Comments on: Machiavellian Tips and Tricks

By: Carl

Carl — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:21:15 +0000

Yeah, the peep toed oxfords are heinous, but in a good way. I prefer non-peep toed oxfords.

I’ve found that it’s relatively easy to cool people down by modulating my voice. I slow my tempo just a bit, use a slightly deeper timber and enunciate fluidly and people tend to chillax and listen more carefully. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m more successful at coaxing them to grasp better ideas. When people are hooked on the same old ideas it’s pretty hard to dislodge them. But at least they are less frenetic when I confront them about their boring, old barely sustainable ideas.

Oh, and did you know that most shoes that are touted as ‘oxfords’ in the U.S. actually are of the derby design? You can check out the differences at wikipedia, just in case you’re curious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derby_shoe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_shoe

By: karen

karen — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:49:25 +0000

Oooh, tank tops and Ashtanga arms are VERY powerful!

By: Wombat

Wombat — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:21:46 +0000

Yes, I’m the “Live Traffic Feed” from Honolulu. When I interviewed for my job here, I wore strappy sandals with a heel. Those were pretty good confidence shoes. Sadly, with the humidity, they gave me blisters, so now I stick to Tevas or slippers. Without the shoes, I have to rely on tank tops with Ashtanga arms for confidence.

By: Liz

Liz — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:53:42 +0000

Karen- your comment story is hilarious! The shoes are GREAT, even if they are slightly hideous! ha ha!!

I really loved this entry. I think I’m going to cut and paste your list into a Word document to print out and post by my computer. Good rules to live by. I’m especially struck by the “perceived” insults, aggravations, grudges, bad feelings, etc. So true!! So much of life’s problems are just in our heads.

Thanks for this-

By: karen

karen — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:05:19 +0000

Wombat, are you in Hawaii? I have a friend from Hawaii who calls flip-flops “slippers.”

I think the “power” is a combo of how I feel as well as how others see me. But a good portion of it really is how others perceive the clothing. When I wore the red peep toe Oxfords, I told one of my work friends about how my daughter had called them “heinous.”

“I don’t really ‘get’ them, either,” she admitted. I told her they seem to be a love or hate thing, with most people coming down on the side of love. She was dubious.

Then a person walking past in the hall said, “Wow, I love your shoes.” My friend raised her eyebrow.

A little later we were going into a meeting room. A passerby said, “Those are great shoes.” My friend grinned at me.

Leaving the meeting, the CEO said, “Great shoes.” My friend turned to me and said, “Okay, I’m convinced.”

By: joy

joy — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:08:15 +0000

i LOVE the heels-and-pencil skirt combo. Since I don’t boss anyone around in my work, my findings are different: Whenever I dress that way I get better service! At France Telecom, at the Préfecture, anywhere. It’s not just a nice outfit… it’s Sexy Librarian. I twist my hair up into a knot and carry my Matt and Nat bag *pour completer l’ensemble*.

It’s hot and sunny here too, but thankfully these people are French and feel, in general, that we all have a civic responsibility to iron our clothes and “faire beau” for the people who have to look at us all day long.

By: Wombat

Wombat — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:15:26 +0000

Do you think that the outfit changes how you act or the responses of others? I always feel more confident wearing boots with a bit of a heel, click-clicking down the hall. I presume I project that confidence, whether or not anyone else notices the boots. In other words, does one use these trappings to manipulate oneself or others? Sadly, I now live in the land of flip-flops (or slippers, as they are called here) and you just feel silly wearing boots when it’s sunny and 80 all the time.