Look the Part, Lead with Presence – Speaker Style with Kay Korsh

John: 00:00:00

Do you want to look like the expert you really are before you

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even say a single word on stage?

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Well, in today's episode of Present

Influence, I'm joined by international

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speaking style advisor, Kay Korsh,

who helps professional speakers dress

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with intention, impact, and influence.

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From first impressions to fabric choices,

we explore how your look communicates

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authority, credibility, and confidence

long before you open your mouth.

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And if you've ever wondered what to wear

on stage, how to balance authenticity

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with polish, or whether your outfit

could be undermining your message,

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this episode can be your new style

playbook, and if you are watching

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us on video, I will say in advance.

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I have realized that I probably

shouldn't sweep my hair all the way back.

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It was not a good style choice and I

certainly do not look anything like a

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stylish as Kay in the video episode.

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And if you are watching on YouTube,

please do like and subscribe

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and maybe even leave a comment.

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It does help people to find the show.

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It also means the world to me.

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I'd love to hear from you.

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Let's start the show.

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Welcome to Present Influence, the

professional speaking show for

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people who want to impact, influence

and inspire with their talks.

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My name's John Ball and I'm your

guide on this journey to mastery

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level communication skills.

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I am very happy to, welcome to the

show, my guest today, Kay Korsh.

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Kay, welcome to Present Influence.

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It's great to have you here.

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Kay Korsh: Thank you

so much for having me.

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I'm very excited to talk to you.

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John: Well, suitably for for those of

our, audience who can see the video,

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you are very stylishly dressed today,

so that gives some clue as to what

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we're going to be talking about, which

is style for the stage you are someone

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who is helping professional speakers to

look good on stage, isn't that right?

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Kay Korsh: Yes, exactly.

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That's, what I got into

about five years ago now.

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John: Fantastic.

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How did you end up coming

into this as a area of work?

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I.

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Kay Korsh: I worked with

celebrities and luxury brands for

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a long time and loved doing that.

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And then when COVID started, I all of a

sudden that all went, dead for a while.

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And, I've decided to play around

and thought, what else can I try?

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And, I met somebody who said to me, I

think you should work with professional

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speakers because we all need you.

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At that time I wasn't even sure.

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I didn't know that was a thing.

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I didn't know that people

create business out of this.

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And they started, looking into this.

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And, I met, a wonderful

woman, Maria Franzo, who.

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I started, doing workshops together

with, for car cohorts and it

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kind of rolled on from there.

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And I really love doing this.

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I think, professional speakers is

probably the closest it can get

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to, actors and celebrities because

they're also exposed to big audiences,

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and they have interesting stories, so.

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I love the aspect of it where you kind

of have to look at the person and try to

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work out what the messaging is for them,

how they can use their outfit as a tool

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and help how the outfit can

help them maximize on the

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impact that they're creating.

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And, yeah, I can't believe

it's, it's been so long already.

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John: It's, it's a great area

of what I think you're the only

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person I've ever come across

who is doing this specifically.

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I had mentioned to you before, I

met a lady who was doing smiling

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for people, for being on video.

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Specifically during lockdown and

COVID periods where people were on

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video all the time, she's helping

people to look good on video.

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I don't, I'm not sure what she's moved

into now, but, but certainly you're then

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a person I've come across who is that

focused on helping speakers look better

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on stage and my goodness that we need it.

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I know I do, but can, can you share

with us, some of the reasons why it's

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particularly important for speakers?

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to focus on their style

and their looks on stage.

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Kay Korsh: Well, let me ask you, why do

you think it's important for speakers?

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John: Well, I'm someone who studies a lot

of influence and persuasion and just from

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that perspective alone, if you don't look

the part, there's already going to be

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a disconnect between what you're saying

and or anything else with the audience.

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They're gonna be looking

at you thinking, well.

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You say you are an expert in this,

but you don't really look like it,

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you know, much like even when we go

to what, an opticians or a nail tech,

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whatever, and they've got the white

coats on, and they're probably not, I

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mean, opticians have medical training,

I guess, but they, they don't need to

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be wearing white coats for what they do.

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But because we associate that

with medical, and procedural

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things, we see that they fit

the part that they're playing.

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And as speakers, we need to

do that as well to a degree.

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So I think for me, that's

one of the main reasons.

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Would, would you agree with that?

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Kay Korsh: Yes, a lot of it, a lot

of the content I talk about is about,

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minimizing the distractions and making

sure that, as you said, your messaging

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and your outfit are aligned, because.

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People are going to make judgements about

us, whether they want it or not, or not.

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It's just human nature.

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So before you even start speaking,

when you show up on stage or when

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people see you online, because we

all have online presence now as well,

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they're going to, stereotype, they're

going to have some ideas about what

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you do, what kind of person you

are, what kind of speaker you are.

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This is just, as I mentioned earlier,

just one of the tools to help them.

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Create that connection with bookers,

with, clients, with audience.

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And, the way I, talk about this

is think about the train of

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thought, which your audience has.

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The first instance, they see

you before you start speaking.

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And it's the simplest things possible.

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It's, for example, if

somebody is an architect.

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You can do this exercise with

your niche, with any niche you

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are in if you're an architect.

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What do people think when they think

of an architect in their brain?

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What do architects normally look like?

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And then you can look at your style

and think whether it's aligned or not.

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Is there any way to, improve that,

to make more connections for people?

