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Hollywood the art of perception is used every day to promote positive projects, people, values, or ideas. For instance, major business leaders are getting into the picture and hiring publicists because they’ve discovered that controlling perception not only works with companies and products, it also works with people. In today’s environment of celebrity, CEOs around the country know that being seen in the right places can help them meet the right people, be perceived as major players, and open doors for new strategic opportunities.

» PERCEPTION IS A POWERFUL WORD AND HAS ENORMOUS CONSEQUENCES.

But how can we use perception in our own lives? To what extent can we influence the way others perceive us, and how can we use those techniques to make change happen and accomplish our goals?

First, understand that perception can be a positive tool. Too many people view the perception issue as a negative tool of manipulation and refuse to consider its positive potential. They’ve seen the way some alcohol advertisers have attempted to influence teens to drink, or the way some cigarette companies tried to do the same with smoking, and assume any use of influence is negative. The fact is, many people in all levels of our society have misused the power of perception, and our culture suffers the consequences. The pornography industry uses perception to legitimize what they do, casinos never mention the high level of gambling-related suicides, and even street-level cocaine dealers use perception to make drug use attractive.

I’ve had the opportunity to teach around the world, and one of my favorite places to lecture is Russia, where I’ve taught media and broadcasting techniques in Moscow and St. Petersburg. When you study the history of communism in the former Soviet Union, you’ll find that Lenin was a master of perception and used these techniques in a negative way to keep millions of people under the brutal hand of the Soviet state. Lenin always felt that cinema was the greatest art form, because he understood the power of movies to inspire, motivate, and educate. Under his control, the Russian film industry grew at an enormous rate but was used as a terrible tool to help subjugate the Russian people for decades.

In spite of its abuse, the power of perception can be utilized for good—if we know how to activate it in our lives.

Second, start thinking in reverse. It’s not the message you send; it’s the message that’s received that counts. It doesn’t matter how brilliant you are, if your intention is misunderstood by the listener, then you’ve failed miserably. That’s why I always prefer to start at the receiving end first—just to make sure my message has the best chance of being received properly. How do I do it? I realize that every listener is evaluating my message through his or her own framework of life experiences, which dictate to a great extent the impact it will have on him or her personally. Therefore, know whom you’re dealing with and know them as well as possible. Whatever your business, make sure you tailor your product, presentation, or service to a particular audience.

I always tailor my lectures to the audience. Sometimes I speak to corporations, other times I speak to nonprofit or religious groups, and still other times to college students. In each situation I may deliver the same information, but I consider the audience first and customize the message to reach that audience most effectively.

Don’t begin with your message, begin with the audience.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PACKAGING

When I was a kid, television meant three channels. Whoopee! But on our satellite TV system today, children have a choice of five hundred channels, and online that number is nearly unlimited. The difference is extraordinary and very important.

My production experience in a five-hundred-channel universe indicates that people take fewer than five seconds to decide to watch your program. That’s it. Think about how quickly you handle a typical TV remote and what little chance you give each program to grab your attention. Audiences today are sophisticated and aren’t willing to put up with programs that don’t interest them. Therefore I always advise my media clients that how a program is packaged is just as important as its content. For instance, no matter how brilliant the program content might be, it has to be packaged in a high-quality, contemporary, and compelling way. Otherwise the viewer won’t watch long enough to hear the content, and you’ve lost the audience.

In the same way, you need a compelling “package” in order to be perceived as powerfully as possible. What elements combine to make your package great? Here are a few to consider.

How You Look

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.

—MARK TWAIN

My father used to say, “If you dress like a pauper, you’ll never get an audience with the king.” Although styles today are much more relaxed than in the past, there are still strong feelings among people about clothes and the impact they have on perception. Even in Hollywood, where jeans are considered “business attire,” if you look closely, you’ll find those jeans are often accompanied by an exotic leather belt, an expensive linen sport coat, a designer T-shirt, a pair of alligator loafers, and a twenty-thousand-dollar watch.

But understand that it’s not about money; it’s about a style that’s appropriate for the situation. Don’t become a clothing snob and use clothes as a weapon to elevate yourself above others. No one respects a person in the office who uses clothes as a label to separate from everyone else. But do know and learn the power of how to dress appropriately and how clothes can be used to give you access to people, places, and events.

How You Speak

Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening.

—DOROTHY SARNOFF, OPERA SINGER

At the highest levels of corporate America, you rarely hear the sound of regional accents. A Southern accent sprinkled with local mannerisms may sound cute in your hometown, but the