I’m just back from attending an amazing four days of high-level speaker training in San Diego.  (For those of you who aren’t aware, I’m an accomplished public speaker and trainer for Fortune 500 companies and I’m getting ready to launch my own seminars.)

Now whenever I seek out coaching for myself, I always want to be coached by the Best of the Best. So check out this roster of presenters:

Roger Love. One of the world’s top voice coaches, Roger has coached everyone from Reese Witherspoon and Kurt Russell to Eminem and Rob Thomas. He’s traveling with the cast of Glee on tour this summer and he had us all singing “Goog–Goog–Goog–Ga–Ga–Ga” every morning to train our voices.

Bo Eason. This former NFL player became the star of his own critically-acclaimed one-man show on Broadway which is now being adapted into a major motion picture by Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile). Bo spoke about the importance of story and taught us to improve our physicality and movement up on stage.

Brendon Burchard. Author of The Millionaire Messenger, Brendon is a brilliant strategist and trainer and he truly demonstrated how “the show must go on” by appearing with a broken wrist, bruised ribs, and plenty of ice packs just days after surgery for injuries he suffered in a serious ATV accident.

These three men addressed key elements of great presentations including voice, story, content, movement, and frameworks but they never addressed the importance of dress. It wasn’t until the third day that a woman in the audience stood up during a Q&A and asked, “How do I know what to wear on stage?”

“Finally!” I thought.

Certainly what you decide to wear in front of an audience when, literally, all eyes are on you, is either going to support or detract from your message. And it’s certainly as critical to the success of your presentation as your voice or gestures or powerpoint slides.

So here are some wardrobe tips for those of you who may be called upon to speak at a PTA meeting or board meeting or conference in the future:

• Make sure your outfit will not distract or compete with your message. Avoid dangling earrings, jangling bracelets, and low necklines.
• Use a rear-view mirror so you never appear on stage unless you’ve checked to be sure you look good both coming and going.
• Never let’em see you sweat by wearing a jacket or sweater or using dress shields.
• Find out if you’ll be using a wireless microphone. If so, wear pants or a skirt unless you’re okay with the sound guy unzipping your dress to attach the mic to your bra.
• Do a dress rehearsal. Put on the outfit you plan to wear AND the shoes you plan to wear and move around to make sure there are no unexpected gaps or tugs or pinches that will have you concentrating on something other than the message you’re delivering.
• Be current. If your outfit is outdated, the first thought the audience will have is that your message is going to be outdated, too.

But remember, just because you choose to wear something vintage doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll look outdated. Take today’s VPOD for instance.

This vintage 1950s dress by Robert Morton is both classy and conservative and can certainly hold its own on a platform despite its old age. It says “I know what I’m talking about” loud and clear but its magical sleeves also say “I’m not going to bore you to death.”

That makes it both a lovely and appropriate find for a presenting vintage fashionista!

Available at Bad Girl Vintage.

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