at a person. It could also be extended to you hearing the person’s tone of voice and speech, you form an impression of him. In most cases, the sense of sight dominant during the first meet that many of us formed an impression of the person by just looking at the person within seconds.
Case study :
Scenario 1 : We work with a male client by dressing him in a casual T-shirt , torn jeans and wearing a cap. He is to approach young ladies in the super market and kick start a conversation with some conversation starters. In his first attempt, he approaches 5 young ladies in the supermarket by pretending to search for an item in the same rack that those ladies are looking at, in all the 5 attempts, only 1 young lady directed him to get the item but there was no other conversation strike beyond the mere act of helping him.
Scenario 2 : We send the male client for a good haircut and styling, dress him in long sleeves check shirts with roll up sleeves pair with Levi jeans and a pair of adidas sneakers. We guide him on giving friendly smile. Thereafter send him back to the same super market for the same exercise, he was able to connect to all 5 new young ladies using the same techniques. All of them was not only willing to help but also spend approximately 10 to 15 minutes to have a friendly conversation with him.
Fitting:
In scenario 1, we dress him up with the intention that others form a perception of him that he looks casual, chilled and untidy. His T-shirt was dated, jeans was torn and faded. His did not shave on that day and intentionally leave his hair uncombed and not style.
In scenario 2, we dress him up with the intention that others perceive him as casual, friendly and can be trusted. His smart casual shirt was well pressed and jeans are in good furnishing. He wore a dark blue sneaker that is clean and looks fairly new. He shaved and hair was short and styled.
In this case study, we conclude that people when being approached by a clean looking, well-groomed and dress appropriately person with friendly facial expression, they tend to be open to connect and help the person.
Fitting
When the wearer wear items that fit him or her well, it shows that he has the awareness and knowledge on how to dress himself pleasantly. It indicates that he takes good care of his appearances, understand the importance of good fitted items on his body and appreciate quality items.
The table below illustrate the items for wearer and the recommended criteria for fitting
Used Value
‘Used Value’ referred to what is the benefits that you can derive from when using this item. If you can derive the ‘Used Value’ of an item, you will likely have an amount in mind that you will be willing to part with in exchange for this item.
Case Study : John is a young executive in an investment establishment. He has work in the organization for 2 years and are always looking out for opportunity to advance either in his existing company or other establishment. He decided to get himself a watch as a Christmas present for himself this year.
He has X amount of budget to get a watch. As his focus is to build his career, he chooses to buy a classic stainless-steel watch for himself over fashionable trendy watch. He is in the opinion the watch that he gets will matches his office attire and smart casual attire for social meet on weekends. He is always looking for opportunity to advance in his career and he knows the importance of looking the part as a young investment executive, he needs to look polished and professional at all time. In fact, in his mind he is happy to pay 20% on top of the X amount of budget he allocates for the prefect dress watch that looks good on him and suit his needs.
1.1a Colors
Identify the right colors to wear in your attire The aim is ‘Looking Good’ and suit the ‘Purpose’
- Choose the right color palette that complement your skin tone. This can be accomplished with our Vimagenion 12 seasons color analysis session that at the end of 90 minutes personal color analysis, you will receive one or 2 personalized color palettes.
- Consider the industry you are in e.g. if you work in a corporate setting, then choose colors that is subtle and not shouting for attention as oppose to if you are in the business of event organizing, fashion design or entertainment, you can go for bright and bold colors to make a personal branding statement for yourself.
- Consider the people that you meet daily i.e. entrepreneur, corporate professionals, young adults, senior citizen and also bear in mind the type of profession or business they are in. E.g. if you are meeting a corporate CEO for business at the headquarters of the organization, we recommend a navyblue suits with a white dress shirt and complement with black leather belt and dress shoes and complete the look with a solid color light blue tie. Whereas if you are meeting an entrepreneur on some services that you can offer to assist his business at a café, we recommend you to wear white dress shirt with dark blue pants complement with dark brown leather belt and dress shoes. The earlier suggested dressing style is more formal and the second recommendation is business casual. In both scenarios, we are matching the colors and the categories of the attire according to the client’s business nature and the venue of the meeting.