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John: Right.

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I did, an episode about,

maybe a month or so ago.

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With a guy called John Demato who is a

professional photographer and he does

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photography, headshots, and content shots.

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A general sort of portfolio for speakers

to have those images and what you

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want to have different outfits, you

wanna look different particular ways.

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Probably someone would want to, probably

should consult with somebody like

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you before doing all of that stuff.

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Because yeah, you want those images, you

want the stuff that's gonna represent

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you well on your, on your website,

on your bios or stuff you're gonna be

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sending out to bookers on your, even on

your demo videos and things like that.

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So we want to be looking, looking probably

as good as we can make ourselves look.

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Because ultimately aesthetics is still

a part of, presentation, how you

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look is part of your, part of your

presentation and the whole concept

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of pulling everything together.

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So dealing this is, vital for people.

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Where do you see perhaps speakers

going wrong with this the most?

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Kay Korsh: Well, I think the most

practical thing where speakers go

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wrong is does your outfit fit you well?

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So there are, a lot of stuff

I talk about is connected with

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credibility and credibility.

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I put it into.

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Two different buckets, and you want

to make sure that both of those, tick

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the boxes on both of those, and one

is the fit a lot of it is to do with

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when you buy something, you are making

sure that the length of the trousers

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is correct, the length of the sleeve

is correct because if, the fit is

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not correct, you might come across a

sloppy and if you come across a sloppy,

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you automatically lose credibility.

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With your audience and

you don't want that.

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So making sure that you've got a

seamstress or a tailor who you can trust

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and you can take your items to, check

if the length of the items is correct.

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And then just making sure

that everything is done up.

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For example, I've got quite an

elaborate blouse on, but if I move

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around, nothing is gonna happen to it.

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Sometimes we've got some ribbons.

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Women especially, there are some

things which can get undone.

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Or, for instance, there was a story

where somebody shared with me about the

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speaker who had a prop in his pocket.

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And when he came on stage and started

speaking, he took the prop out of the

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pocket, but the lining came out as well.

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So everything, what people were looking

at was the lining outta the pocket.

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They couldn't concentrate on his stock.

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So again.

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That created a lot of distraction and

we want to minimize that distraction.

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So practicing in your outfit and

making sure that nothing goes wrong

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with them and the fit is all correct.

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That's one of the very

important things to do.

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John: I think it is.

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I, I get exactly what you're saying.

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About the distraction be.

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I can remember one time seeing a

guy, a great speaker on stage, really

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animated, and his flies were undone.

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His zipper was undone on his trousers.

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And of course everyone,

everyone was noticing it.

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He hadn't realized it,

nothing was exposed.

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But everyone could see that the zipper was

open and it's all you could think about

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because you're just watching on the page.

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Like, does he not know?

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Is he gonna zip it up?

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Is he gonna realize it?

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And of course, afterwards, somebody

told him, but my goodness, there

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mean something that small can.

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Completely distract your audience and

take everyone off of what you're saying.

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So yeah, these things really do

matter, so I get that completely.

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Do, do you tend to work with a particular

kind of speaker, or do you work with

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speakers from, from multiple areas,

like people in corporate, people

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who are doing maybe more educational

stuff or personal development?

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Inspirational.

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What

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Kay Korsh: I love working with

speakers for the, specifically

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because they're all so different.

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So I appreciate working with people

in different areas of expertise.

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So it's not boring for me.

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I get, I guess I get bored quite easily,

so having people in different niches

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where they need to create different

styles is what I really like doing.

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John: I can appreciate that.

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And, and so you, you generally

do work with speakers from

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all sorts of different areas.

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Um, and is that gonna impact, like

depending on who their audience is, is

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that gonna impact how, how they dress?

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Or would you encourage people to dress

more in alignment with their own style?

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Kay Korsh: That's a really good question.

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When I start working with somebody,

I always start with their personal

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comfort, what they're comfortable

with, and that applies both to

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physical comfort and emotional comfort.

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So physical is, what kind of fabrics

they prefer, what kind of fit do

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they like more fitted stuff or.

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Looser stuff.

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Do they move around a lot?

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What kind of stuff works for them?

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And only after that we'll look at their

audience because it's really important

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for them to be comfortable, right?

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If they're not comfortable with what

they were, they're not going to be able

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to deliver their a hundred percent.

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To the audience.

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And then when we start looking

at their audience, we're trying

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to align those two things.

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So we're trying to align the train of

thought, which the audience is going

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to have, what kind of messaging they

want, to, to have with their audience,

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and what they're comfortable with.

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And we're trying to find the middle

ground where everybody is happy, and

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that's how we come up with their style.

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John: So when you are working with a

speaker to initially get their style

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and their comfort, does that mean

kind of going through their wardrobe

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with them or do you have a particular

process that you take people through?

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I.

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Kay Korsh: We always look at the existing

wardrobe first, and this is when we

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have conversations about what kind of

styles work for them, shapes, what their

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Buddha type is, what their colors are.

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We do the car analysis and we're having

that conversation about what do you

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want your audience to think about you?

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How do you want to be perceived?

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What are the values in

your, within your brand?

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Are you playful or are you

authoritative, knowledgeable,

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credible, you know, all of those words.

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What are the key words of your business?

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And from then we start

building up the new wardrobe.

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John: Do you ever get speakers?

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Who want to do something a little bit

crazy for maybe just so they stand out.

