Appearance - Artifacts

Appearance - artifacts can be one of the most powerful types of nonverbal communication. Appearance and artifacts refer to the dress, grooming, and jewelry we wear. What do the uniform of a police officer or the fatigues of a soldier do for those looking on?

What do the metals on an officer communicate to another officer of lesser rank? What happens if one of the metals is the Congressional Medal of Honor?

In contrast, what message comes from a young person wearing black and or more body metal than your car.

When in a store, what is communicated by a man wearing a tie.

Note:I make it a point never to wear a tie when going shopping. Invariably someone will stop me and ask advice or directions within the store. This illustrates the power of dress in this one situation. What does your dress communicate about you.

It is important to wear clothing appropriate to the occasion. Your credibility can be determined by how you dress.

Equally important is well fitting and appropriate fitting clothes. When buttons pucker, you draw attention to your body size exceeding your clothes allotment. Is shouts tacky. Alternatively, properly fitting clothes can hide a few extra pounds or 20.

Note: A public speaker known to me had a prolonged illness. One of the results of the illness was excessive weight gain. He topped out at 298 lbs. Although he did look overweight, nobody would suspect he was that heavy as he dressed in such a way to diminish the weight.

Generally a good clothier can help with this. It will require going to a specialty clothes shop where the sales staff are dedicated to properly fitting attire.

Jewelry can enhance or detract. Is it the icing on the cake or the cake. If you want to show off your jewelry, people oohing and ahhing over it, you will have received your reward in full. How much more satisfying it would be to make a connection with a person because of helping to enrich their lives rather than enriching your own ego.

When you are near death, that jewelry will mean nothing, do nothing nor help for nothing in your remaining hours. However, those individuals you have helped, the people you assisted, and the lives you enriched will be standing at your side, if only in your mind. You will not die alone with just a lot of jewelry.

Color and Appearance The choices we make in the colors we wear, clothing, hairstyle and makeup are all a means of nonverbal communication.

Color psychology has demonstrated that different colors can invoke changes in mood.

Physiological reactions of others, their judgment and interpretations can be altered by our appearance.

One of the nonverbal communication characteristics of your appearance - artifacts is that they empower you as a public speaker.

Speechmastery.com: The Appearance - Artifacts Resource

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