Walk-Around Entertainment Tip #2
Be Well Groomed
by Brad Weston
As you gain experience in the walk-around entertainment genre, you will begin to notice that people will often steal a glance at your shoes as you walk up to them. I doubt that they do this consciously, but people always give you the once over with their eyes before they will respond to what you have to say. They will size you up by the quality of your footwear.
That having been said, it is essential that you understand what it means to be well dressed and well groomed. It does not mean that you have to be dressed expensively or in the latest fashions. It does mean, however that you must be neat, clean, and ironed. If you have wrinkled pants and ring around the collar it will be hard to win their trust and approval.
Once you have them at first glance, you still need to get past second glance. Do you have dirty finger nails? Nose hairs? Smeared make-up? Does your hair look like an untended garden?
Your physical appearance and grooming gives people valuable clues as to your status. It is essential that you express that you have a high status.
Why is this so important? Two reasons:
1) People won’t bond with you if you seem to be of a lower class than they. This is a part of office politics and it can extend all the way to the clown at the picnic.
2) Research has shown that people laugh more at what high status people say than low status people. It often doesn’t even need to be a joke that is told; if a high status person uses comic timing it will get laughs. This can really give you an advantage as an entertainer.
A final note about grooming: often the reason that we get hired has to do with conspicuous consumption. What this means is that to some degree people are showing off their financial resources to have us come to their homes or offices. The more expensive we look, the more they are getting for their money.
Brad Weston is a writer, juggler, and entertainment theorist from way back. For more information about him and his work check out his website at http://www.bradweston.com
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