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Kay Korsh: Yes.

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I worked with, a lot of speakers

who, obviously that's a big thing.

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You want to stand out as a speaker.

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However, I always, say that it's

not a necessity if style is not

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your thing and you are creative in

different ways, you don't have to.

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And that tends to put people at

ease because they kind of feel

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relieved that they don't have to

stand out if they don't want to.

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I worked with, somebody who, whose

business was related to, a pirate.

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So there was like some

pirate references, but I do.

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I like to keep it not costy.

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I don't appreciate one that goes

into kind of the costume, area, you

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know, so it's always important that

it's up to date and we can inject

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some references, but still keep it

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modern

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John: I'm with you there.

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I think a professional keynote should

not be veering into the area of pantomime

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Kay Korsh: Yes.

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John: costumes.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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When it comes to working with different,

different people, I mean obviously

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there are different, body types as well.

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I'm just wondering, like what, for

people with la particularly larger

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or smaller figures, what are the

guidelines for how we may want to

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dress according to our body types?

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Kay Korsh: Wait, so do you mean

according to the body types

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or according to the audience?

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I didn't quite,

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John: I guess I want to get a sense of

what, but anything that could help us

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with our decision making and what we're

gonna wear that relates to, if you have

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this kind of body type, you maybe want to.

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Think about this sort of look or,

shaping more than anything else.

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Or you may want to know if you're

larger, this might help you to look slim

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or if you're small, this may help you

to, to appear a bit larger on stage.

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So yeah, that kind of thing.

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Kay Korsh: Yeah, so we, this is

always the first thing we'll look

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at, at what kind of shapes and

colors work for a specific person.

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And the, the system I work

with is quite, complex.

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I don't like the, you know, apple,

inverted triangle sort of thing because

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it's, people are very different.

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It's very important.

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It's actually, think of it

as looking, balanced right?

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You want your speech to be balanced and

you want your look to be balanced as well.

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So, helping to shape, kind of

put your shape into golden ratio.

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Is, one of the ways to,

minimize distractions.

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I guess I can't really go into.

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Specifics now of explaining

because it's, it is quite complex.

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But, it's what I would recommend for

listeners, if you want to work out what

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your body type is, things like height

is really important because you could

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be, say, curve your angular, but if

you, if you're petite or tall, that

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will, have different result and, try

to find celebrities of who style you

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like and who have similar body types.

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So look at, as I mentioned now,

look at things like angularity or

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curves and, have you got, I dunno,

broad shoulders or waistline?

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The, the length, like, is

your body to long or short?

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And then try to find similar people

and then start creating inspirational.

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Like a folder with inspirational pictures

and then it will help you, concentrate

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on what works specifically for you.

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Because what tends to happen is we look at

images of somebody and we are like, ah, I

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love this person's style, but they might

work well for those specific items and

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silhouettes, because they have different

body type and it might not work for you.

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Does that make sense?

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John: No, it absolutely,

it absolutely does.

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And I get that there's gonna

be specifics that you would do

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and that you individualize the

process when you work with people.

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That might make it a bit harder

to, to give more generalized,

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principles, around this as well.

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But I think that's some good

guidance there to take a look.

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And let's see if you can find people

in the public eye who have a similar.

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Shape and size to you that might be

able to give you some style guides.

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I'll go and check out,

George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

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'cause I look just like, no, I

don't look anything like that.

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But I'm, I'm sure there are some

celebrities out there that that

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have some similarity to me as well.

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Let ask you this, when you work with,

I'm sure work particularly with people

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who are in corporate speaking as well.

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Is it the case that for men and

for women that it has to be a

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suit and it has to be a shirt?

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Or is there more scope for

what people can wear in those

307

: 00:17:49

sorts of speaking environments?

308

: 00:17:52

Kay Korsh: Well, in fact, I always say

that it doesn't have to be a suit because,

309

: 00:17:59

as I said, you, you always look at your

own branding and your own style, what you

310

: 00:18:05

are comfortable with, and then you try

to kind of match it with the audience.

311

: 00:18:11

But a lot of speakers I work with

obviously go to speak front of a

312

: 00:18:16

corporate audience and they quite often

are not dressed in suits because I

313

: 00:18:23

always, Say that you come into that

audience, front of that audience, you

314

: 00:18:29

are bringing your own story, right?

315

: 00:18:30

And that's why they hired you.

316

: 00:18:32

They hired you for your story and

for your expertise, and you can show

317

: 00:18:36

that within your outfit as well.

318

: 00:18:39

For some people, a suit is something

which they're comfortable with.

319

: 00:18:43

They like putting a suit on

and the back straightened up.

320

: 00:18:46

They feel like, a speaker,

like an authority.

321

: 00:18:48

It's almost like they, get into that role.

322

: 00:18:51

It helps them to get into that

role, but for other people, they

323

: 00:18:53

like, they like more relaxed style

and it's totally fine as well.

324

: 00:18:58

John: So potentially

you could get away with.

325

: 00:19:02

wearing jeans on stage as a corporate

speaker, if you are, if that's your style.

326

: 00:19:06

Is that right?

327

: 00:19:07

Kay Korsh: Jeans, not necessarily,

but there are loads of other ways

328

: 00:19:10

to hit that smart casual look.

329

: 00:19:14

And, especially now with wider fit, with

maybe more relaxed fabrics, I always

330

: 00:19:20

still think it needs to be premium.

