Being smart and hardworking doesn’t necessarily mean that your colleagues or your boss will see you that way either. If you want others to take you seriously, you have to think seriously about the image that you present, starting with your clothes and outward appearance and moving on to your speech and body language. But how do you do that? In today’s article, we will learn about some effective and scientifically proven strategies that help you achieve this.
1- Go to work early.
Studies conducted at the Michael G. Foster College at the University of Washington in the United States show that employees who arrive early at their desks are often seen by their managers as more serious about their work and often get higher results in performance appraisals than those who come late.
2- Learn to say “no”
Get in the habit of saying “no” from time to time. Successful people master the art of rejecting the requests presented to them in the event that they conflict with their plans and agendas. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says that when he wrote to several professors to be interviewed for his book, which he was working on at the time, he received a negative response from a third of them, as they confirmed that they did not have enough time to conduct these interviews.
You can turn down your manager’s requests sometimes too; make sure you phrase your refusal correctly. If we assume that your manager at work has assigned you a specific task but you already have many other tasks, in this case you can refuse this task, but in a smart way, as you can say, for example, “I am happy to do this task, but accepting it means that the project that I’m working on now will be delayed.” It might be postponed until tomorrow because I intend to spend the next three hours finishing it. “Would you like to put this project on hold and start this task?”
The idea here revolves around not agreeing directly to everything, whatever it is; even if rejection is impossible, expressing it in a smart way will make you look more serious.
3- Keep your writing simple.
Resist the urge to use up your stock of complex vocabulary. A 2012 study conducted at Princeton University on the consequences of using unnecessarily long words showed that using long and complex vocabulary makes you appear less intelligent in the eyes of readers. After selecting a number of sociology theses and replacing long words with shorter equivalents that exceeded 9 letters, 35 students at Stanford University were asked to read the two versions (the original and the simplified) and judge the author of each of them.The result was that the simplified versions were described as less complex, and their writers seemed more intelligent.
4- Wear glasses.
In a study conducted at the University of Vienna, 76 participants were asked to rate 78 photos of people wearing full-rimmed, rimless, and no glasses on a variety of criteria, including intelligence and attractiveness, with people wearing glasses rated as more intelligent but less intelligent.attractive than those who wear glasses. If you want to look more serious as soon as possible, then you should wear glasses!
5- Show warmth and competence
It is important to balance these two qualities to appear serious in front of others. When you are kind and warm, others will trust you more. You will impose your respect on them if you appear as a competent person with a high academic or professional status.
Psychologist Amy Cuddy of Harvard University says that it is important to start showing warmth first and then competence, especially in the field of business, as success in business depends more on whether the other party is trustworthy or not than on its dependence on competence.
6- Stay away from fidgeting
Fidgeting or the repetitive actions that indicate it may be comforting to you if you are the one doing it, but it shows others that you are nervous and that you lack strength and seriousness. If you must do such actions, at least try to make them slower; in this way, you will feel comfortable without your behavior being visible.
7- Let others speak for themselves.
Want to know a little secret that will help you make a better impression of yourself? Let others talk about themselves, as a study conducted at Harvard University proved that talking about yourself stimulates the same areas of your brain that are active when enjoying a delicious meal. When you give others the opportunity to talk about their experiences, they will become more affected by one another, making it easier to build positive relationships with them.
8- Take care of your appearance.
No one denies that outward appearance is the first thing that is judged by others. As taking an initial impression of others takes less than 100 parts of a thousand parts of a second, which is a very short period of time, it may determine the view of others around you for a very long time. So make sure that impression is good by always looking presentable. Of course, this does not mean that you wear a formal suit all the time or that you wear clothes designed by the most famous international brands. What is important is that you are tidy, that your clothes are clean, and that you smell nice. Take a look at your most stylish colleagues at work, try to imitate their style of dress, and then notice the effect that others have on you.
9- Master the art of shaking hands
A handshake is more than just squeezing someone’s hand; it’s a way to show respect for the other party.So you must master the art of shaking hands, stand straight, and do not forget to look into the eyes of the person you are shaking hands with; a smile is also important and indicates your kindness; avoid shaking your hand a lot during the handshake; and be sure to tighten the hand of the person you are shaking hands with to show how happy you are to meet him and your interest in communication with him. A handshake like this shows respect, and the more you show respect to others, the more respect you receive in return.
10- Know what is going on around you.
In order to be able to show how serious you are at work, you must be aware of what is going on around you, especially in your field of work. If you work in the field of technology, you must know about the latest technologies and ongoing research in this field so that you can talk intelligently about it if asked about it, but you must also have a general cultural understanding of various other fields. Try to read the newspaper daily or watch the news at least once every two days, and do not neglect reading books, as it is a great way to expand your knowledge.
11- Pay attention to your tone of voice.
If you end your sentences with a higher tone than the tone you started with, you will sound like you are asking a question, which reflects your lack of confidence in what you are saying and reduces your credibility. Strategist Bernard Marr says that using such a tone has no place at work. If you want a promising career and you want others to take you seriously, avoid doing that and always end your speech on a low note to show your confidence in the extent of the truth of what you say.
No matter how serious you are about your work, your boss and colleagues may fail to notice this, especially if your outward behavior does not suggest it. However, through the previous steps, you will become more able to give a positive impression of your dedication to your work, but remember that appearances are not everything, as previous actions must be accompanied by an internal sense of responsibility, perseverance, and sincerity at work.
Read also: What are salary negotiation skills?