- Consider the occasion you meet them i.e. discussion in office, discussion in café, meeting in office or meeting at site. Refer to examples given above.
Example :
1.1b Proportion
“Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportion” ~ Coco Chanel
The late Coco Chanel is a legendary fashion designer and a fashion icon. Her quote of emphasizing the importance of proportion in dressing and stating that fashion is architecture has given us the confidence to use “Golden Mean Ratio”.
Golden Mean Ration is widely use in architecture of buildings. In image consulting, we find this applicable in dressing a person to the effect of eyes pleasing.
A brief on Golden Mean Ratio
Two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities.
Reference of Golden Mean Ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio
Golden mean ratio can be found in our surroundings and nature. Leonardo DaVinci and the Golden Section - Math Central. One very famous piece, known as the Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, is drawn according to the golden ratio. The golden ratio is 1:0.618 and has been coined golden because it is said to be aesthetically pleasing.
Reference : http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/articles/Art/DaVinci.html
During my image consulting sessions with clients, I have apply the Golden Mean Ratio in dressing up client and it always works.
How about dressing in a longer top than bottom?
To avoid
1.1c Shapes, lines & patterns
Shapes
Shapes of a garment can form an eye pleasing silhouette of an individual when dress right. Shapes in a garment does affect your impressions to others
The above shapes if in small scales e.g. in ties, the psychological effect might not take place especially when it is not noticeable.
The information on shapes can be experiment on accessories i.e. shapes of the bags, shorts, watches or belt buckles for your better understanding.
Patterns
Patterns as define in dictionary is a repeated decorative design.
1.1d Fitting
Fitting is an element that most neglected as it requires a pair of detailed eyes and the discipline to practice this in your dressings for all occasions.
Definition of fitting of clothing in www.yourdictionary.com refers to something that perfectly aligns to the shape and contours of whatever it is on. An example of a form fitting dress is one that clings to every curve of the model, showing off every detail of her perfect body.
We acknowledge not all of us consider ourselves to have a perfect body shape. However, we can wear clothing that fit us just nice that reveal a confident impression.
Fitting of clothing in our image consulting practice is where the clothes fit a body nicely, not too tight, not too loose. As a wearer when you wear the clothing, the impression is the clothes is the right size for you and it just fit you well.
Fitting of clothing in image consulting practice includes the followings:-
Shoulder fit of tops
Top’s length (refer to Golden Mean Ratio)
Bottom’s length (refer to Golden Mean Ratio)
The right waist sizes
The right sleeves length
1.1e Style
The easy to dress style is classic.
Classic style consist of items of good quality and it can mix and match with other items in the wardrobe easily
Classic style refers to items that is fundamental to the wardrobe and this style allow the
clothing to be wore 2 to 3 years or more.
E.g. of classic clothing items:
- Navy blue suits or blazer
- White or light blue shirt
- Black pants
- Brown or black leather belt and structured document bag or hand bag
- Brown or black leather dress shoes
- Black color pencil knee-length skirt (for women)
When we help an executive to build a ‘High Performance Wardrobe’, we usually recommend the classic style because the items in the wardrobe invested can draw a lot of mileage in long run e.g. you will appear confident and credible in a fitted navyblue suit with white shirt. This classic style wardrobe can serve the purpose of the executive’s daily business for 18 months to 3 years and some items like suits can be wore for 5 years given proper garment care and storing.
There are also styles available that you can refer to Alyce Parsons ~ The Universal Styles System,
Disclaimer : The CPSFS works well when you combine all the 5 components during an image consultation. The best method to assess is to train your eyes to aim for a harmony look or appearance and detect any disharmony in yours or the client’s dressing and rectify it immediately. When you assess each component of its own, it losses the synergy of an eye pleasing complete look which is ultimately your goal for the client or wearer.
How you look, affects how you feel
Over the years, we have always been amazed that how people pick clothing to wear base on the state of their feeling.
Most people wear clothing base on how they feel and some people wear clothing to make them feel good. Those whom wear clothing to make them feel good and confident with themselves believe in dressing the part especially when come into contact with the outside world.
