You didn’t choose your birth, your eye color, the natural color of your hair, or your height, but people
spend millions every year trying to change their physical characteristics. You can get colored contacts; dye
your hair; and if you are shorter than you’d like to be, buy shoes to raise your stature a couple of inches.
You won’t be able to change your birth, and no matter how much you stoop to appear shorter, you won’t
change your height until time and age gradually makes itself apparent. If you are tall, you might find the
correct shoe size, pant length, or even the length of mattress a challenge, but there are rewards. Have you
ever heard that taller people get paid more? [8] There is some truth to that idea. There is also some truth to
the notion that people prefer symmetrical faces (where both sides are equal) over asymmetrical faces
(with unequal sides; like a crooked nose or having one eye or ear slightly higher than the other). [9]
We often make judgments about a person’s personality or behavior based on physical characteristics, and
researchers are quick to note that those judgments are often inaccurate. [10], [11] Regardless of your eye or
hair color, or even how tall you are, being comfortable with yourself is an important part of your
presentation. Act naturally and consider aspects of your presentation you can control in order to
maximize a positive image for the audience.