Tero Unveils New Web Page and New Look
Welcome to the refreshed and renewed Tero eZine. Tero is also pleased to introduce its new website. Beyond a new look, you'll find new features and more user-friendly navigation. Visit www.tero.com.
While a lot of things are changing - some things are not. The Tero website is still packed with useful content to help you stay current on trends and numerous resources to aid you on your professional development journey.
The home page provides greater visual interest, responsive design for hand-held devices and easier navigation. Scroll down on the Tero home page for a dynamic section of the website that will be updated frequently to bring you the latest Tero news, relevant research and items of interest. The platinum menu bar appears on most pages of the Tero website to help you quickly access the resources you need. Platinum sidebars on the right side of most pages have been customized to provide links to resources related to the content on the page you are visiting.
The Tero monthly eZine also boasts a new look while continuing to bring to you the rich resources you have come to look for and expect from Tero.
Inconvenience always accompanies new construction. The members of the Tero Team are working to ensure all the new links and new features work. If you aren't able to find what you need on the Tero website, if you come across an area that needs attention or if you have a suggestion, please let us know. Click here to drop us a note with your comments and feedback.
In addition to checking out the new Tero website, we hope you will also take the opportunity to complete the Best of Des Moines survey that is conducted annually by the Des Moines Business Record. Click here, or click on the Best Of logo, to access the survey and cast your vote for Tero International in the Best Training and Development Company category. Voting ends June 10, 2015. Only one survey per computer will be accepted.
Welcome to the Tero International eZine
Summertime and the living is...easy? Not in the choice of what to wear to work. As the days get longer and warmer the temptation to relax one’s dress to match the more relaxed environment is tempting. What do you risk with regard to your professionalism when you take what you wear to work less seriously?
If you live in a warmer climate all year round, how do you make sure your choice of attire will communicate your professionalism to colleagues and clients from regions that may employ a few more layers in their wardrobe due to temperature?
People form an impression based on your visual image in two seconds. Is it possible to dress for the weather or a warmer region and for success? In any season, region, or situation, you need to ask yourself if what you choose to wear and how you look make you look like an expert in what you do with relatability to who you will be working with.
This month’s eZine is designed not to make you fashionable, but to ensure you look professional. When sandals replace boots and jackets are in the closet because there is no need for layers, what you choose to wear will either carry the impression of having a “polished presence” or chip away at it.
The Q and A gives answers to some common questions for seasonal or regional considerations about professional dress. If you find yourself cleaning out your closet, or buying new seasonal items, check out the Development Activity first.
After a sleepless night with a new baby or a series of late night business flights, would you like to make sure you look your best? This month’s article stresses that color - the right one for us - is our friend in promoting a positive healthy image and appearance no matter what.
The Resources Section covers every aspect of visual image from how to look our age to how visual image informs our political vote! The Tero Tip Section features more warm weather wisdom from Tero's own certified Image Consultant and Senior Trainer, Becky Rupiper-Greene.
And the Inspiration Section inspires us with thoughts from the visually centered field of architecture containing an original poem written by the 2015 American Institute of Architecture gold medal winner Moshe Safde. This poem serves as a metaphor for what the purpose is in presenting yourself truthfully, and what constitutes true self-expression.
So, break out your warm weather wear and let Tero help you determine how to make the most of your visual presence and professionalism, regardless of the temperature.
Ask Tero
What are business professionals asking Tero? Read on to find questions asked of the professionals at Tero. We appreciate your continued interest and the questions we receive each month.
Question: First Lady, Michelle Obama, regularly wears sleeveless dresses. Is it appropriate to incorporate this sleeveless trend into my office wardrobe?
Tero says: It is unfortunate that instead of focusing on Michelle Obama's magnificent mind, many are noticing - and commenting on - her sculpted arms. But that invariably happens to women in the public spotlight. Exposed skin can also undermine a woman's credibility at the office. In a business setting, it still holds true that the more skin a woman is showing, the less respect she is shown. Do you want to be known for your brilliance or your biceps?
Question: I am taking a potential client to a baseball game and wonder what the appropriate attire is?
Tero says: Whenever attending a sporting event for business purposes, consider the context of the environment and dress in clothing that is functional for the occasion. Even though your dress code may call for wearing a tie to the office, it would be out of place sitting in the stands of a sweltering ball park. If, however, you're entertaining the client in an air conditioned skybox immediately after work hours, that context may dictate that both you and the client will be wearing whatever your standard office attire would be. Always dress contextually for the occasion without losing your professional edge.
Do you have a question for Tero? Let us know! If there is a topic or question you would like to see addressed in a future eZine, please make suggestions so we can give you the resources you need. Click here to ask Tero a question.