We would like to share with you the finding base on almost 5000 executives that have engaged us, that ‘Colors’ seem to be an important aspect when comes to choosing a piece of
clothing to wear in everyday work.
Our observation is as below:
- Colors that make you feel calm. These colors are light and soothing to the eyes. When you look at these colors, you are calm and relax. These colors are suitable to wear for business and social setting. For business setting, examples as below table :
- Colors that make you feel unsettle. These colors are bright and bold when wearing in large area in clothing, it will appear sharp to the eyes. Often others will take a step back when they meet the wearer and are careful in conversing with him/her. It could give out the impression that you are bold and intimidating. Examples as below table :
- Colors that make you feel exciting and ready to move forward. These are colors that are accepted by most people. These colors encourage you to take actions and often others will join you in the pursue of the objective or goal that you set. Examples as below table :
- Colors that make you feel a level of authority and formality. When any of the 3 dark colors wore with white colors, it exudes a level of authority and formality especially e.g. white shirt with dark color suit. Examples as below table :
- Colors that is eye pleasing for you and others to look at ~ white and light blue.
White and light blue is well received in both business and social setting. The common dress code in business is white or light blue shirt with dark colors dress pants or skirt (black, navy-blue and grey).
In our observation to enjoy the benefit of the emotion effects of the color, it is best wear nearer to your face to give you the effect you desire. However, this might be subject to your undertone as if you have cooler undertone, you look good in light blue and light pink. For a warm under skin tone person, when you wear a cool color top i.e. light blue and light pink it is best to complement with the accessories e.g. off-white pearls earrings for women, it always works.
We encourage you to experiment these colors in your dressing and monitor how you feel.
1.2. How you behave
When you have figure to dress the part, the next step is to investigate into how you behave in various occasions. How do you carry yourself in company social functions or family social functions etc.
A person’s behavior is governed by his or her set of beliefs, personality, social norms (what is deem acceptable and not acceptable) and his or her thoughts and emotions at each and every moment.
I work with the Ainun Aida, the Head of Research of Science and Wellness Organization (www.swo.today) closely to help clients to achieve their goals and advance in life.
In general, we can observe how an individual behave from her facial expression, body movement, his posture and gesture; and the way he communicates ~ choice of words and tone of voice.
These topics are included in our programs at AAA Academy i.e. Professional Image, Personal Branding, Professional Presentation, Communication Program and Leadership Presence.
At AAA Academy when we coach an individual on practicing body language (facial expression, gesture, posture and body movement) to project confidence and credibility, we need to first work with him on his mindset and identify his goals in life. As oppose to individual whom did not work on their mindset and goal setting, the individual that went through a session or few sessions of understanding themselves, identify areas to change to achieve his goals with a detail personalize action plan are way more effective than individual whom just engage us for a session e.g. ‘Body Language for Presenting to C Suite Level’. One can master his behavioral by constantly works on improving the way he thinks and perceive the world, people and things. The behavior of one individual to a large extent comes naturally with the way he thinks. Some people can be very polite and well-man-nered most of the time but become an entirely different person when certain situation arises, it is common in the society. To become a person whom can project consistent confidence and courage, speak and act with courage, he is constantly working on his own personal mastery. Personal mastery is journey that a person undertook with great discipline to observe himself and constantly on a look out for room to improves.
At AAA Academy, we guide individuals to master themselves through our Life Blueprint Programs. In these programs, participants will go through 5 phases of Discovery and 2 Levels of Mastery.
The Life Blueprints help our clients to understand their life patterns and experiences and how these have influenced their thinking patterns which in turn determine their attitude and behavior towards others. Through the Discovery processes, they will have the precious opportunity of reprogramming their mind and behavior for better life outcomes and success.
These processes will help participants to build their personal story, sharpen their inner characters and elevate themselves from current state to the desired state.
For those who have mastered themselves, AAA Academy helps them to grow beyond their personal self to help and influence others through Expert Blueprint Programs. These programs help them to know how to expand their circle of influence and increase personal magnetism.
