Have you ever thought about the role your professional image plays in your success? Although it may seem superficial or unnecessary, people will perceive you differently and thus, treat you differently based on your image. While image is often associated with appearance in the business setting, it goes far beyond that. Here are some of the various ways you can upgrade your professional image.
1. Improve Your Communication
Verbal communication is critical to your image. People take confidence in you based on how you interact with them. That’s why it’s important to have a small elevator speech ready for any opportunity. Having the right words at the right time and knowing how to respond to questions or objections will come in handy. You may not be the best speaker but having a practiced elevator speech will help convey the strength of your communication skills.
You may think that this means you’ll have to choose your words carefully, but it goes beyond that. How you speak is just as important. You must be able to speak with energy, clarity, and cohesiveness. Tone, volume, and inflection are all a big part of the overall delivery. It may be worthwhile to get vocal training for speaking even if you don’t participate in formal speaking engagements.
2. Improve Your Look
Don’t get stuck with a certain look or wardrobe you’ve become accustomed to. You want a modern style that works with who you are and what you want to convey. In the business setting, you typically want to go for a clean and polished look, but that doesn’t mean that you have to dress conservatively. You can still be stylish and professional at the same time.
You can easily find numerous tips about how to dress for the business setting, but it is really worth investing in a style and wardrobe consultant. It’s more important to figure out what works than spending a lot of money on your wardrobe. You cannot dismiss the fact that first impressions count and the first thing that people notice about you is how you look.
3. Improve Your Personal Online Branding
Working on your personal branding can do a lot for your image. If you are focused in on a certain industry or niche market, try to become a familiar face in that circle. Engage with others in forums, comment on blogs, and connect with others on social media. It will obviously help to be active on social media sites that professionals typically use like LinkedIn and Twitter.
One important thing to keep in mind is that you want to have an ideal of how you want to be perceived online. Do you want to appear as an authority on a specific topic? Do you want to be recognized as an industry leader? If you have an ideal in mind, be mindful about how you portray yourself and interact with others. By the time the next big industry event rolls around, you’ll find that people will recognize you as a familiar face.
4. Improve Your Body Language
It’s been said that body language plays a larger role in your communication than your actual verbal language. Things like using gestures and having good eye contact can help. Most people, however, actually fall short when it comes to their posture. Poor posture can make you seem timid, uninviting, or even sad. You want to have your shoulders pulled back; back upright; and your feet shoulder widthpart. Having good posture makes you come across as confident, engaged and inviting to others.
5. Improve Your Reputation
Your reputation is one of the most important things in the business world. Maintaining a reputation can be exhausting and sometimes necessary if there are people spreading rumors or unflattering stories about you. But rather than worry all day about protecting your reputation, you want to work towards making it better.
Doing little things like calling a client for lunch or going the extra mile for your customers can do a lot for your reputation. Hosting events and doing positive things for people in your industry are some of the best ways to improve your reputation. Just make sure that it makes sense financially for you to do so. This means that your events should also help you generate new clients and/or sales.
