What to wear?

What to wear is the inevitable question we get asked once the speaker is prepped and is starting to think about packing for the big event. 

It's a surprisingly complicated question, because so many events these days are 'business casual' or just plain casual.  So what does the speaker do?  Show up in a suit and tie, and risk looking like a pompous bore, or show up in jeans and a t-shirt and look hopelessly declasse for the main stage?

The best advice I've ever heard comes from Steve Martin in Leap of Faith, a movie all public speakers should watch for the 3-minute sermon Steve preaches early in the movie when his evangelical bus rolls into a small town somewhere in the west.  That sermon is a graduate school lesson in good (and bad) public speaking, done as a satire on sermonizing. 

But Steve's advice, just before he goes out to wow the crowd and get them to reach for their wallets, is "Always look better than they do, kid," as he's choosing his tie for the night. 

As a rule of thumb, that one will not get you into trouble, and it may keep you out of it.  Always dress a little better than your audience and they will respect you in your role as the speaker. 

If the crowd is business casual, wear a jacket or suit, and perhaps a tie (if you're a guy).  Women should wear a suit or something equally smart.  If the speech is going to be projected onto giant screens for those who sit near the sides or the back, then avoid patterned or striped clothes that could create annoying moire effects on screen.  Go for solids that flatter you, but watch the temptation to go for a black or dark blue suit if the stage background is going to be equally dark.  You'll disappear. 

It's an opportunity to overpack and feel good about it.  Take a couple of options, and check out the stage when you arrive, if you haven't already.  Again, that great-looking navy blue suit may render you invisible against the dark blue stage, so bring along something that is lighter and brighter just in case.

Be careful of buying a new suit in an aspirational size and discovering that you can't move in it, or you can't raise your arms without embarrassing yourself.  The clothes you wear on stage should help, not hinder your image, comfort, style, and coolness factor -- all at once. 

Most of all, you should wear something you feel fabulous in.  People stand and walk differently when they feel good about their clothes, and that's really the look you want.  You want to look like you feel like a million bucks.