This is a list of my not so favorite workshop distractions:

• The attendee who wishes you would finish before you start by looking at their watch 10 minutes into the presentation

• The poker/frowning face

• The chatter box who constantly talks to the person next to them

• The arms crossed over the body, totally closed to listening to any observations

• The naysayer who will challenge whatever I might say with another point of view

• The note taker who never looks up

If you happen to have any one of these folks in your class, never look at them. Focus on a friendly face and you will have a positive experience.

Simon O. Sinek is an author best known for popularizing the concept of “The Golden Circle” and to “Start With Why”, described by TED as “a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership” It offers these seven tips to ensure you will have a dynamic presentation:

1. Do not talk right away, wait until the audience gives you their attention

2. It is about what you can give the audience

3. Have a compelling personal story

4. Focus on a friendly face

5. Don’t listen or look at naysayers

6. Talk much slower than you normally do

7. Always thank the audience

In a business casual setting, men may not have to necessarily wear a suit jacket all the time, though they might be wearing a shirt and tie most of the time.

Many men in a workshop setting will ask if they can wear a mixed or patterned shirt with a patterned tie. Yes, of course. However, there are a few guidelines to ensure the right mix to look really sharp:

– The shirt stripe must be smaller than the tie pattern

– The tie pattern must be smaller if the shirt stripe is wide

– Make sure there is a similar color in both the tie and shirt

– A tie can be a totally different color than the shirt if the shirt is a non-patterned one

Of course, all of these rules can be broken if you have a dynamic eye for style or a work with a personal stylist!

Task persons are individuals who are great at getting the job done. The areas where they need to pay attention are being more sensitive to the nuances of building relationships such as developing small talk as well as appropriate facial expressions and body language. These silent messages are critical to understanding and connecting to people.

Then, there are the people persons who are great at building relationships and connecting to the audience. Those folks never lack in the area of people skills but lack the skills to get the job done.

To help fully develop skills spend time with and observe those who are the opposite of you. You will learn to pick the skills you need to grow in a very balanced way.

For women:

• Jewelry, such as necklaces and earrings, that appear too big or too small.

• Purses that are too small for a larger women or too large for a petite women.

For men:

• Ties that are too wide or too skinny.

• Skinny pants that belong on slender men worn by men with ample builds.

• Tee shirts that show bellies.

There are some proportion mistakes folks make because they want to make a fashion statement. If that’s the case, just be sure your audience understands that.

I see many women wearing long skirts with heels and I don’t believe the look is flattering, especially if the skirt is a bit flared. Flats, loafers, pointy shoes, clogs and sneakers do not work either. These combinations makes the wearers look, at best, matronly and at worst, too dowdy. It’s not a look for the office or even for a business causal setting.

The majority of your body is covered with a long skirt, so to create a flowing look (as opposed to an unbalanced one), what you wear on your feet needs to visually become a part of the skirt. That’s why a boot that is covered by the hemline of the skirt usually works. In fact, long skirts with high boots and a shorter jacket can look smart if the colors are matched appropriately.

If you’re a woman with wide calves you may have been embarrassed by trying on boots in a shoe store only to have them stop at mid-zip because they will not go on over your calves. This can be a problem especially for those with small feet.

When you’re buying boots, you want to check for two measurements, the shaft height and shaft circumference of the boot. Now, measure the height from your heel up your calf. At that point measure your calf circumference. Check the circumference of the boot. If the difference is a half an inch or less, it usually will not be a problem. Otherwise, you might have to get them stretched and who wants to do that.

I want to applaud the boot manufacturers for finally making boots with zippers and for wider calves for women. They are called wide calf or extended calf boots and they are great! Many of these styles have a 15.5 inch shaft height and a 16 inch shaft circumference when a regular boot would have a 15 inch shaft circumference,

The trick is to select boots that will provide a slimming look as opposed to making your calves look bigger.

This is the time of year when the temperatures can wildly fluctuate, sometimes by 30 degrees, in the course of just one day! It could be 40 degrees in the morning and 70 in the late afternoon. To cope with this clothing wise (and to avoid looking like Frosty the Snowman) try wearing close fitting, thin layers. This provides the option to remove layers as the temperature rises.

Generally, it’s best to use three layers (especially in the winter):

– An inner layer that keeps the skin dry (like silk or soft wools)

– The mid layer (wool, fleece, down, cotton, synthetic polyester) which provides additional insulation and helps keep you warm. It should be looser fitting to allow for insulating air between the layers.

– A shell layer (plastic raincoats, water resistant materials) that prevents moisture from entering.

However you layer, layering makes efficient use of clothing and also allows you to make use of clothing to produce different looks and mix colors in a stylish way.

– A resume writer can take a sentence like this:

Perform various analysis and audit procedures on specific accounts to ensure the accuracy of various companies financial information, ensure that funds were not misappropriated and that accounting records are accurate and complete

And turn it in to this:

Use analytical and audit procedures to ensure the accuracy of financial information and verify that no misappropriation of funds has occurred.

– A resume writer can provide a template that works not only for your work documents but for the job you are applying to.

– A resume can be however many pages that work but many hiring managers will not look past two, especially if a strong competitor has a well written two page summary. A resume writer can get your resume to the appropriate length for your career accomplishments.

– 30 percent of those wanting resume rewrites are over the age of 50. They may be experiencing how tough it can be to sustain their career while in that age group. A resume writer can “de-age” them on paper

– A resume writer can write a coherent, powerful career summary for a job applicant. Hiring managers prefer this is to an objective.

Steve Wyrostek, MBA, CPRW

No Cliché Resumes

A question that has come up is whether leggings can be worn with a short dress or skirt for business casual. It depends on the company, location and the field you are in but my first answer would be no. It’s fine for a personal social event and possibility a very casual business social event.

I have worn a dress that hit above my knees with Capri leggings for a personal social event but it is highly unlikely that I would wear that to a client event no matter how casual. The look is too trendy and not everyone would understand it.