Eat What You Preach: Looking the Part
Consider this scenario: You walk into a hair salon with high hopes of looking like a supermodel the minute you walk out the door. The first woman you see glances at you and says, “Oh hi, I’m Marcy, and I’ll be doing your hair today.” Sounds lovely, right?
But, there is a problem. Marcy looks like she has the entire amount of grease from a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder smeared over her head. Her hair salon immediately falls to the bottom of your rankings.
Now, consider this scenario: The gym near your neighborhood just had its grand opening. Now you’re ready to give it a try and get those killer abs you’ve always wanted. You decide to take a kickboxing class. Again, sounds great, right?
Wrong. Your instructor looks like he could be a contestant on the “Biggest Loser” and is more out of breath than you are throughout the class.
No one wants to use a hair salon where the workers don’t appear to keep their own hair clean. Just as no one wants to go to an exercise class where the teacher is more out of shape than he is.
These examples may seem a bit extreme, but would you really want to go to either of these places after having a similar experience? I don’t think so.
Looking the part is crucial for successful day-to-day public relations.
In Cynthia’s Health & Weight Loss blog, the author shares her feelings about gyms that have employees who don’t appear healthy. “As an expert in the field of health, [if] you’re going to inspire me and others to get healthy, then the least you can do is play your part and get healthy yourself.”
When you look the part in your field, it is automatically good PR for yourself and your company.
Cynthia’s blog re-emphasizes this point. “For me, it is hugely important and [I] couldn’t imagine how anyone can expect to be taken seriously when they don’t embody what they’re promoting.”
Anyone, whether in the PR field or not, should always try to look the part for public relations’ sake. Everyone should be wary of bad PR— it happens easily if you’re not careful.
Looking the part is one of the easiest things you can do to promote yourself and a great image for your company.
Just remember when you take your next job as a dietitian, be sure to eat what you preach.
Have you ever been in a scenario like the ones described? Could that person have promoted his company better by looking the part?