331

: 00:19:23

The stuff which you.

332

: 00:19:25

Where, especially for male speakers,

it's crucial because they are, the

333

: 00:19:30

silhouettes are not as diverse, right?

334

: 00:19:32

So they really need to

concentrate on the quality.

335

: 00:19:35

But, you can definitely go

with minimal sneakers, even

336

: 00:19:40

if you look as more relaxed.

337

: 00:19:42

So even if you are wearing,

maybe not jeans, but something,

338

: 00:19:46

you know, like smart, chinos or

there are other things out there.

339

: 00:19:50

Which are not jeans, but

they're not part of a suit.

340

: 00:19:54

So you kind of hit that, tone of smart

casual, which is quite difficult.

341

: 00:19:59

I would say that's probably

the hardest thing for people

342

: 00:20:03

to hit the right note with.

343

: 00:20:05

They're a bit unsure.

344

: 00:20:08

Some people are sure about the smart

look or their casual look, but how

345

: 00:20:12

do I hit the smart casual look?

346

: 00:20:14

John: Yeah, how many looks

are, different looks.

347

: 00:20:19

As a minimum, would a speaker do

you think generally need, if they're

348

: 00:20:22

speaking, if they're speaking on

a regular basis, is it just one or

349

: 00:20:26

two looks or should there be several

outfits that they kind of work between?

350

: 00:20:31

Or maybe it depends on where

they're going to speak going.

351

: 00:20:35

What are some of the things

that you've experienced there?

352

: 00:20:38

Kay Korsh: That's a really good question.

353

: 00:20:39

Obviously there are

different types of audiences.

354

: 00:20:43

Sometimes people speak in front of

5,000 people, sometimes 230 people,

355

: 00:20:49

and it will determine the tone

of what they're wearing as well.

356

: 00:20:53

So you do need to have a variety.

357

: 00:20:54

I don't like to dictate

the number of outfits.

358

: 00:20:57

I would say maybe minimum would be

five, six, so that you at least cover

359

: 00:21:03

the different audiences and have a

couple of different looks for each.

360

: 00:21:07

Also, you have things like different

color backgrounds, different

361

: 00:21:11

temperatures and things like that.

362

: 00:21:14

What I would say is we are all different.

363

: 00:21:18

Some of us like clothes, some of us don't.

364

: 00:21:21

For people who don't like clothes,

it is better to stick to a simple

365

: 00:21:25

formula in which you can repeat.

366

: 00:21:28

Famous example is, Steve Jobs the same

outfit, and you can do that, or that is

367

: 00:21:34

obviously quite extreme, but you can come

close to that but other people who like

368

: 00:21:39

expressing themselves through clothes.

369

: 00:21:41

They might have a huge wardrobe,

and that's okay as well.

370

: 00:21:45

But what would be really helpful, what

I recommend people do is that they

371

: 00:21:49

digitize their wardrobe so that they can

keep tops of on what they actually own.

372

: 00:21:55

They don't buy the same thing twice if

they already have it in that wardrobe.

373

: 00:22:00

And the easiest way to do

it, folders on your phone.

374

: 00:22:04

You can create different folders of,

these are my shirts, these are my

375

: 00:22:07

trousers, dresses, jackets, and so on.

376

: 00:22:12

I also recommend to do a Conva

document where you put all of

377

: 00:22:17

those looks next to each other and

you can kind of get an overview.

378

: 00:22:21

You can print it out.

379

: 00:22:23

Ultimately, whatever you personally

find the easiest to digest so that

380

: 00:22:28

you have the visual reference of

what you've got is really useful.

381

: 00:22:32

I heard this, story from one of my clients

recently that he had the tailor with whom

382

: 00:22:38

he did all of his, made to measure suits.

383

: 00:22:41

So he, ordered a new suit.

384

: 00:22:43

He came home with a new suit, opened the

wardrobe, and realized he already had

385

: 00:22:48

exactly the same suit and the same fabric.

386

: 00:22:50

And he was furious because,

he spent a lot of money on it.

387

: 00:22:54

And he said, why don't they

have a record of which fabrics

388

: 00:22:58

I've already used as a customer?

389

: 00:23:00

So having your wardrobe

digitized definitely helps with

390

: 00:23:04

to avoid that kind of problem.

391

: 00:23:06

John: Yeah.

392

: 00:23:07

Great.

393

: 00:23:07

And yeah, Canva whiteboards are

great for doing things like that

394

: 00:23:10

as well, for helping you see that.

395

: 00:23:11

I love that.

396

: 00:23:12

I know we went into my wardrobe

would probably mostly just see

397

: 00:23:15

a hundred different polo shirts.

398

: 00:23:16

So that gives you a pretty good

idea of what I'm generally gonna be

399

: 00:23:20

wearing, wearing for speaking gigs.

400

: 00:23:23

Kay Korsh: Are they in different

colors or the same color?

401

: 00:23:26

John: they, they are in different colors,

so probably the majority are in black.

402

: 00:23:29

But I have, I have a bunch that

are in, I have like red green.

403

: 00:23:34

Blue.

404

: 00:23:35

This one's sort of olive, color today.

405

: 00:23:37

Yeah, I do, I do like a range of

colors with that as well, but I tend

406

: 00:23:41

to, I tend to wear black ones when

I'm, when I'm doing, speaking work.

