A first impression is when a person meets someone for the first time and forms a mental image of that person. Many different types of research show many data about how long it takes people to create a first impression — a tenth of a second, 33 to 100 milliseconds, 7 seconds, 27 seconds, and so on.
Regardless of how long it takes to establish a good first impression, mastering this ability will help you in a variety of ways throughout your life. Here are some of the best ways you can follow:
1. Use positive body language
People make an immediate judgment about you after seeing your body language. A bad walking posture, fidgeting, nail-biting, blinking eyes, tapping fingers on a table, keeping head down while talking, folding arms, sitting cross-legged, and some other behaviors are not believed to be appropriate body language.
You won’t be able to generate a good first impression if you show these behaviors in front of a person.
Whereas — firm handshaking, using hand gestures while talking, gentle nodding of the head, etc. considered to be better body language, and other people see you as a strong and friendly individual.
2. Dress well
Imagine Going to a business meeting in a T-shirt and jeans pants to meet a potential client. Wouldn’t that appear strange?
If you have a bad fashion sense, it’s time to change that. Learn what to wear for a date, a business meeting, a wedding, or any other type of social occasion.
You may have heard the Sheikh Saadi narrative, “Dress does not make one great.” But we, humans, like to judge someone’s entire personality based on their clothing style.
3. Be authentic but watch your expression
When you’re meeting with a person for the first time it’s not good behavior to brag about your knowledge and try to undermine other people while talking, it doesn’t make a good impression on others. So be real and don’t try too hard to prove yourself right.
Respect the person and behave well with them. They will feel you’re genuine and it will enhance the chances of making better rapport.
But remember to be authentic you shouldn’t cross the line. If you start behaving- too friendly and ask inappropriate questions, or make dirty jokes others might don’t take you well. Always remember — It’s not the quantity of talks that matters, It’s the quality that matters. All your process for making the other person impress can get jeopardized by talking too much. Behave friendly but don’t be too friendly.
4. Be mentally prepared
Before meeting with somebody, do some research on them on social media or in any other way. Prepare some simple questions for asking them when you meet. That way, meeting someone for the first time will be less awkward for you.
While conversing with someone, their body language may signal that they are not enjoying the conversation. Always be mentally prepared for any inconvenience and do your best to clarify your points without being serious.
5. Make eye contact
While you or the other person is speaking, maintain eye contact with him or her. Eye contact indicates that you are engaging in the conversation and it also expresses the strengths of your personality to the person in front of you.
Not Making correct eye contact when conversing is a sign of a lack of self-confidence and a barrier to making a good first impression.
Yet, you must be careful not to stare at the other person for a long time while creating eye contact. It makes the other person uncomfortable, and they may believe you don’t have any morals. The author ‘Leil Lowndes’ stated in her book ‘How to Talk to Anyone’ that eye contact should be a 60/40 split, which means you should make eye contact 60% of the time.
6. Smile
Smiling has many health benefits, including stress reduction, relaxation, pain relief, and so on. Aside from these advantages, smiling can help you win people’s hearts. A person’s true beauty resonates via his or her smile. It also shows that you’re enjoying the other person’s company, which makes a good first impression on you.
When meeting someone for the first time, smile and make others smile by employing a pleasant sense of humor. Nobody enjoys seeing a sad face. So remember to smile!
7. Be on time
This is beneficial not only for creating a good image of yourself to the other person but also for developing a good lifestyle. When you go to a meeting or a date, make sure you arrive before the scheduled time. Arriving late creates a negative image of you, and the other person may think that you are not serious about the meeting.
‘It is preferable to arrive 5 minutes early rather than 5 minutes late. As a result of developing this practice, you will be more punctual, which will increase your productivity.
8. Make a connection
Making a mutual connection with someone through talking is a great way to make a first impression. When you meet someone for the first time, ask them things like, “What are their hobbies?” What do they enjoy most about their job? Their favorite movies, literature, and so on.
If you discover anything in common with them, it can be the best approach to extend and enrich the conversation. If you show interest in people and appreciate them, they may regard you as an intriguing person as well.
When you first meet someone, address them by name. People, especially girls, enjoy hearing their names.
After the meeting, send them an email with a courteous message that may say something like, “Thank you, it was nice to meet with you.” ‘I want to see you again soon.’ These kinds of friendly gestures will make others think well of you.
9. Stop using the phone and listen
Checking your phone while talking with someone seems very cliche to the person sitting in front of you. It indicates that you are not providing enough priority to the other person, which produces an unfavorable impression of you. So, if you don’t have an emergency, leave your phone on mute and never pull it out of your pocket.
People want you to listen to them. It feels good when someone pays close attention to us and attempts to understand our points of view. That’s why, listening to another person is an art form, and you should listen more than you speak. Also, don’t interrupt when others are speaking. Allow them to finish their sentence before asking any questions.
10. Be positive
Positivity works like a magic wand for impressing people, but negativity creates distance. Even if you disagree with the other person, try to be positive. You should not criticize others in front of them.
You may have dissent about the other person’s opinions, but you should not behave harsh or disrespectful about the other person’s opinions. Don’t make fun of their likes and dislikes. Nobody enjoys hearing negative feedback.
So, when meeting someone for the first time, be upbeat.
11. Show confidence
Do not take long pauses when explaining something. It demonstrates a lack of self-confidence. The other people can get bored. You may feel a little nervous in front of a stranger for the first time, but you have to overcome it as soon as possible.
Your tone of speech also expresses confidence. A high-pitched voice can show that you are pressuring people to believe in you, while a low-pitched voice can show perplexity in you. As a result, to generate a good first impression, you need to be mindful of how you sound.
12. Be empathetic
People can tell you something sad about their lives in the middle of a discussion, but if you can’t think of anything to say, don’t use filler words like — um, oh, I see, etc. It will not assist you in making a positive influence.
Take other difficulties into account and try to console them with nice words. We all want some compassion as humans, and we tend to like the person who shows sympathy and behaves well with us.
Does the first impression last?
As I mentioned before, we determine a person’s identity based on their initial impression, and first impressions stay a long time. Even if we misjudge a person, still our brain tends to stick to early impressions. In psychological terms, the ‘Halo effect’ implies that if we find something nice in someone, we tend to overlook their shortcomings in other areas of life. I hope you can see why first impressions are important.
Can first impressions be changed?
We, humans, are not machines. Even after all your preparations, you may make a mistake that affects the other person. It is difficult to recover from, but it is not impossible.
Explain why you did what made the other person uncomfortable, and apologize for your actions. This could aid in your recovery.
Conclusion
We don’t get many opportunities to impress people. So make sure you give your very best the first time to make a good first impression.
