There is no debate on the issue that first impressions matter A LOT! and as the name suggests, you only get one shot at it. You either make it or you don’t. Although there is no study that unequivocally concludes a set time, an average person takes to impress someone. But all the studies agree that you have less than 30 seconds to create a great impression. You got to pack a lot in such a brief time in order to create a good impression.
Following are some tips that you should absolutely consider that can help you create great impression:
Be on time
This one is very important and there is no way you can recover from it (if failed to be on time). Being punctual is a great habit that can take you a long way. It is always better to be early than to fail to be on time and getting late. Being early gives you time to relax your mind, and lets you get comfortable. If you are just managing to be on time, there are chances your mind will be occupied with that itself instead of staying focussed and confident and nailing your first impression.
Your body language should ooze confidence
Your body language speaks louder than you think it does. It either can help you or break you. Therefore, it is very important to take control of it and come across as a strong and confident person. For instance, when you are all nervous, it can be easily picked by others looking by your posture, hand movements, and other things. The same is with confidence. Standing tall, chin raised high, making proper eye contact are the few things that can help you show your confidence. Think of great personalities like Oprah for instance she walks into the room as if she owns it. It is not because she is famous or a well-known speaker, but because she walks on the stage with great confidence.
There is a famous technique that can be used to bolster your confidence. You may use it before a job interview, big meeting, presentations, etc. It is called the wonder women pose, put your hands on your hips, legs open making a V shape. shoulders and back all straight and chin slightly raised. Stay in this pose and tell yourself how confident you are and see how it impacts your confidence in a positive way.
Keep your phone away
Keeping your phone aside is a good habit in general and has a broader implication than making the first impression. In most settings both professional and personal, using the phone when talking to someone is equated to rudeness. It straight away sends the message that you don’t really care about what is happening. You may be good at multi-tasking and you know that you aren’t compromising the task at hand while using your phone, but it comes across rude and forms a poor first impression.
Read the header carefully, unless you need your phone for showing something, it shouldn’t even be in your hands. It should be put aside in your bag on silent mode. If it is in silent mode you are much less tempted to check it when it vibrates. Statistics say that using and even looking at your phone reduces your chances of making through gets significantly lowered. Even in the team meetings, you using your phone can be distracting for you as well as others and it reflects your seriousness towards your project.
Dress wisely
The first thing people see in you before you speak up is the way you dress. It is important for you to understand the event for which you have to dress. You should not be overdressed or underdressed. Let’s say if you are going for a job interview, start-up companies are considered to relax with dress code and corporate jobs usually require business formals. However, if you are not sure, business formals are always a good option.
Be mindful of what you speak
Be extra conscious of the words and the tone in which you say things when you are looking forward to creating a good first experience. Make it a point to not use any slang especially in the professional settings. Although it is fine if you use it with your friends or at parties. Work on your communications skills if you happen to use a lot of fillers like ‘um’ or ‘so’ or fill gaps with ‘like’ and ‘you know’.