Recently a good male friend of mine was very happy he could find a pair of slacks with pleats. Not everyone can wear pleated pants and some guys just look better in flat front pants. The fashion industry for men in the past has moved very slowly. Not anymore. There are more choices than ever for men including pleats, no pleats, cuffed or no cuff pants.

So, regarding fashion trends for men—in the financial arena men still tend to wear pants with pleats and cuffs. In the service and product industries men usually wear flat front pants without cuffs. Formal presentations and sales calls typically mean cuffs and pleated pants.

You can only be heard in a meeting if you speak up. Here are some ways to practice speaking up before you go to a meeting. They will also prepare you to talk if you are called upon when you least expect it (especially in a group setting).

• When you are alone, talk out loud. For example, read the road signs when you’re driving or do a monologue about what you see around you.

• Call your cell phone once a day and leave your opinion on a business situation.

• Be sure to have coffee or lunch once or twice a week with a colleague to stretch your speaking muscles. (This is also good networking).

• Before you go into a meeting warm up with voice exercises.

• Join a Toastmasters Club.

Doing good work and making a positive impact to an organizational success is only recognized if you are heard.

So many folks are graying faster than normal that hair coloring has become a twice a month ritual. Bobbi Brown and many other women have to do this. Gray begins quickly in two areas: in the crown of your head and around the temples. There are two products that work well. One is a spray (root concealer, Rita Hazan) for the crown. For around the temples, an eye brow powder works well. In choosing a color, one shade darker is best.

Offices today are trending toward open spaces with many folks occupying them. Because of flexible office hours they are rarely filled. Sometimes, though, there will be occasions where everyone is in the office.

So, be careful of odors that can be offensive like ones that may emanate from smoke, cologne, hair spray and gels, body and food.

To make sure you are not the one causing the smells, one hour before a meeting:

• Do not smoke
• Stay away from dining places in a small, closed environment
• Do not pick up or eat food in your car
• Always wash your hands before a meeting. It helps get rid of odors.
• Carry breath mints

How many times has a comment stemming from a sense of humor provided a pause in a serious discussion or at least eased the tension in a room? The key thing is being smart about using humor by relating it to the situation. We see where a sense of humor has often been used to break the tension in today’s heated political environment. “Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.” William James

Two television shows focus on small business. The program on MSNBC focuses on helping a selected small business. The other show is ABCs Shark Tank. This show refers to the “pitch” which is a few crisp words on what the business owner is all about and why his/her business is worth investing in.

It is has been proven over and over again that if you have a good pitch you can sell almost anything. In fact, a perfect personal introduction should be treated like a pitch. The key to good personal pitch is building in enough flexibility so that it can be tailored to any audience to obtain the impact and results desired.

In the US, if men wear loafers with shorts socks should not be worn. It’s a major fashion faux pas made worse if the socks creep downward or are in a color other than a neutral tan that matches the shoes. Why does it matter? It does not look smart or elegant. Plus, if you are older it definitely will date you.

A number of years ago I had a meeting with a Senior Vice-President of a large company. He arranged for me to meet his VP who I would be coaching. The VP was a Guatemalan. In his culture, personal space is nose to nose unlike in the US where one arm’s length is the accepted norm. I did not step back from him because I knew this. The fact that I understood his background was important to him and I ended up working for his group over a period of ten years before he retired.

Here are some tips about personal space:

• In the US, one arm’s length is the norm and the only time you touch someone is during the handshake.

• In Spain, people tend to stand much closer together. They also touch each other more frequently than do their US counterparts. Trying to create personal space is viewed as shyness or rudeness.

• On the other hand, Australians require extra personal space—at minimum of an arm’s length or more is typical.

How you sound is as important as the words you chose, especially in different venues.

Your voice sound and pitch needs to be different when you are:

*In front of a live audience with a microphone

*In front of a live audience without a microphone

*Presenting a webinar using a headset

If you can, record yourself. Then assess what you hear when listening to the tapes. I have a Sony audio recorder that I use to help me ensure my voice and pitch engages the audience and conveys passion in the topic.

A combination of red and white, pink exudes the need for action conveyed by red and the insight offered by white.It is the passion and power of red softened with the purity, openness and completeness of white. The deeper the pink, the more passion and energy it exhibits. Pink in the world of fashion has been considered a color worn mostly by women.

However, over the last few years pink, in many different tones, has been popular for men as well as business women. Recently, a political commentator wore a bright pink tie with a blue plaid shirt and looked very smart. It combined the masculine with the feminine.

Pink also works well with gray, brown and dark camel. It continues to edge closer to being the new neutral worn in professional settings.

You can learn more about color by reading “The Power of Color” by Dr. Morton Walker.