Successful individuals usually have good self-presentational skills, as the many "self-help" and "self-improvement" volumes available in today's bookstores suggest. Though all of us are tired sometimes, feel in a bad mood sometimes, or otherwise might not be at our best, those of us who impress others most favorably are careful not to allow a lack of self-awareness and self-possession to interfere with our constructive relationships with others. To be mindful of how we come across to others is well worth the effort, for how they treat us in turn will certainly be affected. Our progress in our chosen careers and our comfort in our social lives depend to some extent upon what parents and other responsible adults once taught to children as simple "manners."

In an academic setting, students sometimes feel "depersonalized" as though they are anonymous and socially invisible. Institutional environments easily foster such a feeling because we are not always personally acknowledged or addressed individually on a daily basis. However, you may be certain that your professor and many of your fellow students do, in fact, notice you, whether or not they personally interact with you frequently. When, however unintentionally or inadvertently, we communicate boredom or hostility, we may be sure that others will receive the message and, unfortunately, assume the worst about us.
Students need to think about the importance of self-presentational skills to their overall success in college. Appropriate behavior in an academic environment such as a classroom includes the following:

• prompt arrival to class and regular attendance;
• maintaininc, some eye contact with the speaker and looking alert, interested;
• sitting with the class, toward the front, rather than off to the side or back in isolation;

• listening carefully to what others are saying before offering your own comments at the appropriate time;

• avoiding dominating a discussion;

• maintaining alert, interested facial expressions that show engagement with what is going on;
• giving the speaker your full attention, responding to questions, to attempts at humor, just as you would wish others would do if you were the speaker.

The image of yourself that you project is important. Realizing that it is not alwaysappropriate to express every one of your thoughts, or to convey all of your feelings through words or body language is a major step toward maturity and the development of good interpersonal skills that you will need in any future career. Show to others the sort of respectful behavior you would want them to show you.