All About Image Consulting: An Interview

Today we interview Prachi Mishra, the Founder of Prachi Mishra Image Consulting who is a post graduate from the National Institute of Fashion Technology on why image consulting is important and how she is observing first hand the changes that are happening in India.

 In the year 2002 she embarked her path as a professional in the fashion industry where she was over and again appreciated and recognized for her innovative approach towards work. In the years spent she has worked with renowned brands like Benetton, Zara, Carrefour, Dillards, Nordstrom and Ecko to name a few.

In the year 2007 she kick started a new career and moved her domain to Training and Development.In the past six years she has trained several professionals and students and has created a niche for herself as a corporate trainer. Her assignments include several Educational institutes, Leading Air Hostess Academy, IT and ITES organizations. An inspiring speaker she believes that people understand and learn more through doing. Consequently her seminars and workshops are highly participation and action-oriented.

You run an image consulting business in India, why do you think having the right image is so important?
In today’s world we assume and judge people based on little Information. It takes approximately 3 to 7 seconds to form a first impression. Appearance strongly influences other people’s perception of our personality, values, financial success, authority, trustworthiness and intelligence to name a few.

Hence it is essential to “Create a Powerful and Desired First Impression” in every new situation for success in personal, professional and social life. In order to come at par with contemporaries and rise in life it has become imperative to maintain the right image.

As also Brian Tracy has mentioned in her book “The Psychology of Achievement” – “Many capable men and women are disqualified from job opportunities because they do not look the part”

Can you give us 3 tips, on how a professional can change their image from a nervous newbie to a confident professional?
Dress appropriately for the occasion.

• Mind your body language, especially your hand gestures. They can convey a lot. Be aware of others body language as well.
• Think before you speak. Don't be in a rush to prove yourself

How do you run these sessions? How much is the charge and who can enroll?
I conduct these sessions under two models - Personalized one on one coaching and Group seminars/ workshops. Anybody who would like to enhance their appearance and communication skills can enroll for my sessions. So far I have worked with people from various walks of life such as – homemaker, college goer, corporate executives, people in leadership roles, politicians, entrepreneurs, doctors, aspiring models and actors.

The sessions are conducted on hourly basis and each session is approximately of 2 hours duration. The commercials for a 2 hour sessions is Rs 6,000.

3 things every professional woman should have in their hand bag?
Other than mobile phone and money – three things essential in the handbag are:

• A small mirror
• Kajal
• Lip gloss

What is your background and why did you decide to move into image consulting training?
I am a postgraduate from the National Institute of Fashion Technology. Having worked with leading export agencies in India, I had the opportunity to experience the taste of international fashion and also meet and interact with people from different corners of the globe. I always felt that we were a misfit for many reasons in the global arena. At times it was lack of finer soft skills and other times our perception about the western counterparts. I realized in order to stay fit and compete in the global market one needs to learn the art of projecting a great first impression.

I started my second career as a trainer with corporates and colleges and soon got myself certified as an Image consultant. I have now been in this business for 6 years. I work with colleges, corporates and individuals to help them enhance their image.

How do you see professionals in India being more conscious about their image? What do you think is the reason for the change?
I definitely feel that the professionals in India are much more aware of their Image than they used to be. People are willing to spend money and take professional help for things which were considered meaningless.

The reasons are umpteen- with every passing day, the World is becoming a smaller place. Thanks to globalization and economic transition, trade between countries have increased – which includes technical tie-ups, increased human interactions, exposure to multi cultures and customs. There is heavier and intense international and domestic competition. Customers are emerging stronger.

Today we have better technology, better people  and a need to create better First Impressions.

To connect with her directly, you can find her at @prachimishra (twitter handle)

(Pic Courtesy:Prachi Mishra Image Consulting)

Talking to successful people

So, now that you are working out the challenge series and have started the change for a much better and productive life, this video will provide you with that extra edge when you decide to talk (and network) with others and perhaps even find a job.

Remember to listen carefully to this 4.18 minute video and you can ace what to ask when you meet a prospective mentor!

What do you think? Is that how you do? What strategies have you used?

Day 2: Stop making plans unless you are ready to follow them through

Promises are meant to be broken.

For how many years do you think you want to keep on writing resolutions and keep failing them? So, if you have made a plan and finalized your goal, let’s make sure you can follow it through.

Years ago when I was in University; one of the professors asked us to write down the 5 goals in an index card and keep it in our car. She said, when you start your car in the morning go through the card.
On one side were the goals in bullet points, the other side had a picture glued to it- a picture that would inspire you to attain your goal.

It did help and following through didn't seem that difficult.

• Keep a visual record of your plan- more you see it, easier to follow through. Make a practice of it.
• Set up a relaxed routine that leads you to follow through- If you think too much about doing your task, chances of procrastination are more. The way to deal with it is to stop thinking and create a routine; every morning have a cup of tea when you wake up and then get to your goal area whatever that might be (gym/study/outdoors) and be there for the next 30 minutes. 
• Keep your failures close- moving on is good, however that doesn't mean you have to forget your failures. Keeping them close reminds you of the mistakes and keeps the focus on. Better, you know what it feels to fail. I bet you don’t want to repeat that.
• No shortcuts- Stop taking the easy way out; instead focus on long term benefits and the right way of doing things. Instead of preparing for your certification for the entire day today and then forget about it for the next 10 days, take small steps. Sit for 1 hour everyday at the same time and the same place. Yes, same place, don’t keep on moving throughout the house, find a comfortable place and study there throughout the preparation.
• When off the track, get back to it the next day- we all do it. The problem gets worse when we think, we’ll start from Monday or next months, now that I am already off the track I’ll take this weekend off as well. Wrong. Get back to it the very next day. You don’t want to fail this time.
• Rest Days- Keep a day off. Rest your goals, evaluate them and forget about it. Enjoy the day without stressing. Next day, get back to your routine.

