Running Title: Dress For Success Dress For Success KC Geisler United States Navy

Dress For Success

Probably the biggest form of nonverbal communication is the way that people dress. Alot of the time, the image people portray can often be seen with how a person dresses which can be based off of their individualism, personality, and status. When addressing large groups it is always best to dress for that type of occasion so that the audience will be more apt to listen or respect that individual more. I am very big on first impressions when it comes to a way that people dress and I will talk about some of my experiences with public speakers and the way that they dress. I think the first impression perhaps the most single most important aspect when encountering new people. In the book, You Are What You Wear, William Thourlby You Are What You Wear, William Thourlby states: "When you step into a room, decisions will be made solely upon your appearance; so to be successful, and to be sure decisions are favorable, keep in mind that you are what you wear, and dress accordingly." Whether it is meeting a new client or preparing for that all important job interview, how I dress plays a pivotal role in the success of that encounter. When I used hunt for a job, I would dress as if I was ready to work, in the case the employer hired me on the spot. I didnt always think that way though. I used to dress like a stereotypical hippie, long hair, raggedy jeans with a rock band tee shirt and and take it from me, finding a decent job was HARD. At the time I really didnt think about how people thought of me based off of how I looked or dressed but it didnt take me long to realize that either I need to change the way I look or be jobless and live with my parents. I chose to change my appearance which was the right decision in the long run. I know when I would conduct interviews for my employers I would look to see if they weredressed for success and are they well qualified to do the job. The way I look at was if a person doesnt have enough self respect to care about the way that they look, then what kind of work ethic would they really have? Ok, let me jump off of my

Dress For Success

soap box and jump into another reason why it is important to dress for success, public speaking. In the Journal of Perinatal Education, Renese Wallace-Wise wrote an article about childbirth educators and why it is important to dress to look the part. Mainly it is important so that the audience can better relate to what is being taught and take into account the credentials of that individual. She researched and wrote about how different dress attire can send different messages to the audience. The examples she used were healthcare workers giving a class on childbirth that wore a uniform, in this case scrubs, or healthcare working giving the same class in street clothes. The uniform of the healthcare worker helps to set the tone of the audience by making the audience feel that the worker in an expert in that particular field of medicine which helped the audience trust what the worker is trying to teach. On the other hand, some would argue that when people wear a uniform, it sets them apart from everyone else creating a sense of inequality to the non uniform wearer (Hawkey & Clarke, 1990; Richardson, 1999). Some public speakers wear street clothes to help the audience identify with the speaker (Pearson et al.,2001). The most common street clothes speakers that come to my mind are school teachers. I remember when I was going through school, none of my teachers wore suits or fancy dresses. For the most part they wore the same kind of clothes that the students wore (ok not everything we wore). I never really thought about it until I read this article but it really is true. I didnt feel that the teachers were better than me, just more knowledgable. That was it and maybe the clothes they wore perhaps created a more conducive atmosphere of learning for the student, because they were more on our level. A few years later I joined the Navy and today all the speakers that I see are wearing some sort of uniform. Mainly because they are mandated to wear a uniform when they are at work. Does this mean that I look at them in a different way, because we are all wearing the same uniform, which doesn't set up apart from one another. I do believe

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that the uniform does take away some of a person individuality but the main purpose it help identify the group members, ensure that the organizational goals are met, and prioritizes group or individual demands (Joseph and Alex, 1972). So for me, their uniform was appropriate because in reality, they dont have a choice on what attire they wear. Its just part of being in the military. However, being in that uniform can have quite the negative impact on the organization, not the individual. There are times on the news when a someone in the armed forces commits a crimes, the perception is that everyone that wears the uniform is guilty of the crime. That is the unfortunate stigma that goes along with wearing a uniform of the armed forces, even more so overseas, over there it is an international incident. In summation, what a person wears is very important on how other people perceive that individuals personality, education, background, financial status and credibility. Being well dressed can help people open doors for for success but if a person does not really care about how they dress then it can be quite the opposite. Take it from me, I can definitely vouch for how appearance can play a pivotal role on how people think of a person. My brother and I were at a friends house playing a game and his dad came home (whom we have never met before) and he asked our friend to to step out so that he can talk to him. When he came back he told my brother and I that we had to go because he didnt get a good impression of us and so wanted us out of his house. Pretty crazy because here was a person who had no idea who we were but because of our appearance, he wanted us to leave. That just goes to show just how people can perceive a person off of their first impression.

Hawkey B, Clarke M. Dress sense or nonsense. Nursing Times. 1990;86(3):2831. Nathan Joseph and Nicholas Alex (1972). American Journal of Sociology Vol. 77, No. 4, pp. 719-730

Dress For Success

Pearson A, Baker H, Walsh K, Fitzgerald M. Contemporary nurses' uniforms: History and traditions.Journal of Nursing Management. 2001;9:147152. Richardson M. The symbolism and myth surrounding nurses' uniform. British Journal of Nursing.1999;8(3):169175. Thourlby, W. (1978). You are what you wear: the key to business success. Kansas City, Kan.: Sheed Andrews and McMeel. Waller-Wise, R. (2007). Advocating for normal birth with normal clothes. Journal of Perinatal Education, 16(1), 24-24.