407

: 00:23:47

Kay Korsh: okay.

408

: 00:23:48

You kind of, you tend to, you are

more on a, Steve Jobs side of things

409

: 00:23:53

where you, you like it simple.

410

: 00:23:54

John: I, I like it simple and I like

something that I feel comfortable

411

: 00:23:58

in and can move around with and, and

ideally something that has a collar on

412

: 00:24:01

it as well, but isn't actually a shirt.

413

: 00:24:03

So yeah, I think that's where polo

shirts meet the right balance for

414

: 00:24:07

me and, and tend to fit better.

415

: 00:24:10

You know, I'm a little on the larger

side, so they tend to fit better than

416

: 00:24:13

my dress shirts and stuff as well,

although I do sometimes like that too.

417

: 00:24:17

It's always good to get these.

418

: 00:24:19

Style tips and advice from somebody

like yourself when it comes to, if we

419

: 00:24:25

think about putting a wardrobe together,

what would you recommend as a sort

420

: 00:24:30

of budget to get yourself started?

421

: 00:24:33

What would be a good budget to take?

422

: 00:24:35

You said you want to have quality stuff.

423

: 00:24:37

You wanna make sure good, if you can,

for those who are looking to do this.

424

: 00:24:42

What would be an ideal kind

of budget to be able to go and

425

: 00:24:44

shop for the speaker outfits?

426

: 00:24:47

Kay Korsh: That's a great question.

427

: 00:24:49

I actually have a resource which

is called A budget calculator.

428

: 00:24:53

A clothing budget calculator, which

I can share with you, if you like.

429

: 00:24:58

What it, it does depend.

430

: 00:25:01

What I would suggest is always look at

your existing wardrobe and see first what

431

: 00:25:06

you actually need to get, because chances

are you don't need to start from scratch.

432

: 00:25:11

And it also depends on which

bucket of, what kind of, budget

433

: 00:25:17

you want to spend for, clothes.

434

: 00:25:19

I would say probably.

435

: 00:25:22

Looking at how much you earn, and

then thinking about 10% of that

436

: 00:25:27

if you want to get a lot of stuff.

437

: 00:25:32

I don't, I don't recommend

to go to like High Street.

438

: 00:25:36

So High Street can differ.

439

: 00:25:38

So normally what I recommend is kind

of higher end of High Street, so

440

: 00:25:42

you don't have to go astronomical.

441

: 00:25:45

On brands,

442

: 00:25:46

making sure that you have good

quality clothes is, important.

443

: 00:25:51

John: So would it be like, would you

maybe advise somebody to, to find a

444

: 00:25:56

professional tailor or, or seamstress?

445

: 00:26:00

Kay Korsh: A hundred percent.

446

: 00:26:01

It's, I would say it's crucial.

447

: 00:26:03

A lot of people, take it as a, as a

luxury, but I think it, it is an absolute

448

: 00:26:09

necessity, because it can completely

transform the look of what you've got.

449

: 00:26:15

I've encountered it with clients, quite

often where we go through the existing

450

: 00:26:19

wardrobe and we take everything out and

they put it on and they say, all you need

451

: 00:26:24

to do is just make it a bit small on the

way so that it fits in the right place and

452

: 00:26:29

it completely transforms the whole look.

453

: 00:26:31

And all of a sudden they've

got an item, which they already

454

: 00:26:34

had and didn't know why they.

455

: 00:26:36

Didn't wear it, something was

wrong, even though it seemed okay.

456

: 00:26:41

And with that little change, they

can wear that item all the time.

457

: 00:26:47

John: Yeah.

458

: 00:26:47

I, I do think for, for guys particularly,

and, and, and for some women as

459

: 00:26:51

well, it's probably, it is a good

idea to have at least one properly

460

: 00:26:54

fitted suit, uh, in your life.

461

: 00:26:56

But if you're a speaker,

probably more, yeah, it's

462

: 00:27:00

Kay Korsh: Yes.

463

: 00:27:00

But also, I, I definitely think it's

for both, male and female speakers.

464

: 00:27:05

I.

465

: 00:27:05

And, especially, you know, for

petite women for example, it's

466

: 00:27:10

almost every single thing.

467

: 00:27:11

Even if they do buy, stuff in

petite sizes, they still need a

468

: 00:27:16

seamstress to adjust the length.

469

: 00:27:19

So literally checking with every single

item, which you buy, like every single

470

: 00:27:23

pair of trousers and, a shirt, a jacket.

471

: 00:27:27

John: That's great.

472

: 00:27:28

Are there, when it comes to trends

and fashions, is it better to maybe,

473

: 00:27:32

go for more classic looks or is it

okay to kind of go with some trends?

474

: 00:27:38

Or does it just depend on the person I.

475

: 00:27:41

Kay Korsh: Trends are really important,

and that's, you remember in the beginning

476

: 00:27:45

of our conversation, I was talking

about the two buckets for credibility.

477

: 00:27:49

So one was fit, the second one is

being current and looking up to date.

478

: 00:27:55

And, a lot of people disregard trends

because they think it's too fashiony.

479

: 00:28:00

But in fact, looking at long-term

trends, which have been around for

480

: 00:28:04

10 years even, crucial because.

481

: 00:28:08

This is another way to

connect with your audience.

