How are YOU perceived?
I put that word in to high gear when I was doing some Political Consulting. I always wanted to meet a prospective candidate, have lunch, sit and talk, even do an "outside" event, shopping, walking something to see how they interacted with others. Some had no business entering into anything that demanded public exposure. I did not care about education or experience, at first, just how the candidate was perceived, his or her, image.
I have seen highly qualified individuals, that had no business running for office, and, some with no qualifications at all, running and winning elections. Look at Obama. The first time I saw him on a TV show I predicted that if he ran, he would become president, or, for that matter, whatever he wanted to be. He had charisma, and as far as I was concerned, pegged a 10 on the Perception Meter.
It is difficult to disguise ..... perception .... if you try, you come off .... well ..... as a phony. It is difficult to explain perception. Have you ever met anyone you instantly liked, or knew they were someone you would like to know. And, the reverse has happened with others. You did not like them, for some unknown reason.
I worked with a candidate on one occasion, highly qualified for the job. My first meeting with him was negative. I purposely met him for lunch at a restaurant I often used, it was long and narrow. I could sit at the back and watch the person walk through the place. In his case, he had his name badge on, came in the door and immediately walked straight through to the back. He walked by probably 50 people, and did not acknowledge one of them, either by a hello, or some form of eye contact. I knew then he could not win an election, and he didn't.
Years ago, in Chicago, there was a "high class" employment agency, high dollar jobs only, executive types. When you went to their office, you got off an elevator, walked down a long corridor to a massive wood door, entered and "swam" through a deep expensive carpet to the reception desk. A candidate was observed the entire time, in those days with one way glass windows. They observed your "walk" down that long corridor, they observed your reaction to that massive door, and your reaction to the opulent plush surroundings inside the office, it was the start of your evaluation, your original ........... perception.
I don't know how you can change your perception, not sure if you can, you either have it, or not.