(Pic Courtesy: Pinterest)


To read more about project management and know how to get into the domain, read my book Stepping into Project Management (Welcome to the #PMOT World). To connect with experienced Project Manager's from all over the world, get mentored or shadow for a day see the SIPM Community.

Day 1: Stop Complaining

Ever wonder why 45 percent of Americans write up new resolutions and only 8 percent successful in keeping theirs?

Have you thought why you have goals and haven’t reached them ? Is it because you haven’t worked towards it, didn’t think it was possible or didn't have courage to take the risk or have the desperation in you to get it done.

This November twice a week we will focus on what we need to get rid off to get to our goals.

Day 1: Stop Complaining 

Achiever are not whiners and any resolution will stick when you have the will power.

Easily said than done, keeping up with the willpower over an extended period of time is tough.

• So, today write down one goal. 
• Any goal. 
• A goal that you really want to achieve. 
• Even if you have failed before. 
• Write it down in a paper and keep it where you can see it. I mean it. If you are too embarrassed to keep it in public (may be because you have failed before and don’t want others to make fun of you) keep the paper in your wallet/purse, type it in your phone. 
• Make a plan, think about it today.
• Tomorrow morning, review your goal. Is it the same goal you want to achieve?
• Make changes and keep one goal. Now make plans. The one you can really keep. Don’t say you will wake up at 4am and go for a run.
• Share it with one person if you prefer Or keep it to yourself if that makes you more determined.

If you can afford to hire someone to slap you every time you are off track, go for it.

Good, now you are done with part 1 of your task.

Now for the more complex part- you have to stop complaining for the next 15 days. Seriously.

If you are in the mood, go read this forum about what people say about whiners .

Whenever you want to complaint, stop.

Stop complaining about your family, about the cold food the cafeteria serves, the backstabbing co- worker, the vicious boss, horrible weather- STOP.

Try to relax and be happy. Be conscious and see the positive side of our life, count your blessings. Look at your pay check, the fact you still have a job, thank your partner when he/she brings you coffee, take your team/co-worker out to lunch. Try to get off  from the constant whining and complains.

Set a routine for yourself every day, end of the day or early morning. Give yourself some space, some time when you are not stressing. Have a cup of tea/coffee, water your plants, breathe, just sit there and listen to some music, read a magazine, watch your favourite show. Be present.

This can’t be easy and it won’t. Repeat your routine. It gets better.

Along with this change, start putting in small efforts (15 minutes a day) to follow your goal. Don’t overdo it and then give it up. Do it every day.

If you are still reading this, go ahead and get started. And let me tell you, you are not doing it alone. I am doing it with you.

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)



To read more about project management and know how to get into the domain, read my book Stepping into Project Management (Welcome to the #PMOT World). To connect with experienced Project Manager's from all over the world, get mentored or shadow for a day see the SIPM Community.

Wrapping up October

Today is the last post for this month.

November will be a completely different ballgame as I want to come up with a plan for writing the blog. I did it once before and it went well.

So, I open an excel file and plan up the posts for my entire month and try to follow it.

And what it does is:

• Helps me to sleep at night- And not worry about the next topic for the post.
• Bad days are welcome- If I am down (sick or otherwise), I usually don’t feel like writing. The positive thing about committing to blogging is that you will tend to still write but in some cases the quality suffers. Better the blogger, lesser the emotional interference found in their blogging. Now, with my plan, I am ok if I have bad days because I will write my posts as planned and sometimes way ahead of time. Even when I don’t; I have the pointers done, so writing will be less of a chore.
• More readers- Hopefully. People like routines, especially if you are a reader. At least that’s how I read the blogs I follow. I pretty much know when they post and how many times they do. Sometimes I will read them every week (very few). Some I will read on the weekend (the entire posts for the month). Others I will just skimp through (once in a while). Now that readers will find not only a routine but a story line running through November, I think it will be fun to come back to the blog.
• Compartmentalize time - I am trying to experiment; how I respond to certain things and how I can do away with procrastination and where I am spending more time. Planning will help me just do that. I will stop thinking about the next post throughout the day and do it at the given time. Does it make me less creative at not being able to be impulsive with my ideas and write a post at mid night stressed over the deadline? Not sure, will find out.
• Busy month- November will be super busy for me and I am hoping scheduling will help me focus better. Only tools I am going to use is excel, pomodoro app (downloaded in my desktop and phone) and my will power (ha!)
• Stories- People like to relate to stories and that’s what I am hoping to bring in more in the blog. And yes you get timelines (not the same as Facebook!), same stories on Monday.
• And travelling- I will be travelling for almost 10 days this month, that pretty much messes the schedule. Unless, it’s all planned.
• That time of the year- Plans for new changes and I do have a list (2 months ahead of time), so instead of trying to follow them I am hoping to work more in bursts and less throughout the day.

What are you doing this November?

j   (Pic Courtesy: Google Images)

To read more about project management and know how to get into the domain, read my book Stepping into Project Management (Welcome to the #PMOT World).

 To connect with experienced Project Manager's from all over the world, get mentored or shadow for a day see the SIPM Community.