The Definitive Book of Body Language - Barbara Pease [93]
Creating the “Four Eyes” effect of dilated pupils
The Power of Glasses and Makeup
Wearing makeup definitely adds to perceived credibility, especially for women in business. To demonstrate this we conducted a simple experiment. We hired four similar-looking female assistants to help sell our training products at a seminar. Each woman was given her own separate merchandise table and all were dressed in similar clothing. One assistant wore glasses and makeup, the second wore glasses and no makeup, the third had makeup and no glasses, and the fourth had neither makeup nor glasses. Customers would approach the table and talk with the assistants about the programs, spending an average discussion time of between four and six minutes. When the customers left the tables they were asked to recall information about each woman's personality and appearance and to choose adjectives from a list that best described each woman. The woman wearing both makeup and glasses was described as confident, intelligent, sophisticated, and the most outgoing. Some female customers saw her as confident but also cold, arrogant, and/or conceited—indicating they may have seen her as a possible competitor, because the men never saw her this way. The assistant who wore makeup and no glasses received good ratings on appearance and personal presentation but lower on personal skills such as listening and building rapport.
Wearing makeup definitely adds to
a woman's perceived self-confidence.
The assistants who wore no makeup were rated worst on personal skills and personal presentation, and wearing glasses without makeup made little difference to the customers' attitudes and recall. Most female customers had noted when makeup was not being worn by the assistant, while most men could not recall whether she wore it or not. Interestingly, both women who wore makeup were thought to be wearing shorter skirts than those without makeup, demonstrating that makeup also presents a sexier image than wearing none. The bottom line here is clear—makeup gives a woman a more intelligent, confident, and sexier image and the combination of glasses and makeup in business has the most positive and memorable impact on observers, so having a pair of noncorrectable glasses could be an excellent strategy for business meetings.
A Little Lippy, Lady?
For one of our television shows, we asked nine women to turn up for a series of interviews with both male and female interviewers. For half the interviews each woman wore lipstick, but they did not wear it to the other half. The interviewers' attitudes after the experiment quickly became clear—the women wearing red lipstick and using larger lip displays were seen as more interested in themselves and in men's attention, while women with reduced lip displays and muted or pastel colors were seen as more career-oriented and businesslike. The women with no lipstick were seen as more serious about work than men, but lacking in personal skills. Almost all female interviewers had noticed whether the candidates wore lipstick or not, while only half of the men noticed when women were not wearing it. This means that a woman should wear larger displays of bright red lipsticks for going on dates, but smaller, more understated displays for business meetings. If she works in businesses that promote female image, such as clothing, cosmetics, and hairdressing, bright displays are seen as a positive because they sell female attractiveness.
Briefcase Signals
The size of a briefcase is linked to perceptions of the status of its owner. Those who carry large, bulging briefcases are thought