How impressionable are you?

First impressions have to be taken seriously because they are very difficult to lose. If the impression is negative, it will stay with us for a long time, making it very difficult to create a positive image. We make up ninety per cent of our minds about someone in the first twenty or thirty seconds of meeting them. Analysts claim that our reaction to others is judged thus:
* 58% how we look
* 35% how we sound
* 7% what we say
There are many things that can make you stand out. The way you walk, the way you stand, the way you talk, the way you introduce yourself. We are naturally attracted to people similar to ourselves; it is a bit like an animal recognising friend or foe by the colour of its fur and the smell of its skin. While we don’t usually go round sniffing each other, the subconscious is very powerful, and that is one reason so much money is spent on research into perfumes and colour, for instance. The way someone dresses, speaks, the way they walk, the way they eat all helps to build a picture of that person.

If you run your own company or manage a department in a large organisation, you have to make sure that your images match. So what about the image of a company itself? If you work in grotty, scruffy premises and dress as though you do, you are more likely to under perform than if you dress to a high standard. All those things help to consciously and sub-consciously project a positive image. Whether we like it or not, the way we look influences the way we are perceived and received by others. Police reports all describe people’s dress and size as these are the first things we notice. You have to decide what image you want to impress upon people and try to make sure that you achieve it. Whoever you are, wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you are creating an impression. In business, impression is playing an increasing part in whether you are successful in getting a job and whether you are recognised as being suitable to continue holding that position and the likelihood of promotion.

Here is recent clip from K24 on teaching business etiquette with yours truly

"Our athletes should get smarter to conquer the world"

Sports Illustrated magazine announced the top earning sportsmen of 2010. There are not enough zero's on a calculator to show in Kenya shillings what some of these top athletes earn in dollars. And it's in the endorsements that the big bucks kick in. Even after being dropped by Gatorade, AT&T and Accenture for his philandering, Tiger Woods still made $70,000,000 in endorsing products from companies like Nike and Tag Heuer. Sportsmen like Woods are a marketers dream as they have the holy trinity of good looks and style, good communication skills and of course are proven winners.

Donald Kipkorir in an article he wrote in the Nation called "Our athletes should get smarter to conquer the world" said "Bolt, Woods, Williams, Beckham and Paquiao receive multi million dollar endorsements for few reasons - their eloquence, fashion style, poise, charisma and presence. Kipkorir says our athletes main language of communication is mother tongue or a smattering of Kiswahili or deep sheng - to most of them English might as well be Mandarin. After winning races they are hardly interviewed by international media and in the few instances when asked their strategy for winning they say something like this: "I run, I run, I run, I prayed and I win". He goes on to say with the money some of our top athletes earn spending a little part of it to be polished and presentable is worth every cent. When our athletes wear mitumba or suits made in River Road, their global reach will be beyond them. Unless they improve their style and image, social and communication skills and media relations, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nike and Puma will not call on them. The few millions in Kenya shillings they earn in a year will never be millions of dollars.'

What do your shoes say about you?

Did you know when we are judging someone on a professional level we often look at their shoes first before the rest of what they are wearing? Shoes can tell someone a great deal about you and how seriously you wish to be taken especially in a city like Nairobi where the twin forces of dust and public transportation can be lethal to the state your footwear. Here is a great video about how to shine a pair of shoes - watch this guy really go to town on buffing these brogues.

State to give cabbies, auto drivers lessons in etiquette

Don't get too excited its not happening here in Kenya but in India. I found this great article posted on etiquette expert Cynthia Letts website. I thought it was particularly timely given we are expecting an influx of international visitors when the African Athletic Championship begins next week on July 28th. We regularly host large international events and this is training that would not go amiss.

State to give cabbies, auto drivers lessons in etiquette
Parvathi Ramanathan, Hindustan Times
Email Author
Mumbai, July 19, 2010

As part of an effort to turn Maharashtra into a tourism powerhouse in its 50th year, the state government has taken on a project that its citizens had been waiting for - training in courtesy and etiquette for taxi and rickshaw drivers. The programme will kick off on Monday and will cover 2 lakh drivers, of which, 50,000 are from Mumbai. It will be part of the Visit Golden Maharashtra project, conceived by the Maharashtra Economic Development Council (MEDC) and supported by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and state government.

The authorities hope that it will help create a positive image of the state among tourists who come to visit. The state has engaged ‘For She Travels and Logistics’, that started the first taxi service exclusively for ladies in Mumbai and Delhi, to impart the training during the eight-month programme.

Each class will have 100 to 150 drivers and will last three to four hours.At the end, the drivers will be given certificates that they can display in their taxis.
The primary aim is to impart soft skills, such as how to address people respectfully. Drivers will also be taught safety norms, fuel conservation techniques and put through a refresher course on road signs.

Apart from this, they will be provided with information on tourist interests that they can pass on to visitors. “Often, we feel the need for this kind of information. Training in basic etiquette will do us all good,” said Mahim-based taxi driver Mohammad Ziaulla (43).

MEDC Vice-President (International) Vinod Gupta said the programme will help raise drivers’ business prospects and help the tourism industry.

“Taxi and rickshaw drivers are the first point of interaction for tourists. Their behaviour can create a lasting impression on visitors’ minds and affect how they feel about the city .”

