Intimidated by attractive female co-workers/clients

edit: see my comments below before commenting, i've clarified things a bit

In our business I regularly meet with women clients. The more attractive they are (combined with intelligence), naturally the more nervous I get, and the harder it is for me to negotiate and work with them.

Ugly Betty - No affect at all, looks aren't a factor at all in the process, and I can proceed like normal.

Hot/smart? She'll get more sway in whatever it is we're negotiating over.

So question is, how do I improve on this?

How do you deal working with hot coworkers? Do you feel intimidated by them or do you prefer working with them?

I prefer to keep all this stuff separate, as it should be, so I actually prefer working with women where their appearance doesn't affect me all. After work, at the bar with a drink in my hand, I have no problem talking to an attractive woman. Context/atmosphere for me are EVERYTHING. Funny how the brain works.

edit: Thinking about it more, the strategy i've tried to adapt, and am working on more is ignore it completely, shutup the part of my brain that thinks there's the chance of something happening with this woman (this is hard to do), be stern, professional and completely un-flirtatious, and the tension eases away, some.

Note to anyone hiring sales-people: if you can find intelligent women who are also smoking hot, hire them.

35 Comments
 

Not sure about this, but when someone says they have difficulty working with attractive women, I assume the person saying that is an honest woman. True?

 
SirTradesaLotNot sure about this, but when someone says they have difficulty working with attractive women, I assume the person saying that is an honest woman. True?

huh?

in any case, i see you're upper level so i'll give you a hypothetical:

You have two women candidates to choose from for a new position (they do not do sales nor interact with clients). They are exactly equal except for their looks. One is below average, one is quite attractive.

In any way would you avoid hiring the hot one because you feel it would be a distraction in the workplace?

Or would you rather hire the hot one? and why?

First person that comes out this fucking door gets a... gets a *lead salad*, you understand?
 
arguewithatreeI always thought unattractive women had a more difficult time getting into banking. It's just easier to get hired if you're hot

Quite the opposite, really. Males will see you as a distraction, high-maintenance and unaccountable; females will dislike you no matter how friendly you are, because your existence is a threat to them. And if you get promoted, they will be like 'that's because she never plays fair!'

Different story if it's a client facing role.

The Auto Show
 

Here's what I meant: female employees are usually the ones that don't like attractive female employees in the office. Most of the time, they claim they don't like the attractive woman for some bullshit reason.

 
WalMartShopperCan we create a section for people that have passed puberty?

so working directly with a female you find very attractive has no effect on you at all?

First person that comes out this fucking door gets a... gets a *lead salad*, you understand?
 
everyman
WalMartShopperCan we create a section for people that have passed puberty?

so working directly with a female you find very attractive has no effect on you at all?

Seriously, no. Coworkers never intimidate nor do bosses. Maybe you really dig this chick b/c you haven't seen many of them, but after all the damage I've seen by those that succumb to this temptation...she might as well be a leper to me.

If the glove don't fit, you must acquit!
 
prudentinvestorIt sounds like you need to get a hot woman of your own so your not as easily distracted by other women. I'm not saying this is guaranteed to work but it might help.

Dating a girl... she's attractive, but not what we'd call "super hot". And as I mentioned before, no problem talking to a hot girl in the right setting (ie bar, 2nd-3rd drink in my hand) but somehow in the workplace / professional setting I lose confidence and can't shake the tension.

First person that comes out this fucking door gets a... gets a *lead salad*, you understand?
 
everyman
prudentinvestorIt sounds like you need to get a hot woman of your own so your not as easily distracted by other women. I'm not saying this is guaranteed to work but it might help.

no problem talking to a hot girl in the right setting (ie bar, 2nd-3rd drink in my hand)

If you need a drink and need to be in a bar you have problems talking to girls. Being in the right setting is not an excuse.

That's like me saying I'm good at rugby (never played before) if my competition is all 10 year olds. Doesn't count.

You need to work on your social skills and women will not intimidate you. Men or women can notice that (especially smart ones) and tend to capitalize.

 
everymanIn our business I regularly meet with women clients. The more attractive they are (combined with intelligence), naturally the more nervous I get, and the harder it is for me to negotiate and work with them.

The simplest solution for me when I had trouble talking to women was to look at it from a scientific view. When I look at beautiful women I'm working with, I just look at them like they're a large bundle of molecules as opposed to looking at their face/eyes/legs/tits etc. You just have to care more about what you're doing then the bag of meat in front of you.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
Best Response

Come on, BB banks are global intitutions with thousands of employees and clients. Fucking deal with it. This is an idiotic concern. Try getting laid once in a while, and just remember you don't shit where you eat.

You go to work to work. and so do the girls. It's not Murray Hill or wherever you fucking losers go out. Female clients are not pieces of ass you tard. Wow, you've gone ahead and discovered what might just be the fastest way to get fired I've ever heard of.

 

Easy. If you get nervous around someone, just imagine that they're in their underwear next time you're talking to them. Even the most powerful of business women will seem ridiculous to you when you think of them in nothing but their lace bra barely covering their overflowing breasts.

 

You need to get out more. There honestly aren't that many hot women in finance. Maybe a few above average looking women, but most logically thinking hot girls would never take a job that requires them to work this hard.

Competition is a sin. -John D. Rockefeller
 

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