“two persons shaking each other's hand” by rawpixel on Unsplash

Why only first impression is important, not every?

Alekh Khanna
Sep 8, 2018 · 3 min read

You might be thinking this articles is from a love struck for love strucks. Not exactly! All this is while I have been thinking, why we put efforts in ensuring an unforgettable first impression which eventually fades off with time.

In my opinion, every impression should be better than the last so that your charm remains unconquered for always. There are few reasons why what we are talking today is extremely important:

  1. Less humdrum situations will become memories
  2. You want to be remembered for all good and rosy
  3. You will be demanded for the positivity you bring along
  4. Your demeanor makes others comfortable to spend time with you
  5. And ya, what you do decides who you are

Before you take any of the suggestions into consideration, do you know ho do you come across to others? How do you feel while interacting? Do you feel like pretending what you are not?

You might not have thought about your first impression and you think bluff works in your case. Realities can’t be mistaken with superficial assumptions. Yours misconception of being a head-turner bursts when someone doesn’t respond to you the way you expected. I feel the need to clarify this in detail because leaving an indelible impression is an art only few can master and you want to be one of them.

The question that pops-up in your mind is HOW to do that?

  1. Prepare yourself for that very first few seconds
    Our brain is so smart that it forms the first level of impression of you in just one-tenth of a second. Within a minute, it processes as many as ten thousand visual, oral cues and judges personality traits as to who you are, what you’re like, and whether or not they’d be interested to know you better. SO, remember if you fail spell your magic in those few seconds, rest of the conversation will be about confirming your nonchalant presence.
  2. The State of Hustle
    We live in a fast-paced world that compels us to optimize and utilize time in the most productive manner. No, this is a problem. When you are meeting someone make sure you are very much in the moment mentally and not distracted by uncontrolled thoughts popping in your mind.
  3. Be a Storyteller
    Yes, you read it right. Why do you think people take classes on storytelling. They know it’s needed to break the ice, it’s important to strike conversations in a signature style. But storytelling is not what you think. It’s not something that you have to mug-up, it there in you and believe me we all are storytellers. Remember yourself in an interview, when you have talk about your knowledge, experience and specially about yourself. You are a storyteller at that moment.

“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.” — Robert McKee

Ideas if stuck only in your mind are mere vague thoughts, the moment you reveal them to the world, they become successful executions.

4. Be generous and reciprocate
If you love extra attention and gifts, others are no different. Your meeting with someone becomes a memory because of your words or action. Try to leave people impressed and happy both. Gift them things that don’t hurt your wallet and leave others with awe. I do this often, specially to those whom I am meeting for the first time. I personally prefer that evokes nostalgia like personalized greeting cards. It’s not an expensive gift but the perceived value is high (if chosen well) and as I said it’s something that’s made to be kept for along.

It has not nothing to consume, hence the emotions, feelings you pour remain fresh. There certain brands like Paperkami who have rekindled the lost of charm of greeting cards. The prices don’t raise eyebrows but surely raises your impression quotient. Greeting cards with personalized messages does the magic.

Conclusion
You don’t have to change yourself in order to be impressive. Just be yourself, express but don’t exaggerate, it’s okay to not be too ac-curative but be adoptive. Also, remember manipulation can belie the words you utter.

Alekh Khanna

Written by

Expressive, progressive and responsive individual wishes to be more imaginative in life.

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