Glancing up at the thermometer on my car dashboard I see it is just touching the absolutely insane temperature of 52°C. I never excelled at science but I am pretty sure that 52°C is about the same temp as the white bit of a flame, or the lumps that a volcano spews out.

Regardless of these facts, when I reached my destination I see that from car door to office door is a 50 yard walk. I will share some simple arithmetic with you; (52°C + High Humidity) x (X number of steps to front door) = Ruined shirt and suit and mild fear of 3rd degree burns. You are building a picture in your mind now, and this is the 3rd time I’ve done this calculation today.

Who am I? I am one of the dubizzle “Special Ops Team”, others call us the sales team. Much like the coast guard, we go out when others can’t and won’t, and that time is called summer. After many years in Dubai I’ve developed some ways to combat the summer heat. Here are a few tips from my personal repertoire:

Tip No.1: Top Draw It

Always have your deodorant of choice in your top drawer and release a little burst  on yourself just before leaving for a sales call. It’s been proven by 4 studies that 99.1% of people in the world like nice smells. Play those percentages.

Tip No.2:  Do Your Sweating Early

Get up early and put in a gym session, a run or a swim…the benefits are endless; high dopamine levels, increased brain function and lets be honest it’s going to be one of the most impressive things you achieve all day…all before 8.30 am.

Tip No.3:  Go Shopping

The back of my car is a second wardrobe. Have an emergency shirt always ready…there will come a point during your day or week that Super Shirt will come to the rescue, and there really is no better feeling that putting on a fresh shirt half way through the day.

Tip No.4:  Practice These Phrases:

• “My oh my, isn’t it hot out there?!” – This excuses your sweaty shirt and suit and also indicates that if you don’t receive some water soon you may pass out.
• “My shirt is actually meant to be white, not transparent” – Needs no translation.
• “Shorts and Vest are fine for this meeting, aren’t they?” – It will never work, but always worth a try I guess.

Its only going to get hotter out there, but the only way to get through this is head on. Embrace the heat, embrace the discomfort, embrace the embarrassment of clothes that stick to you…just don’t embrace your client.