482

: 00:28:11

If, you look out of date, people might

think, whether it's consciously or

483

: 00:28:16

subconsciously, that your ideas are

also out of date and you don't want

484

: 00:28:20

that as a speaker, and, they will

feel that you are part of that tribe.

485

: 00:28:26

It's the same way as when you hear a song.

486

: 00:28:29

Lots of times you start humming that

song, you become familiar with it.

487

: 00:28:34

In the same way when we see people

wearing certain things online and in

488

: 00:28:40

real life we get used to, our eye gets

used to it, our brain gets used to it.

489

: 00:28:46

So people in the audience, when

they see things you are wearing,

490

: 00:28:51

which they can relate to, they

automatically relate to you faster.

491

: 00:28:55

They can trust you faster.

492

: 00:28:58

And yeah, so looking at trends.

493

: 00:29:02

And training your brain on what

is in style now is, is very

494

: 00:29:07

important as part of being credible.

495

: 00:29:11

John: No, I.

496

: 00:29:12

Worth thinking about.

497

: 00:29:15

And it makes sense to me as well,

I get that, is that if you have at

498

: 00:29:18

least something that shows that you

are, keeping with the times, I hadn't

499

: 00:29:21

considered what you said there.

500

: 00:29:23

We hadn't ever thought about that

before, how people might judge you on,

501

: 00:29:26

if you don't show those signs of, that

you're aware of what current trends

502

: 00:29:30

are that you might see a little out of

touch is like, yeah, that makes sense.

503

: 00:29:33

And it's like, as someone who is, you

know, over 50 now, I certainly think when

504

: 00:29:38

I was in my twenties and thirties, I cared

way more about that stuff than I do now.

505

: 00:29:43

But I, again, now, I was like, okay,

I'm older, maybe don't care about it,

506

: 00:29:46

but I should still pay some attention

to it for, for exactly those reasons.

507

: 00:29:51

So

508

: 00:29:51

Kay Korsh: A lot of speakers I work with,

they are older, and some of them would

509

: 00:29:55

be in the sixties and the seventies even.

510

: 00:30:00

And, it's, I would say even more

crucial for all the speakers to look

511

: 00:30:05

into it, to make sure that they look

up to date, because I hear this,

512

: 00:30:09

especially from female speakers who are.

513

: 00:30:13

They feel like they're getting booked

less now that they become older.

514

: 00:30:18

And looking current is definitely

one of the easy things they can

515

: 00:30:24

do to, eliminate that problem.

516

: 00:30:26

John: And, and is that just

small adjustments or, I

517

: 00:30:29

mean, what kind of things?

518

: 00:30:30

We like, could we just currently make male

and female think about doing to help us

519

: 00:30:37

be a bit more current and you know, get

in touch with some of the latest trends.

520

: 00:30:44

Kay Korsh: The main thing to

look at is actually the details.

521

: 00:30:47

Your footwear, your accessories, your

jewelry, your hairstyle, your makeup.

522

: 00:30:53

This is what makes or breaks the outfit.

523

: 00:30:56

So I would recommend to, in the same

way, as I said, try to find your,

524

: 00:31:03

celebrities who have similar body type.

525

: 00:31:05

You might want to look into,

celebrities who have similar

526

: 00:31:10

hairstyle or similar hair type to you.

527

: 00:31:14

Or for, and it would apply to men as well.

528

: 00:31:18

And, you know, with, for example,

facial hair, what kind of facial

529

: 00:31:22

hair, like what kind of beard

shapes are in style now, right?

530

: 00:31:27

The same with footwear.

531

: 00:31:28

So you, you can ask charge for help.

532

: 00:31:31

You can Google what are

current trends on, on footwear.

533

: 00:31:36

And I guess a lot of it now is

with being more relaxed, right?

534

: 00:31:40

So it's, looking into minimal sneakers,

instead of some, more dress issues.

535

: 00:31:46

But that's not to say that you

shouldn't have dress issues because in

536

: 00:31:51

some, circumstances you do need them.

537

: 00:31:54

So looking at the styles

which are current, within

538

: 00:31:59

the footwear is, important.

539

: 00:32:02

John: Yeah.

540

: 00:32:02

I think I.

541

: 00:32:04

Recently I was having a conversation,

I can't even remember if it was on

542

: 00:32:06

the podcast now, but it was, but it

was to do with, paying attention.

543

: 00:32:10

It was on the podcast.

544

: 00:32:11

It was to do with paying attention

to things like people's shoes as part

545

: 00:32:15

of, as part of viewing the context

of the person as like the, how much

546

: 00:32:20

you can tell a lot about somebody.

547

: 00:32:22

Just by the shoes.

548

: 00:32:23

There's actually, Keith Kong, a guy

who's a professional mentalist, and

549

: 00:32:26

this is one of the things he was saying

is like when he is, he has to do quick

550

: 00:32:29

evaluations on people on stage when

he's working with them for the mind

551

: 00:32:33

reading and techniques and stuff.

552

: 00:32:34

And, and the shoes is one of the

first things he looks at because it

553

: 00:32:38

tells you so much about a person.

554

: 00:32:40

So,

555

: 00:32:41

Kay Korsh: Oh, wow.

556

: 00:32:42

I absolutely love this, actually,

that I didn't think about that.

557

: 00:32:45

Yeah, I should look into

it and maybe even chat.

558

: 00:32:48

What is this person's name?

559

: 00:32:50

John: Keith Kong.

560

: 00:32:51

Super, super nice guy.

