The Definitive Book of Body Language

The Secret Signals of Cigarettes, Glasses and Make-up

being 14 IQ points more intelligent compared to when they

were not wearing them. This effect lasted less than five

minutes, however, so you would be wise to consider wearing

them only for short interviews.

The 'intelligent' look is reduced, however, if you wear glasses

with oversized lenses, Elton John-style coloured frames or

designer glasses with distracting initials on the frame. Wearing

glasses that are one size larger than the face can make younger

people look older, more studious and more authoritative.

Solid frame glasses can make you look more sincere

and intelligent; over-the-top frames don't

In our study using pictures of people's faces, we found that
when you add glasses to a face in a business context, respon-
dents describe that person as studious, intelligent,
conservative, educated and sincere. The heavier the frame on
the glasses the more frequently these descriptions were likely
to be used and it made little difference whether the face was
male or female. This could be because the leaders of business
who wear glasses use heavier frames. So in a business environ-
ment, glasses are a statement of power. Frameless, small or
spindly frames convey a powerless image and say that you are
more interested in fashion than business. The reverse holds
true in social contexts but in these situations you are selling