The first thing I noticed were the shoes. Darling. Definite. Daring! It was the first day of kindergarten roundup and I knew nobody. But right after I noticed the shoes, I noticed the lady wearing them. She had a big smile on her face and she was laughing with her son. When she saw me watching them, she directed her smile my way and stretched out her hand. “Hi, I’m Maureen,” she said. “Hi, I’m Christy, I like your shoes.” And a friendship was born.
Not only were we 2 of the most “seasoned” mothers, at that roundup, ahem, but despite the height of that shoe heel, we were also kindred spirits. Over the intervening 6 years, I’m happy to say my first impression of Maureen was spot on. She is darling. She is definite. She is daring!
The statistics say we have about 7 seconds to make a first impression. How are you doing? Maureen did a lot of things right to create a positive first impression with me. She’s a business owner and she knows the power of impact. Here are a few things you can do to get off on the right foot. Ahem.
- Stand up straight and smile. There’s something about a smile that invites a positive response. You immediately signal you are friendly and open and ready to start something good.
- Stick out your right hand, say your name and give a nice handshake. You can almost never go wrong by initiating the handshake. In our American culture, a handshake is a universal clue that you want to get the conversation started. (More on handshakes in a later post.)
- Lean towards the person you are meeting. Sheryl Sandberg had it right when she said “Lean In”. Your body will send your message of interest loud and clear before you even say a word.
- Look them in the eye. As I’m training my kids how to meet new people, the hardest thing for them to understand is the power of looking the other person in the eye. They want to hang their head and mumble. Each time I
forcegently encourage them to lift their head and look the other person in the eye as they are introducing themselves. - Speak up. When you say your name, say it clearly. Nothing is worse than having to ask, “What was your name again?” Make sure that as you introduce yourself you are projecting your voice towards them.
The bottom line is that creating an awesome first impression is a lot easier than you might think. It’s really all about the other person. When you ask yourself, “How can I give them what they need so they feel comfortable entering into a conversation with me?”, you’re on the right track.
Interesting, isn’t it. When we take our eyes off ourselves and put them on the other person, we’re bound to win. Oh, and some awesome shoes will always help too.
This is Day 2 of 31 Days of Powerful Communication Skills for Women. You can read all of my #31Days posts here. And check out The Nester’s #Write31Days blog for other great 31 day series.
Question: What do you do intentionally to create a positive first impression? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Just leave a comment below.
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