The response from taxi drivers has been good.

Waiting for goosebumps

I’ve wanted to write about this for quite sometime now. This comes from watching and sometimes snoozing through one too many speeches by leaders (in politics and business) coming across as flat, uninspiring and being read. As a leader, speeches should aim be inspiring. When you aim to inspire, people should feel sincerity. Reading speeches is not leading – where inspiration is critical. For once I’d like to have a goosebump moment or have the hairs on the back of my neck stand up listening to a speech from a leader in Kenya instead of from a fictional one played on TV.

Whereas reading a speech may not necessarily mean you aren’t speaking from the heart, politicians like Obama or Blair are naturally good performers who are adept at using speech prompters, which make them look as though they have learned the speech, which is very seldom the case. They also have excellent speech writers and researchers who work with them on creating their speeches. But they also have a large amount of input so they are not just reading the words of someone else. It is always more convincing to speak without notes, but to learn a speech takes time and it means rehearsing. However all is not lost - Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy most memorable and inspirational lines didn’t come from extemporaneous speeches but from written speeches. “I have a dream…..” and “ask not what your country can do for you…..” both came from speeches in all likelihood written by someone else.

Email is no joking matter

When it comes to email at work, we’ve all received forwarded jokes or those chain letters that tell you to forward to 10 people or else. I suspect we may have also sent out a few at some time or other. What is the email etiquette regarding these types of correspondence? Just don’t do it! Don’t send jokes or non-business related e-mails on company time while using your business e-mail address and/or company resources especially if you are going to send it to another persons business email address. What you do on your personal email address is entirely up to you but business e-mail addresses should be used for business communications.

Think about it, can you be 100% sure the person reading your joke on the priest and farmer shares your quirky sense of humor? It may be funniest thing you have read since our MP’s decided to increase their salaries but will the person on the receiving end find the topic as compelling as you do to want to read it during their busy business day. If someone persists in sending you inappropriate jokes and emails, it is well within your right to politely ask them to either send them to your personal email or say something along the lines of “Kamau, thanks for this but you're going to have to stop sending me these types of jokes or chain emails because I’m so busy at work that I don’t have time to keep up with them.”

Studies have shown how much time and money is being wasted on unnecessary emails even within organizations so don’t pass them along to your colleagues at work either thinking you are lightening the mood at work. The last thing you want to do is compromise how others think about how seriously you take your job. For many emails have become one of the primary sources of communication and form the first impression and lasting impression people have of us.

The Business of the Card

This morning I attended a networking breakfast where they were over 100 people. As you can imagine there was great buzz in the room as people did the rounds striking up conversation, trying to get business or referrals etc. Some people did the unthinkable and showed up without business cards. That is like going lion hunting without a gun – just how are you going to succeed? I stash my business cards everywhere – in my car, wallet, folder, etc. I never want to be caught without one. Ideally though, you want to present them in a nice business card case. At the function this morning I collected more business cards in one hour than I have in the last 3 months. Some people, I was able to have a conversation with, strike up some sort of relationship which ended in an exchange of business cards. Others literally walked round the room handing out business cards left, right and centre without so much as a hello. You are not in business to keep your printer in business (with apologies to the people in the printing business reading this). A business card should be used to cement a relationship – it should be used to give people the information that they want to get back to you to continue a conversation you have started with them. Networking functions are not meant for you to shower the room with your business card thinking the law of averages will work and you’ll get at least some business if as many people as possible get your business card. Also never try to seal the deal right then and there, continue to connect with the person instead. I am now jotting down information on the back of all the cards I received – where I met the person and the date. For those I developed a relationship with, I add additional info like what we talked about and when to get in touch with them again if need be. Unfortunately a lot of the cards I received will not be looked at again because people buy from people not business cards. A final tip – resist spamming the email addresses from every card you received with your products or services, it is considered poor business etiquette.

Which stats are you known for?

A former Citibank employeee in New York who was fired from her job is suing her former employers claiming that she was forced out of her job because she was too good looking. Debrahlee Lorenzana says she was subject to "improper comments" and was reprimanded for dressing sexily - when all she was doing was dressing professionally. Her bosses told her that "as a result of the shape of her figure, such clothes were purportedly 'too distracting' for her male colleagues and supervisors to bear," she says. See the full story here http://www.businessinsider.com/debrahlee-lorenzana-citi-2010-6

My observations in this part of the world, is that dressing for body type is particularly challenging especially given the generous proportions that God dished out to our women. Dressing correctly for your particular body shape is key to being seen as a professional and more so when working in a conservative occupation like banking or law. When it comes to what to wear for work, I’m sure you must have heard ‘dress for the job you want and not the job you have’ - you must be aware of the image are sending out. As a woman you should be known for the statistics coming out of your mouth and not the vital statistics your clothes are straining to cover. For example a man wearing a suit that is two sizes too large for him doesn’t present a very good image. Fit and wearing appropriate clothes for the job should never be underestimated in being perceived as competent and knowledgeable in whatever profession you may be. Tailored clothes are infinitely better than too tight or too big. Here’s a quick tip – identify a good tailor who can adjust the clothes you buy so that they fit your unique body shape without necessarily sacrificing your own personal style.