The Way We Dress and Communication

There is a proverb that says in effect, "What you say to me tells me what you think about me but what you wear tells me what you think about yourself." The way we dress is a statement. It tells the world how we perceive ourselves.Communication has little to do with the words that we use. It is done mostly through intonation, body language and various signals that fly below the radar of the persons that are trying to communicate.The choice of the words, "trying to communicate" was done intentionally. It does not matter how much we try, how careful we are or how well intentioned that we are, exact communication simply does not exists except in very rare occasions where the message is so simple that it simply cannot be misconstrued.What we call communication would be more aptly defined as leaving an impression. The messages that we try to convey are summed up as a mental image and sometimes as a simple feeling by the receiver of the communication.Except in very specific occasions, we don't perceive what is being communicated in exact words. Those words form and image or a concept in our mind that sums up for us what has been read or heard. To complicate matters even more, communications are colored by the mood and everything that is perceived by the senses of the receiver of the communication.One only has to look at the various Courts to understand how complex communications are. Judges and lawyers often have to debate for months to determine the exact meaning of a law that was painstakingly crafted by experts trying to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding.The United States Constitution, a very carefully crafted document, was adopted on September 17, 1787 and it has been debated ever since. That says volumes about the exactitude of communications.Given all these considerations, we must first conclude and accept the fact that what we try to convey in our communications has a very good chance of being misconstrued. So, it should be no surprise if the reactions that we receive when trying to communicate are not what we expected.Secondly, extra care must be given in order to do everything in our power to convey an image in the listener's mind that will approximate as much as possible what we are trying to say and that should start with the way that we dress.Even before anything is said, the listener already has made up his mind as to who we are and where we are coming from. That opinion is based on the way that we are dressed and on the image that we represent.The rock star image will fail miserably in trying to convey an image of stalwartness and common sense just as the suit and tie will fail to send the message of the party boy. There are acceptable standards for every lifestyle and every category of people. It is for us to judge and decide what accoutrement would best convey our basic message to the world.A commercial airline pilot with loose hair all the way to his shoulders might be as competent as another one with a short haircut but will certainly not inspire as much confidence to his passengers.Our culture has defined specific dressing codes to convey specific messages. Following the code is certainly not mandatory but choosing to ignore it is certainly not the wisest thing to do, that is, if we intend to communicate as accurately as possible.

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