561

: 00:32:52

I'll connect you with

him if you'd like to.

562

: 00:32:54

But yeah, he, based in Vegas and

he's a professional mentalist.

563

: 00:32:57

So so I was asking him

like, oh, is it that?

564

: 00:32:58

Things like, someone has verypristine

shoes, they're like shiny.

565

: 00:33:01

They're really smart.

566

: 00:33:03

You can tell someone own, say, yeah.

567

: 00:33:04

And it's the same as someone's got really

scruffy shoes on or they're falling

568

: 00:33:07

apart or whatever else you can, it tells

you something about their character.

569

: 00:33:11

They've come out for an evening out.

570

: 00:33:13

This is what they've

chosen to wear for that.

571

: 00:33:15

And it is probably how they

don't generally show up.

572

: 00:33:18

So it gives you an insight

into their character.

573

: 00:33:20

It's part of the how you, kind of what you

mentioned, that how you dress is part of

574

: 00:33:24

the context of who you are, that is giving

your audience clues, whether consciously

575

: 00:33:30

or unconsciously about who you are.

576

: 00:33:33

Kay Korsh: Yes.

577

: 00:33:34

Brilliant.

578

: 00:33:34

I love that.

579

: 00:33:36

John: Excellent.

580

: 00:33:36

Are there a few, sort of

style do's and don'ts?

581

: 00:33:40

I know you covered some good stuff

already, but some particular style do's

582

: 00:33:42

or don'ts that we could probably benefit

from, from your wisdom and insights.

583

: 00:33:48

Kay Korsh: I would give you one, which

is less is more if you are unsure.

584

: 00:33:52

For example, as I mentioned now, like

accessories can make it or break it.

585

: 00:33:57

Jewelry.

586

: 00:33:59

Hair style, if you are unsure, it's

always better to go less because

587

: 00:34:06

it's less chance of making a mistake.

588

: 00:34:09

So, that, and also as I mentioned,

the fit, just making sure that the fit

589

: 00:34:15

is right of whatever you are wearing.

590

: 00:34:17

And, I guess, making sure

your clothes is not creased.

591

: 00:34:21

Things like that.

592

: 00:34:22

Practicing in front of a mirror in your

outfit while delivering your talk advance.

593

: 00:34:32

John: Yeah, I was kind of thinking

just what occurred to me that, your

594

: 00:34:35

look as a speaker, your outfit is

a bit like, a perfume or a cologne.

595

: 00:34:39

Like, if you put too much perfume

or cologne on it, it's gonna stink

596

: 00:34:43

Kay Korsh: Yeah,

597

: 00:34:44

John: and.

598

: 00:34:45

If you, if you wear one that doesn't

suit you, it's gonna smell bad.

599

: 00:34:49

It's gonna, it's gonna stand out.

600

: 00:34:50

But if you wear a, a perfume or

cologne that does really suit

601

: 00:34:54

you, and you just have a light, a

light spray of it, it's gonna be.

602

: 00:34:59

Almost unnoticeable.

603

: 00:35:00

If you do notice, if you do happen

to think about it, you're gonna

604

: 00:35:03

think, ah, it just seems right.

605

: 00:35:05

It looks good.

606

: 00:35:06

No, it smells good on you.

607

: 00:35:07

Same with your outfits.

608

: 00:35:08

It looks good on your, you mentioned

about things being a distraction.

609

: 00:35:12

It's like, you know, the too

much or too little or the

610

: 00:35:15

wrong thing is a distraction.

611

: 00:35:17

Whereas when I think maybe where you know,

you've got the right kind of look for

612

: 00:35:21

you is where it's just not a distraction

and it feels right for you and people.

613

: 00:35:26

May notice it, but generally

don't even think about it 'cause

614

: 00:35:29

it just seems right for you.

615

: 00:35:32

Kay Korsh: I'm going to use

this thing with the perfume.

616

: 00:35:34

I love that.

617

: 00:35:35

I

618

: 00:35:35

love that metaphor.

619

: 00:35:37

Thank you.

620

: 00:35:37

John: Yeah, please do.

621

: 00:35:38

You're you're very,

you're very welcome to it.

622

: 00:35:39

My, my gift to you from,

from, from this episode.

623

: 00:35:43

When's, just to just sort of, Kyle, I'm

curious when someone does come to work

624

: 00:35:47

with you, and I can see why, why people

would, I definitely would encourage it.

625

: 00:35:51

How long would they

generally work with you for?

626

: 00:35:55

Kay Korsh: I tend to prefer to work

with people over a longer period of time

627

: 00:36:00

because I don't believe that you can go

to the shops with somebody for two hours

628

: 00:36:04

and they come out joyful and transformed.

629

: 00:36:07

It takes time for that transformation

for you to get to know yourself

630

: 00:36:11

and for me to get to know you.

631

: 00:36:12

So I tend to work with people over

three months period to kind of get

632

: 00:36:17

naturally, organically to the place of

where they're happy with the results.

633

: 00:36:21

And I'm always driven by the

results to make sure that

634

: 00:36:25

they're happy with what they get.

635

: 00:36:27

And, I achieve that either

through one-to-one work.

636

: 00:36:33

Or I also have a group style program

where I take people exactly through the

637

: 00:36:39

same process, which I take my one-to-one

clients through, and that allows the

638

: 00:36:45

group, the group program is also three

months long, so it allows for the same

639

: 00:36:50

time for them to get that transformation.

