What To Wear For A Speaking Engagement

Dressing for a public speaking engagement, such as at a business conference, can be difficult. You want to be comfortable, look professional, and avoid any embarrassing disasters, like fabric becoming see-through under stage lighting. Here are some top tips to dress right for public speaking, and make a great impression.

Match The Event

The way you dress will be dictated by the event. If you’re addressing a conference of lawyers, you’re probably going to want to be more formally dressed than if you’re speaking to high-school students, for example. Your industry, audience, and the location will all make a difference, so consider this carefully. 

Be Comfortable

If your shoes are killing you, you have an itchy label in your dress, or your belt buckle is rubbing your stomach, you aren’t going to be able to concentrate on what you’re saying. While you want to look professional and well-dressed, you need to be comfortable too. Try on a few outfits and wear your chosen look for a while before deciding. A tried and tested outfit is smart too, rather than risking wearing something brand new that might turn out to be a problem. 

Dress For Confidence

What makes you feel confident when you wear it? For public speaking, you need to feel assured in yourself and what you wear can help with that. Maybe you feel amazing in a power suit, in a certain color, or while wearing great accessories. If the right accessory gives you a lift, you could choose a smart watch that tells the audience that you’re successful at what you do. To make this more affordable, you can shop Rolex Daytonas at WatchBox. 

Check For Embarrassing Issues

As well as checking for comfort, a test run of your outfit can help you to avoid any embarrassing disasters with your clothes. Take into account where you will be standing when you speak. If you will be on stage with people sitting at a lower height, you probably don’t want a short skirt or dress, especially if you will be sitting down. How do fabrics behave under bright stage lights? Choose sturdy fabrics that won’t go see-through with bright light on them. Check for smaller issues like price labels you’ve forgotten to remove, stickers still on the bottom of new shoes, or tags sticking out. 

Keep It Simple

Some industries might allow for a more interesting outfit, with bright colors or patterns, but it’s generally a good idea to keep it simple for speaking engagements. You don’t want your outfit to distract from your speech, after all. Choose a look with simple, clean lines. Blues, blacks, and grays are generally safe colors in most business environments, although you can experiment with more colors, as long as you keep the palette simple. Keep your accessories minimal and simple too. You don’t want anything that’s going to distract you by moving around or distract the audience by reflecting the lights back at them. Keep your overall outfit simple.