Feature Article - Color and You
by Becky Rupiper-Greene,
Senior Training and Image Consultant, Tero International
Color choices vary regionally, as well as seasonally. Although Becky Rupiper-Greene, Tero International's certified Image Consultant, informs us each December of the Pantone color of the Year, it’s a fact we all manage many colors throughout the year in our professional wardrobe. How do we award colors our personal stamp of approval with regard to furthering our image and assisting us in appearing healthy, rested, and polished? The following excerpt Color and You from Tero's Image and Influence: Polishing Your Professional Look participant manual is a wonderful guide for choosing your true colors.
Color has the power to evoke thoughts, emotions and physical reactions. Since humans are so visually stimulated, color is an important element of our visual communications. The colors we wear speak volumes before we ever have a chance to open our mouths.
Wearing colors which are compatible with your natural features will enhance your image and help to make you look more healthy, dynamic, approachable and professional.
It is certainly ideal to have a color analysis done using full spectrum lighting by a consultant who has been professionally trained. If that is not an available option to you, there are a few guidelines that you can follow to aid in determining whether you have cool or warm undertones in your skin.
People with dominant warm undertones in their skin make up approximately 20% of the United States population. They are typically of Eastern European or Nordic ancestry and have fair, thin skin which is sensitive to sun exposure. Genetic freckles and red hair are common. They look better in yellow-based colors.
People with dominant cool undertones in their skin are the remaining 80% of the population. Cool skin is commonly rosy or olive in appearance and is complemented by blue-based colors.
Professional Development Activity
Professional Attire as Seasons Change
Our closets can be helpful or harmful accomplices in establishing our professional image. As seasons change, we are often faced with artifacts from previous years, and the need to replenish certain items. Here are some tips to help you transition from season to season.
1. Try on anything seasonal you haven’t worn since the last season. Evaluate fit and tailor, or edit out if needed.
2. Snip the basting on back vents of newly purchased jackets and skirts. They should never be left intact after purchase.
3. If sandals are a seasonal or regional choice, make sure that grooming of toes and feet is impeccable.
4. Consider natural fabrics, but avoid linen in professional settings. Linen wrinkles easily and can communicate an unkempt appearance. Choose instead lightweight 100% wool for comfort and staying power with regard to a crisp pressed look.
5. Analyze and prepare your after work/weekend wardrobe. Make sure you are prepared in advance with wardrobe pieces and accessories that will communicate your professionalism yet be suitable for a more casual environment.
Tero Tips
Savvy Summer Image Tips
by Becky Rupiper-Greene, Certified Image Consultant
Your professional image should not take a vacation during the warm weather months, or suffer if you live and work in a warmer climate. Warmer temperatures typically present the challenge of staying cool and comfortable while maintaining a professional appearance. Consider these tips to keep your polished look from melting.
1. Wear natural fabrics such as cotton, lightweight wool, silk, or rayon. Avoid 100% synthetic fabrics like polyester and acrylic, which do not "breath," pulling moisture away from the body. Since they can't absorb moisture, it remains on the surface of the fabric, and as a result these garments feel clammy on hot days.
2. Leverage layering power. Even on the hottest days, you will likely be spending a considerable amount of time in an air conditioned building. These fluctuating environments make layering pieces essential. Lightweight jackets and cardigans make perfect investments for your summer wardrobe.
3. Even in conservative industries, most women can trade in their pumps for a lighter sling back shoe. If you work in a casual office in which sandals are permitted, use the guideline that there should be more shoe than foot showing. It is also imperative that exposed feet be impeccably groomed. The bottom line is this: don't allow your feet to defeat your career goals.
4. Along with the increase in temperatures, many offices see an increase in skin exposure. While skin-bearing fashions abound in the media and retail establishments, a basic truth remains in most corporate environments: the more skin you are showing the less respect you are shown. Visually command respect by maintaining professional standards even when the weather doesn't cooperate.
Inspiration - Things to Think About
Visual image in the architectural industry requires an interpretation and communication of what the client wants to express, the landscape that supports a project, and a design that aligns with the local culture. Moshe Safdie, renowned architect and winner of the 2015 American Institute of Architecture award contemplates life in the following poem.
A poem by Moshe Safdie, on Life
He who seeks truth shall find beauty
He who seeks beauty shall find vanity
He who seeks order shall find gratification
He who seeks gratification shall be disappointed
He who considers himself a servant of his fellow beings shall find the joy of self-expression
He who seeks self-expression shall fall into the pit of arrogance
Arrogance is incompatible with nature
Through nature, the nature of the universe and the nature of man, we shall seek truth
If we seek truth we shall find beauty
-Moshe Safdie
How can these thoughts inform us when choosing how to present ourselves? Could the truth he alludes to align with presenting ourselves in ways that communicate our expertise and relatability? Could the self- expression and arrogance he talks of correlate with the choices made solely for a sense of entitlement and personal comfort?