640

: 00:36:53

John: Fantastic.

641

: 00:36:53

Do, do you ever go shopping with, with

your clients or take them to the tailor?

642

: 00:36:57

To help them pick out their outfits.

643

: 00:36:59

Kay Korsh: Of course, yes,

with, one-to-one clients.

644

: 00:37:02

And, I love, a combination of online

shopping and in-person shopping.

645

: 00:37:07

As I developed this business, after COVID

started, I developed all the processes

646

: 00:37:13

online and, you get so much more choice

online versus in shops these days.

647

: 00:37:20

Some brands are simply, they don't

have physical stores or even those

648

: 00:37:25

which do have physical stores.

649

: 00:37:27

The choice of their online stock

is much bigger, so it's always

650

: 00:37:31

nice to have a combination of both.

651

: 00:37:33

John: That's great.

652

: 00:37:34

Yeah, I, I love this.

653

: 00:37:35

I don't think I've, I've seen, like,

I listen to other sort of professional

654

: 00:37:39

communication and speaking podcast,

and I don't think I've ever seen one.

655

: 00:37:42

On episode where anyone's really

talked about how you look on stage and

656

: 00:37:46

how to style yourself as a speaker.

657

: 00:37:48

So I love that you're doing this and,

and I'm, I'm pretty sure, you know,

658

: 00:37:52

people who may be watching on YouTube

or listening on the podcast may be

659

: 00:37:55

thinking about, oh, I might be interested

in working with Kay as, maybe one

660

: 00:38:00

to one, maybe in your group program.

661

: 00:38:02

What's the best way for them

to find out more about you?

662

: 00:38:06

Kay Korsh: I love meeting

people on LinkedIn.

663

: 00:38:09

So if you are listening to this podcast,

connect with me on LinkedIn and, say

664

: 00:38:14

that you listened to the episode and,

I would love to start a conversation.

665

: 00:38:19

John: Fantastic.

666

: 00:38:20

Well, I'll make sure that the, the

links to connect with you are in

667

: 00:38:22

the, in the description and the show

notes for people who want to do that.

668

: 00:38:26

I do do encourage it as well.

669

: 00:38:28

Do you, do you share content on

there with style tips as well?

670

: 00:38:31

If we follow you on social media, I.

671

: 00:38:33

Kay Korsh: Oh yes, definitely.

672

: 00:38:34

Yes.

673

: 00:38:34

There's a lot of, free content,

which, you can check out.

674

: 00:38:39

John: Fantastic.

675

: 00:38:40

Well, another good reason to

come and connect with you.

676

: 00:38:42

Kay.

677

: 00:38:42

It's been a real delight

to chat with you today.

678

: 00:38:44

This is such an interesting topic and

an important one that I think so many

679

: 00:38:48

speakers don't really think about or they.

680

: 00:38:50

Trying to figure it out for themselves

and maybe we shouldn't have been.

681

: 00:38:54

'cause most of us don't have a

clue about fashion and style.

682

: 00:38:57

Better to go to someone who has a bit

more of an idea, and can guide us to

683

: 00:39:02

look really good because I do think that

whole context thing is super important.

684

: 00:39:06

And absolute pleasure chatting.

685

: 00:39:07

I hope people will come

and connect with you.

686

: 00:39:08

And thank you for coming

and being my guest today.

687

: 00:39:11

Kay Korsh: Thank you for having me.

688

: 00:39:12

John: So there you have it.

689

: 00:39:13

Style isn't about fashion as

much as it's about communication.

690

: 00:39:17

Now, Kay reminded us today that what

you wear on stage isn't superficial.

691

: 00:39:21

It's strategic.

692

: 00:39:23

Your look helps shape how

your audience perceives your

693

: 00:39:25

authority, energy, and relevance.

694

: 00:39:27

Whether you're speaking to thousands

or leading a workshop, your

695

: 00:39:30

outfit is a part of your message.

696

: 00:39:33

And if you're ready to show up with

more presence, polish and personal

697

: 00:39:36

power, reach out to Kate on LinkedIn.

698

: 00:39:38

Send her a message.

699

: 00:39:40

Mention this show and start leveling

up your visual influence now.

700

: 00:39:45

Next episode on Friday, we'll be

continuing the series of robert Cialdini's

701

: 00:39:51

Tools of Influence for Speakers.

702

: 00:39:53

If you haven't already been

following that series, I think we

703

: 00:39:55

are at number five outta seven now.

704

: 00:39:58

So do go and check out

those previous episodes.

705

: 00:40:00

Can find them on your podcast

channel or you can find 'em on

706

: 00:40:03

YouTube, whichever you prefer.

707

: 00:40:05

I recommend YouTube 'cause there's a

lot more visual stuff going on there.

708

: 00:40:08

There is content I'm putting on

YouTube that is not coming onto the

709

: 00:40:11

podcast, so do make sure you are

subscribed to the show there as well.

710

: 00:40:15

Otherwise, you might be missing out on

some content that you might just enjoy.

711

: 00:40:20

You can also find clips and highlights

from particular shows and other

712

: 00:40:23

content that I'm putting out there.

713

: 00:40:25

And if you are interested in following

some of my standup comedy, that's

714

: 00:40:28

gonna be the place for you to find it.

715

: 00:40:29

Hope to see you there.