Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 14, 1993 TAG: 9303120013
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO IMPROVE YOUR `EGO'
Roanoke image consultant Jenny Taubman builds her presentation on the "Ego" chart that comprises each person.At the foundation are factors that cannot be changed, such as lifestyle, background, the place we grew up and the influences of others from family to film stars.
What we can change is the upper structure, Taubman said, which comprises 55 percent of each of us. This 55 percent is composed of face and body language, behavior, etiquette and - the largest share - physical appearance.
That doesn't mean good looks. "Not everyone is gorgeous," Taubman said.
But it does require that we do the best with what we have to work with.
Nor is money a requirement. The wrong clothes for an individual cost just as much money as the right ones, Taubman observed.
She advocates investment buying. "Buy a few basic good pieces and build year by year."
Besides, she said, proper fit accounts for at least half of clothing image.
"Your wardrobe should be treated as a business . . . Use it as a business tool."
People who spend most of their time at work should spend accordingly, she said.
She would budget only a week's salary each year for leisure dress but four weeks' pay for office clothings. "I don't think it's too much."
Buy for the season, rather than for the event, she said. Never shop at the last minute because "stores love people like that."
Business style, however, has come a long way from the dress-for-success uniform of a decade ago.
Patterns and mixed colors are OK for business dress now, she said. She passes out charts to hang in a closet showing which patterns can coordinate with each other.
Color is not merely something that goes with a person's appearance, but a matter of psychology. Dark colors and high contrast, for instance, convey a feeling of authority and intimidation, while medium colors with little contrast give an air of approachability. Taubman said business women can wear bright colors today with neutral accessories.
"The role you play today is how you dress," Taubman said. That and whether you are "the warm type, the cool type or the bright type." Body type is also important.
Hair, face and eyeglasses are the most important aspects of image, she said. "People look at the top quarter of your body so it's important to be very well groomed."
The image for business people is attractive, authoritative and well-groomed.
"If you're capable and also look right for the business you're in," Taubman said, "you have the edge.
"Knowing what to do and how to look simply allow the individual to concentrate on the business at hand and feel totally comfortable," she added.
Despite its importance, Taubman said men "don't want to go to the trouble" of defining an image. "It's not a macho thing to do."
In the business world, however, etiquette is as decisive as appearance is.
Bellmen dress in a uniform, she said, yet their behavior is more important to a hotel than that of its manager.
In an office setting, customers form their impression of the business from the way the staff treats them in person or by phone.
If a phone call precedes a visitor, she said, the receptionist should acknowledge the new arrival but deal first with the earlier caller. Always smile while you talk on the phone.
You make eye contact by looking at the other person's eyes - one eye at a time, from eye to eye.
"Bill Clinton had fantastic training" in eye contact, Taubman said.
What do you do if you can't recall a name? Confess immediately, Taubman advised. It happens to everyone.
The biggest change in business etiquette, Taubman said, is the complete disappearance of gender. It is no longer an issue in the workplace.
The woman may be the more important person and is, therefore, named first in an introduction.
A female may pay for a business lunch.
And if a man is carrying a heavy pile of papers, the polite business woman opens the door for him.