Enhancing Your Feminine Presentation

[Sally Stone]

Every year for the last four, I have facilitated a workshop at the Keystone Conference in Harrisburg, PA.  One of the topics of discussion is how to enhance feminine presentation.  I thought it might be fun, and hopefully helpful, to cover a few of the things I do to nail my feminine presentation.

 

• Passing is about your own inner beauty - don’t measure yourself against someone else’s definition of what is beautiful
• You have just as much right to public spaces as anyone else, so hold you head high and enter as though you own the place
• Smile and make eye contact - don’t look away, you have no reason to be shy
• Why on earth would you want to blend in - be proud that you stand out from the crowd
• Choose a personal style that boosts your confidence
• Treat a stare as recognition for all your hard work

• Learn how to dress for your body shape - find clothing that flatters your favorite features and masks the ones you dislike
• Equip yourself with the right makeup skills - accentuate your feminine features and minimize your masculine ones
• The right shoes can be a real confidence booster - just remember, if you can’t walk in them, they can destroy your feminine image
• Pay attention to the details - perfect makeup, facial and body hair in check, the right hairstyle, a flattering outfit, your nails

• When speaking, control the volume, be soft-spoken
• Be mindful of your posture: no slouching, sit up straight, shoulders back, head held high, legs crossed, arms close to the body - women minimize the space they occupy
• Learn to walk like a woman, shorter steps, pelvis slightly forward, shoulders back, minimize upper body movements - and remember, high-heels don’t automatically give you a feminine gait
• Dare to be passive - it can help to counter the aggressive nature of masculinity
• Really listen to others - don’t insist on the last word
• Smile more and make eye contact with others
• Don’t dress down - but dress appropriately
• Do girl stuff - go shopping, do errands, go to dinner, meet friends for coffee or desert- don’t let the club scene dictate your femme life

 

Hugs,

 

Sally

[tracy_j]

Your list apears to cover most things very well, but can I be a bit of a devil here and say that the main thing, from my experience, is to be yourself and not religiously try to adapt to a shopping list. Real women are not perfect hence you need an individual personality so I would avoid trying to push too strict in adherence to such a list.  Good guidance but I have found experience is the thing that really helps.

 

Thank you for listing. It will be interesting to see if others have good additions / comments.

 

Tracy

[Sally Stone]

Tracy,

Thanks for your comments.  Being yourself is important, but my audience usually consists of a large number of girls just coming out, or about to come out, and they generally don't yet possess the confidence to be themselves.  Certainly, as we all learn and grow, learning to be ourselves is extremely important.

 

I never intended for my recommendations to be a checklist.  I never got the impression anyone did, at least I hope they didn't.

 

Hugs,

 

Sally  

[Susan R]

8 hours ago, Sally Stone said:

• When speaking, control the volume, be soft-spoken
• Be mindful of your posture: no slouching, sit up straight, shoulders back, head held high, legs crossed, arms close to the body - women minimize the space they occupy
• Dare to be passive - it can help to counter the aggressive nature of masculinity

Sally, these are all very good pointers.  The three pointers quoted above are the ones I had to focus on the most after starting transitions and specifically the parts in bold.  I feel much more confident about my femininity since working on those areas of my presentation.  One other important pointer one could add is...use more descriptive hand gestures and movement while speaking.

 

Thank you for sharing this helpful information.  I know many of us here will benefit from them.

 

Susan R?

[Sally Stone]

19 hours ago, Susan R said:

One other important pointer one could add is...use more descriptive hand gestures and movement while speaking.

 

 

Susan, can I use your suggestion quoted above?  That would be a great addition to the list.

 

Hugs,

 

Sally

[Susan R]

Absolutely Sally, It’s certainly not something I came up with on my own.  I do think it’s an important pointer and ties right along with your list. Women are just so much more expressive with their hands and body when chatting than men.

 

Great post Sally!

Susan R?