1.3. How you speak or talk
When you speak or communicate, others will form perceptions of you base on your voice, what you said (verbal content) and your facial expression accompany with the speech that you made.
Your attitude behind the voice place an important role when you articulate a message. You will have experience when you communicate with someone, what he said is not what he meant. His tone of voice, his facial expression and body language is not consistent with his speech. When this happen, you will find that the communication is not effective and sometimes misunderstanding occurred.
Example 1 : You went into your office and greet your colleague good morning. He facial expression was serious and his arms are crossed. He responses good morning to you. As a courtesy, you ask him “John, are you okay?” He said “Yes, I am okay” But his facial expression and body tell you that something is bothering him.
Conclusion : You can have powerful vocabulary and speak fluent in the chosen language. It is not what you say, it is how you say it that matters. Ultimately the deliverance of your speech determines how others perceive you and understand your message.
In AAA Academy’s voice coaching classes for one to one or workshop setting, we work with participants to identify the followings:
Your vocal personality
Your target audience (personal & professional)
The goals you would like to achieve
Challenges you face when deliver a speech - either to a small group, one to one or a large crowd
A personal action plan to achieve your goals.
Often the upon a session with our trained consultant, the plan of actions includes change of understanding about your mindset, style of communication, lifestyle habits, exercise and techniques to practice daily.
Usually between 3 months to 6 months’ time, client will see the improvement in their Vocal Personality. The aim is not to change your voice instead to bring out ‘your best voice’. Below are the general guidelines we use in AAA Academy’s voice coaching class. The AAA’s Academy Voice Coaching Blueprint illustrate in the diagram below:
Verbal (speaking)
PACE : Vary the pace to keep your message interesting.
INFLECTION : Vary the emphasis you place on words
PHRASING : Pause before or after key words and phrases to emphasize their importance
RESONANCE : Avoid nasality by breathing from the diaphragm
PITCH : Raised inflection at the end of sentences makes speakers reduces credibility and acceptance
TONE : Keep your tone pleasantly friendly and open
ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM : The listener needs to know you care and you believe
VERBAL CONTENT : Use words that are easy to understand and uplifts the listener
Visual (body language)
The art and science of dressing is covered in the topic 1.1. How you look. For the subject matter on How you speak, the following information focus on body language.
FACIAL EXPRESSSION : Pay attention to your own eyes, cheeks and mouth
HAND GESTURES : Use both hands freely to articulate. Never keep them limp
BODY POSTURE: Stand and sit in a manner that does not distract others
BODY MOVEMENT : Be natural with your body movement.
AAA Academy’s Assessment can be describe as follows :
In our vocal coaching classes, we have the client and trainee to record videos by stages of her delivering a speech and we work with to improve each element - 8 elements of VERBAL and 4 elements of VISUAL.
We break it down in to section and customize it according to the learning curve and progress of the client or trainee. It is important to take note that working with your voice requires patience, discipline, determination and the trust you have upon yourself that it is possible to build your vocal personality in due time.
Interpersonal Interaction
Interpersonal interaction refers to a communication process that involves verbal or visual messages between 2 or more people.
Effective communication only takes places if the sender of the message can relay the message to the receiver of the message in the way that both sender and receiver have the same understanding of the meaning of the message. This is the reason of managing your VISUAL to be consistent with your VERBAL. At the same time craft your VERBAL to present to the receiver on what you intend him to understand and move to the next course of action if it requires.
In our vocal coaching sessions, we include the following topics to guide clients or trainee to strengthen their interpersonal interaction.
Practice on real life meetings at work, associations or social settings.
Customization for client and trainee on the number of events that render opportunities of interpersonal interaction. For each event, work with him on tips and techniques to practice interpersonal interaction.
Coaching sessions after each event to identify challenges face, what he did right, what is not working and specified actions to improve his skills and experiences of interacting with others in the next event.
2. Our mindset govern how we look, behave and talk
Our mindset and belief system govern the way we lead our life, and they influence our behavior and attitude. The way we think and perception towards life determine the outcome of our actions and the result of our life achievements.
