Tag: Impression

5 Ways to Make a Good First Impression

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and a key focus is Career Discussions. In the professional world, making good impressions early is critical. They can make the difference between you getting the job or closing the deal. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Ways to Make a Good First Impression.

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Do you have an important event, meeting or interview coming up and want to make a good impression? Maybe it’s in your daily life, meeting your partner’s parents or attending a big family wedding for example? Either way, if you’re going to be meeting and speaking to other people and want to make sure you’re coming across in the best way possible, here are a few ways to go about it.

Turn up on time

When it comes to making a good impression, punctuality is everything. In the cases of things like interviews, even being a few minutes late can be make or break, but timekeeping is always something to be aware of when you’re trying to present yourself in the best way. Being late tends to give the impression ‘I value my own time more than yours’ and can either look arrogant or sloppy. If you have a big interview, meeting or event coming up, set your alarm early, plan your route and be aware of anything that might crop up that could delay you and then work around this.

Dress well

Dressing well and looking the part isn’t about being shallow. Subconsciously, we tend to judge others on the way they look outwardly even if we don’t mean to. It’s not to say you need to be the most attractive person in the world but definitely work with what you have. Ensure you’re well groomed and tidy, your clothes should be clean and fit well. Look at mens custom suits, or spend some time trying on different fits and styles off the rack to find what suits your body best. These sorts of things send a message that you care about and respect yourself and can make it easier for others to respect you too.

Stand tall

We tend to naturally gravitate towards people that feel confident, when people look as though they’re feeling shy and awkward it can make others feel the same way. So stand tall, you’ll look confident even if you don’t feel it and it’s another thing you can do to help people build a positive impression of you. Maintain an open stance, this means avoid crossing your arms or if you’re socialising, avoid holding a drink across your chest as this can give quite a closed impression. Keep your shoulders relaxed, head straight (without putting your chin in the air as this can give a cocky/ arrogant appearance). It can actually be worth doing some research into body language and bringing some of these tips into your daily actions so you can be sure you’re presenting yourself in the best way possible. Even things like eye contact and a firm handshake especially when you’re first meeting someone can be extremely important, go into the encounter with a positive mindset and it should reflect in the way you come across.

Smile and be friendly

Coming across and friendly and personable can most definitely help people to warm to you. You don’t want to be fake, bearing teeth and over the top laughing at the jokes that are made, but do smile as it shows people that you’re friendly and worth getting to know.

Listen and be responsive

It’s not all about promoting yourself, you need to be a keen listener in the conversation with whoever you’re talking to. Show that you’re listening and engaging to the other person by using body language, respond in the right way to what they’ve said and pause- many people don’t let others get a word in edgeways! If you show the other person that you’re listening and valuing what they’re saying then chances are they’re going to want to engage with you back. You’ll be more likeable and generally give off a more positive impression.

Dominate That First Second – A Reliable Approach To First Impressions

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. An old slogan says that, “You never get the second chance to make a first impressions.” The same is true for your business. Whether it’s your business’s physical space, your social media or your communications, you are always making an impression. The following contributed post is entitled, Dominate That First Second – A Reliable Approach To First Impressions.

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All businesses know that first impressions matter. In fact, we all know it. It’s part of how we form our judgements to get us through the world. Sometimes, our first impressions are wrong. You’ve likely met people in your life whom you took an instant disliking to, only to realise that actually, they weren’t as bad as you had imagined.

The same goes for businesses, and of course, the reverse is also true regarding that sentiment. However, often, with so many options available, consumers do not wish to wait to hear you out – they want to be impressed. This means that dominating that first second is one of the most appropriate goals you could have as a business trying to expand its reach.

But it’s not as if this just happens on one frontier, it happens on many. Let us see how appropriate that might be for you when making your decisions as a firm, and how worthwhile you might apply your future endeavors to this end.

Consider:

Keep Your Offices Clean

We’re not just talking about the interior. Sure, providing a comfortable office, a clean office, and a hygienic working space is essential if you hope to run your office well. But on top of that, you must never neglect the exterior on your building. Even if you have no retail stores, your headquarters looking neglected from the outside speaks terribly about your firm, and with social media in everyone’s pockets, it might come back to bite you. This is where firms such as Propel Pressure Cleaning https://propelpressurecleaning.com can help you rid yourself of some of the grime associated with long-standing industrial offices. Keep a squeaky clean approach where you can. You never know just how beneficial this could be in the long term.

Keep Your Social Media Clean

Often, social media is the first time someone will hear from you. Engage in humor that doesn’t quite work, reply vindictively to a trying criticism, or allow your staff to get out of hand on their own profiles, and good golly, you’re in damn trouble. It’s essential for you to consider how to dominate that first second in the online space because, for better or worse, that’s how the perception of cultural opinion moves these days.

Messaging

Your messaging is important whenever you need to announce or speak as a business. For example, it could be that your product announcement is unclear, and people have to question exactly what it is you’re teasing. There’s being mysterious to drum up interest, and willingly diffusive and causing frustration accidentally.

Have your announcements looked over by trained marketing writers, or PR individuals. Again, stay consistent. This way your optics are reliable, and when you do break the mold? Things will be much more interesting as a whole. This way, you needn’t ever worry about how to be perceived, because you will be directing and choreographing the whole affair.