Thursday, May 27, 2010

To Shine or Not to Shine

Kim Zoller at Image Dynamics
// http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewsnetworking/a/dressforsuccess.htm, says 55% of another person's perception of you is based on how you look. And this includes your shoes.

Every time I polish my shoes I feel better about myself, about the image I portray and I seem to walk a bit taller and with a more assured step in my gait.

When people meet you for the first time, whether just in passing on the street or in a face-to-face relational experience, the other person is taking in everything, and I mean every thing, about you. They are judging you on your smile, the cleanness of your clothes, the lack of wrinkles, do your clothes match and make sense from a style standpoint, and a myriad other tell-tell factors you may have never thought of.

So, how shined are your shoes? Does this matter to you? Why or why not? My friend and co-worker Steve always came to work with his shoes highly shined. That has so impressed me and I still remember even though we haven’t worked together for 25 years. Knowing Steve, this is still a key element in preparing for his day.

Some professionals in the dress-for-success mindset say that if your shoes can’t be shined then you are wearing the wrong shoes. What is the norm in your business environment? What should you do about the norm? Are you going to go along with this mindset, or are you going to raise the bar a notch and begin wearing a more appropriate footwear?

It’s all about presentation – image.

Clean them. Wipe them down. Shine them if possible.

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