Good Morning America
Thursday, Jan. 13, 2000
(This is an unedited, uncorrected transcript.)
DIANE SAWYER, ABCNEWS We continue our series Personal Best this morning with special correspondent Cindy Crawford. And this morning in the round-table discussion it’s changing your image at the office. We meet a young, successful executive who wants to look the part without losing herself in the process.
BECKY NDOCI I think that it’s easier for people to say, ‘Oh well, she made this mistake because she’s not as experienced.’ I’ve found that, too, and it’s—those little things...
CINDY CRAWFORD, ABCNEWS Undermine your confidence.
BECKY NDOCI They und—exactly. There needs to be a way to focus on asking questions and make it more obvious.
CINDY CRAWFORD She’s 24 and a producer for an international radio show. That’s a lot of responsibility at her age, and Becky Ndoci has discovered that with success so young, comes some unexpected problems.
BECKY NDOCI Issues about dealing with being taken seriously in the workplace and also kind of finding my footing and my place with my co-workers, being this young.
CINDY CRAWFORD So you’re really a lot younger than most people you work with or at your level?
BECKY NDOCI Both of my assistants are older than I am. And one of them significantly older than I am. And so that’s a really awkward situation.
YVONNE TRAN Maybe you need to just reach out to them and make them feel comfortable, like, ‘Hey, you know you guys doing anything? I don’t have any plans.’
BECKY NDOCI Yeah, I do, I do.
CINDY CRAWFORD It would be hard for them though, because you know how it is. It’s not that fun to party with your boss. Let’s face it, what do you do? You go and complain about your boss when you go out, so that might be part of the problem right there.
DEBBIE DIMAIO In just meeting you, you seem confident in the fact that you came—you know, you picked up your roots from the Midwest and you came to New York. I think that says a lot about you.
RUTH HIRSHFELD One of the things you said that you don’t realize is a real attribute is that you have these new ideas, and it’s not the old stuff that’s been played out. New ideas are wonderful. Without new ideas, you never grow.
BECKY NDOCI Right.
SUSAN BIXLER, IMAGE CONSULTANT What we’re going to talk about is building relationships rapidly.
CINDY CRAWFORD We introduced Becky to Susan Bixler, who’s made a career out of solving dilemmas just like this one. Co-author of “The New Professional Image”, she advises businessmen and women on tips for gaining respect and credibility in the work place.
SUSAN BIXLER The first piece is that first entrance, the first thing that people see. That takes about seven seconds for people to say, ‘This is someone that I want to continue to talk to, this is someone that looks like they’re credible.’ And all that can happen within about seven seconds.
CINDY CRAWFORD Susan says that non-verbal communication is key. Simple things that your parents tried to teach you, like eye contact and a firm handshake make the difference.
SUSAN BIXLER And we talked about none of this little lady finger wiggle.
BECKY NDOCI Yeah.
SUSAN BIXLER None of that bone crusher, that overdone thing.
BECKY NDOCI OK.
SUSAN BIXLER And we don’t even clasp hands, this is kind of a politician’s handshake.
BECKY NDOCI I don’t have a gun in my back pocket.
SUSAN BIXLER Exactly.
BECKY NDOCI Right.
CINDY CRAWFORD Next, more visual impact—an office wardrobe. For Becky’s creative field that can be clothes that are relaxed, but adult.
SUSAN BIXLER This will give you a lot of credibility...
BECKY NDOCI Yeah.
SUSAN BIXLER ...because it does have some structure to it. It’s not an unstructured garment. It does have shoulder pads, it has a one-button close.
BECKY NDOCI And it’s not a power suit.
SUSAN BIXLER No.
BECKY NDOCI My boss told me if I came back with a power suit, she’s firing me. So...
DIANE SAWYER Well, Becky Ndoci joins us now. I was just asking you, are you trying some of these things? I was looking to see, are you giving me eye contact here?
BECKY NDOCI Hi, Diane, how you doing?
DIANE SAWYER Oh that’s effective. Thank you.
BECKY NDOCI I’ve tried the non-verbal techniques, but those are things I’ve done before, but now I’m just more conscious of it. And it certainly makes a difference.
DIANE SAWYER And have you decided to change the way you dress?
BECKY NDOCI Not on a daily basis. I didn’t dress like a slob before, I didn’t think. I work in a pretty business casual environment, but for meetings and business meetings I certainly will dress up.
DIANE SAWYER You’re saying the main thing about this is that the principle, knowing the principle that you can be freer inside. What you think the protocol requires in an office made a difference to you.
BECKY NDOCI That’s right. Yeah, you know there are rules of business etiquette which I run away from, so I want to find a way to make that image for myself but make it authentic.
DIANE SAWYER Alright, well Becky’s going to join us again tomorrow with the whole group. And we hope you e-mail us some things you’d like to know from Cindy Crawford. We’ll be back in a moment.