If you have a negative mindset in life, everything that you do will be laced with negativity and you will inadvertently set up challenges in your life. Feelings and thoughts of scarcity, fear, doubt and low self-esteem is translated in everything you do and this makeup your external reality.
If you have a positive mindset in life, you will be able to overcome almost every situation you face in life because your attitude and behavior are proactive and laced with feelings and thoughts of abundance and growth.
Positive and growth mindset will form strong internal characters which will produce an individual who is open, pleasant and communicative.
The way we look, behave and talk is very much a manifestation of how we think and feel inside and this is then translated into personal branding.
In Personal Branding and Image Management we would want to strive to create an individual who is positive, has successful and growth mindset and project a general feeling of pleasantness and charisma. This is because we would want a person’s branding and image to be able to support their goals in life.
Therefore, a positive and powerful mindset, produces a positive and powerful individual who is capable of doing many things and become a source of solutions to others around them. And this is always the goal of someone who is interested in improving their Personal Branding; to grow and to be successful in their field.
A positive and growth mindset will also create individuals to :
Look their best to achieve their purpose; in life and career
To behave in way that gains support and cooperation from others
To talk with mindfulness and resourcefulness; projecting confidence and charisma
3. How Life Blueprint and Image Branding builds confidence
Building Rapport
Rapport building can be defined as a way we connect with others with harmony and understanding from both parties. In a way is like a magic moment happen that you can connect with this other person easily and smoothly. Both enjoy each other conversation and company.
However, this does not happen always. Hence it is important to learn how to build rapport with conscious thoughts of learning to direct your communication in the manner to establish a common ground for further conversations. In this scenario, it is best to create a positive first impression when you dress appropriately for the occasion and speak with confidence. When you have a pleasant appearance and speak with a pleasant tone, it is easier for others to accept you and be open to connect with you at the first meet. Connecting with anyone at social or business event is made easy with the following tips :
Set your intention.
You decide what you intend to derive from the event e.g. getting to know 3 new friends and have a good experience. When you are set an intention prior attending an event, you are preparing both you mind and body to achieve the goals you set. You will be inspired to prepare on what you need to get done prior the event and it will be an experience that help you advance personally.
Fact finding on the background information of the event and the people whom is attending.
Prepare relevant conversation starters
Choose your attire for the event. If dress code is stated in the invitation card, you should adhere to the dress code.
When you arrive at the event, you may walk around to warm up yourself and get familiar with the atmosphere for 5 to 10 minutes.
The convenient spot for you to get to kick start a conversation with someone is either at the food counter or bar counter when you are lining up to get food at a buffet line or waiting for your turn to order your drink.
Example of conversation starter : ‘ The buffer spread looks good, in fact the spaghetti you just took looks really appetizing and I am certainly going to get some’ then… carry on the conversation by sharing and asking, I am Lisa, this is my first time attending such event on my own and this event looks grand and exciting. How about you?”
If you are keen to join in a conversation of a group of 2 people or more. Look for cues that give your such opportunities and practice using the knowledge of Psychology of Image to connect with them.
Scenario: If you find 2 or more people are conversing in a group and they display open body language i.e. open hands gesture, standing casually with space in between them that allowed a new person to join in the conversation. This is the cue that they welcome a new friend. You ca then approached them with smiles by just simply saying ‘Hello, how are you, I am Liza’ and offered your hand to the person that seems most friendly to you and followed by introducing yourself to the rest of the people in the group. The same technique works if you are approaching an individual.
Exit gracefully from a conversation by end the conversation expressing how happy you are to connect with a new friend and you thoroughly enjoy the conversation. If you would like to follow up with this person, you can part with saying : It is certain wonderful to meet you and I would like to catch up with you in the next couple of week and here is my contact card, can I have yours?
Endnotes
Karen Pine is a renowned psychologist from the University of Hertfordshire and co-founder of Do Something Different. In 2011 she was also appointed as Professor in the Fashion Department of Istanbul Bilgi University. https://workingfrocks.com/the-psycho logy-of-dressing-well-how-to-dress-for-the-job-and-life-you-want/
