In a recent Tribune article, a world traveler was asked how he engaged folks in foreign countries not speaking the language. He indicated that a smile and direct eye contact cuts through language barriers all across the world!

This is true whenever we meet folks we don’t know. Prior to even introducing yourself, the direct eye contact and a smile initiates the engagement. This goes for all situations including intense ones. The first contact propels the next step of engagement.

Fashion today breaks all the rules of traditional color and fit guidelines. From mixing colors on opposite ends of the color wheel to wide shoulders and pants legs for women and very narrow pants for men, how do you stay current and not look dated or matronly?

Chose a middle ground. Find a style that works for you in business and socially by following these five guidelines:

1. Feel comfortable
2. Find professional and social role models close to your age range
3. Review current garments you own that work within the first two guidelines
4. Experiment by shopping but not buying
5. Buy a complete outfit to mix, match, and work into your existing wardrobe

Understanding the audience and the way information is received takes awareness of reactions to light small talk. Practice key observations such what does the body language and facial expressions suggest? How do they ask or answer questions?

Begin to take mental notes. If the conversation is over the phone, listen to the pauses and the tone of voice when they speak. Remember, what may appear as a gentle question to you can feel harsh to the receiver. If a comment is made and the reaction perceived feels like a bull in a china shop, negate it by adding a softer comment. Successful leaders acquire much more capital when they avoid acting like the bull in a china shop.

There is always someone on a team or in the audience that makes the situation or subject about them, good or bad. Either way, it steers the objective away from the core issue. The best way to bring the conversation back to the point is to not spare them, but to say, “let’s circle back, or we were talking about this.”

Fixing your closet can be overwhelming. The first step is to pick a half day or day that will be uninterrupted. Have three buckets for your clothes: one for charity, one for keeping, and one for items needing mending or alterations.

Items to keep must not be more than a year old unless the clothing is evening wear. It there are items that can only be worn occasionally, store them in a separate area unless you have a lot of space reserved for special occasions.

Arrange putting clothing back in the closet either by item, the way they are worn, or by color. If this seems like too much of a task, then start by removing items not worn in the past two seasons. This will make your closet a fun place to shop in!

The last two years have trended toward lightly unshaven men’s faces. It began with actors, and then moved to younger men in the fashion and art field. In professional settings, beards and goatees are trending.

For years, Larry Ellison, now, the Chairman of Oracle, has worn a goatee. Facial hair kept neat and cut close to the face can look attractive. If you’re not sure how it looks on you, take a selfie and ask yourself – is this the look for me? Also, solicit an opinion from your partner.

Here we go again with the eye brows – eye brows should accent the eyes, not create a strong reaction like – what the heck is that on your face! Eye brow shapes including no eye brows, depend on the total face and how the hair frames it. The best eyebrows enhance rather than take away from the eyes. Do a test by taking a quick look in the mirror. Do your eyes blend in or shout out?

Wearing short boots rather than heels has become more popular over the last few years. There is no hard and fast rule except that the boots should not be the first thing noticed.

If you want to make a fashion statement by wearing an animal or red print, a short boot can accent your total look. It does takes a great eye to correctly balance the impact of wearing a short colored or print boot. Of course, you can always run with the idea that the boots are just a fun statement!

A recent photo of Megan Markle wearing a dark nail polish at a formal event spurred the question- why not a neutral color? I believe she wanted to make a statement focusing on the nails rather than the dress.

However, for an accent, my preference tends toward a less dramatic color, maybe a gray a neutral one (OPI sells very popular nail polish in these color tones, for instance). This brings up the dramatic nail color changes from multicolor to dark to sparkles to even different nail colors on each finger of the same hand! If you live in a fashion environment, wearing dramatic nail colors are the norm, it works. Perfectly groomed, neutral color nails, always make an elegant statement in any setting.

Often, we must work with a person who takes up all the air in the room. With a larger than life personality this person can also be very fun to be with. If this individual is a group leader, sometimes, details and tasks never get addressed or completed.

Allow this person their moment and when there is a break in conversation, rejoin the discussion with the task in mind. Avoid trying to control this person but instead manage them. This happened at Thanksgiving with my larger than life youngest sister. Instead of trying to rein her in, I asked her to make the gravy and everything went back on track!