Dress for a tie

One of the most engaging presenters I've seen lately is Guy Kawasaki. His advice to all of us is to 'dress for a tie' meaning 'dress to match your audience'. If you dress better than them you risk making them feel as if you are better than them. If you dress less formal than them you may come across as if you don't respect them and their time.

This is one area where men have an advantage. I've watched Quint Studer show up in a complete suit, but when it becomes apparent his audience is more casually dressed Quint will remove his jacket, loosen his tie, and roll up his sleeves.

The message I would add is this; your presentation is a connected series of thoughts, statements, questions, and stories meant to lead the audience from where they are to where you want them to be. Anything that distracts from that process is bad. A poor clothing choice means your audience is looking at you clothes and not listening to your message. Dress is such a way the audience never notices your clothes and instead focuses on you.

You can read a great article on Guy Kawasaki here:
http://www.duarte.com/blog/kawasaki-practices-what-he-preaches-enchantment/