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Know what it means to develop your professional presence.
Whether you are an intern, teacher, principal, counselor, or whatever other professional role you may be in, you can deliberately design your professional presence. That is the first thing you need to know. Recognize that doing so is:
- NOT about plastic surgery;
But, it IS about paying very conscious attention to:
- your materials (resume, handouts, letters);
- your demeanor;
- your facial expressions;
- your emails, phone messages, and other correspondence;
- your clothing and other physical accoutrements;
- your responsibility,
- your poise,
- your integrity,
- your words and language,
- and so much more.
Your physical presence IS a package and you can decide what that package will be.
Write down some words for each of the prompts below. Just write what first comes to mind and then later, go back and think about your responses more deeply. This is just for you so there is no need to worry about editing and in particular, don't censor yourself. Just respond. You can react and reflect later. Don't skip this part because it is the foundation for other decisions and changes that you will want to make so that you convey the professional presence that you want (and that is expected of a professional educator).
- Impression, i.e., what impression do you want people to have of you?
- Feeling, i.e., what feeling do you want people to have when they are around you or when they see your materials?
- Notion, i.e., what word or phrase do you want people to say if they are asked to describe you briefly?
- Bearing, i.e., what words do you want to describe how you carry yourself?
- Message, i.e., what is your message in life (which, by the way, comes across loud and clear as you work with others)? Write just one, two, or three words.
Now, this may or may not have been easy, but this is your starting point.
The next key idea is that you must be consistent in what you are conveying. The minute you walk into a room or into any situation, you are starting to make an announcement about yourself. So the question you need to answer is this, "What do you want to "announce" about yourself?"
How do these sound?
- I am positive.
- I am knowledgeable.
- I am smart.
- I am responsible.
- I am confident.
- I am with-it.
- I am on top of things.
- I can handle this situation.
Obviously, these are all positive and would be the sort of 'announcement' that anyone in education would be wise to be making. However, we must consider the fact that some people are not making such a positive announcement about themselves. Think about times you have seen teachers, principals, practicum students, aides, interns, or others in the school building who were announcing one or more of the following:
- I am a bit slow on the uptake.
- I am not quite confident in what I do.
- I might or might not be the person for the job.
- I am despondent about myself and life in general.
- I can not always be depended upon.
- I could go right from here to a club and never miss a beat.
- I just came from my other job at the grocery store, Taco Bell, the tattoo parlor, the bar at the _____, etc.
Can you imagine that there are some people who have apparently chosen to 'announce' any of these about themselves?
As an educator, it is essential that you make very deliberate and conscious decisions about what you DO and DON'T wear, how you carry yourself (with pride confidence vs. slouching and slinking), what you say and how you say it, and so forth.
Start attending to every detail you can including
1) your clothing, 2) your accessories, 3) your physical bearing, 4) your use of the space around you, 5) your facial expressions (including eye contact), 6) your general cleanliness and attention to detail, 7) your habits, 8) your handshake, and 9) your scent and adjust whatever you notice that needs adjusting so that you are ANNOUNCING what you intend to be announcing. It makes a huge difference in the chances you have in life and the opportunities you have to change others' lives through education.
Meggin has many other articles and teleseminars related to 'Deliberately Designing Your Professional Presence' that you can access by going to her site: Emphasis on Excellence.
As an educator, you also find helpful downloads and ideas at Meggin's site: Owning Word for Literacy.
Meggin is a former teacher, college of education professor, and now business owner. Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do. Sound interesting? It is!
(c) 2008 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., "The Ph.D. of Productivity'tm).
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