Tips for Presenters: from Floor van de Pavert

(video transcript)

This is Tammy Parrish from The Clothing Compass and today I have a special guest with me — that's Floor van de Pavert from SuperBra.

Before I ask Floor to tell you a couple things, I want to introduce her. She describes herself as a Dutch high-tech entrepreneur with a passion for startups, hard science and engineering, and she says when the three come together she is in her element.

So welcome Floor, thank you. Thanks for joining me, and I wanted to ask you a couple of questions, three to be exact, so you can share your tips for presenters.

Best ROI From Public Speaking

Tammy:              My question for you is, what has speaking brought to you? What's your best return on investment so far from public speaking?

Floor:                  Well, my company is SuperBra, and what I always tell people is that we do everything right what other lingerie shops don't. And if I speak I explain what often goes wrong in a bra fitting in regular shops. A lot of the time the reaction is basically shut up and take my money. So every time when I speak to an audience of women, I get a lot of reactions, “Okay I will definitely visit your shop,” so my return on the investment is often high. But I remember one specific presentation I gave for Conversas, those are often art-themed presentations, and I spoke about the art of bra fitting, and actually that was

organized by a lady who later became my shop manager. Because we connected during that event, I now have a great employee. So that's of course a huge return on the investment yes.

Tammy:             So you've gotten new customers and a colleague?

Floor:                  Yes.

Best Tip for Speakers

Tammy:              Great, and what's your best tip for other speakers when it comes to how you present yourself?

Floor:                  Of course it is super important that the basics are right and when I say the basics I mean your lingerie because when you have a proper bra on, it can even make you look slimmer, and why is that?

What do you want from a bra? You want a lift and support. And if your bra can actually provide that, then your waist will be much more visible under your breasts, and this effect can be amazing. So yeah, if you have a public speaking event than definitely make sure that you have a proper fitting bra.

Floor’s Power Outfit

Tammy:              Okay great and the third thing I want to ask is can you describe your favorite outfit that you've worn for a presentation?

Floor:                  Well I don't have one thing that comes to mind but I also like to combine something very feminine like a body-fitting dress with maybe a jacket or something, so it's both feminine and you have a little, you know, presence and gravitas to your outfit. I like that.

Tammy:              So something feminine and something — do you mean more structured? or more businesslike?

Floor:                  Yes structured, like jackets.

Tammy:              Do you think it's the collar, or maybe the shaped shoulders or both?

Floor:                  Both. I even think because I really like science. I even think that there was scientific research that if you put on a black blazer as a woman, as a female, that people take you more seriously*. And if you go to the IT department with some — you know, little requests — and if you do that with a black blazer just over your outfit then they will take you much more seriously.

And I really believe this, and especially as a woman, you have to think about these things because it's not always easy to be recognized and to be taken seriously.

Grand Opening SuperBra Utrecht

Tammy:              I wanted to ask you about is that you told me you're gonna open a store in Utrecht which is very exciting. Tell me more about that.

Floor:                  Yes, so on March 7th we're going to open a store in Utrecht.

I really believe that, for well, for the bra fitting, you need to go to the physical store and I have the ambition that SuperBra will have like 10 stores in the Netherlands in ten years. Yes, so this is really the first expansion step.

Tammy:             You also offer swimwear?

Floor:                 Yes we also offer swimwear yeah.

Tammy:             So underwear and swimwear?

Floor:                 Yes that's right.

Tammy:             Great. Well thank you very much for joining me. And how can we find you physically but also online? How can we find you?

Floor:                 We are www.superbra.nl and if you have a chance then it's always best to come for a bra fitting in the shop first before you order online because well, it will change your life.

Tammy:              Thank you so much. Thank you.

***

Don’t miss the grand opening of SuperBra’s new store in Utrecht on Saturday, 7 March 2020. Click here for the invitation.

More Information

Floor’s interview as Wonder Woman of the Week.
SuperBra.nl
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Floor on LinkedIN

*Floor refers to a study about women wearing a black jacket. If you like facts, I can recommend these articles for more information on the science of image:

Wearing a Suit Makes People Think Differently (The Atlantic)
The Cognitive Consequences of Formal Clothing (Columbia University & CA State University)
Enclothed Cognition (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology)

Download Your Free Checklist

Are you preparing for a presentation?

Download my free checklist and make sure your appearance is just as well-rehearsed as your remarks.

More Tips From Speakers

Click here to watch the series of video interviews with public speakers, sharing their tips with you.