When we meet people there’s a lot of information that is communicated. How people dress, the inflection in their voice, facial expressions, or even how they sit in a chair, all give clues. It’s not much, but it’s all we have to go on. As humans, we use mental categories or labels to make sense of our world. These categories or labels are based on our own subconscious blueprint formed at very young age from our own experiences, upbringing, culture and heritage.
We do this all the time. When you see someone dressed a certain way, for instance in a lab coat, you might immediately think doctor. Labels give us a trustworthy place to start to categorize the details of our lives. They help us adjust to find what we are looking for within the confines of a category.
It’s all well and good when we are searching our closet or file drawers. The trouble starts when we label other people or ourselves. Without realizing it, we place labels on people and mentally put them in a particular category. Successful, ambitious, techy, professional, full of themselves, loyal, confident, funny. We make thousands of instinctive and immediate evaluations every day, mentally categorizing. These categories and labels can be helpful, but when we put negative labels on ourselves or let other people decide who we are, that’s when we need to take notice and make adjustments. We can’t stop other people from making judgements, but we can certainly influence them.
Our world has changed, and virtual experiences have risen to an all new high. Think about some negative labels you may have you put on yourself. Some like, I’m not photogenic, or I’m not tech savvy. Are you playing a comparison game with labels? Stop! You and your journey are unique! Use your values and goals to measure your growth, not someone else’s journey or results. Cultivate confidence by learning to grow with grace and ease.
The good news is you can choose the labels you want to convey when on camera. You can influence the label you convey through skincare, makeup, lighting, and color. Your skin is 90% of your selfie and should include foundation. Foundation is the last step to skin care for protection. It also evens out your skin tone for a more polished look. Even the smallest amount of makeup can make a huge difference. Adding contrast with lip color automatically brightens your face, causing you to appear more youthful and fresh. Positioning your lighting will create a more inviting expression in your eyes as well as cause less shadows. Color will convey energy and subconsciously evoke feeling. Choose a complimentary color for your skin tone as well as background.
The next time you are on a zoom call remember these tips. When these are in harmony, your inner beauty glows!
