Transcript

Jane Chapman

OK. So how can your image help you enhance your authority in a challenging work context? It's an interesting one. But the first thing I'd say would be think about the psychology of colour. Now in terms of colour, when we wear a dark neutral-- so that might be a navy blue, it might be a charcoal grey, or grey, might be black, it might be-- it's probably those three, actually. When you wear a darker neutral, it automatically gives you a bit more gravitas. It's hard to explain why, but we see it.

So typically if you base your outfit with some of those dark neutrals in there-- add in a bit of other colour to make it interesting. You don't want to wear black head to toe. But go for that darker colour. It will give you a bit more gravitas.

The second thing, really, is wear something that you feel a million dollars in, that you feel really comfortable in, that you don't have to think about all the time. The third thing is wear something that makes you feel confident. Typically that's by dressing a bit smarter.

OK, so we've talked quite a lot there about dress. In terms of your body language, just think about not doing all this closed body language where you shrink down, but actually that you're thinking about eye contact, you're thinking about projecting confidence. And to be honest, with your image, when you look like you can handle anything, chances are you'll feel confident enough to do it.