First Impressions

Picking up from my recent posting We'll meet again... I thought it would be worth looking at how First Impressions can impact our opinions of other people and their opinions of us. In turn first impressions can affect the desire to work together or not. Have you ever regretted a time when you didn’t make a favourable first impression? Did you wish you could have your time over again to make a more positive impression? I am sure you are not alone. We can all think of a time when we messed up. As the old saying goes: ‘You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression’.

According to one university study*, people make eleven decisions about us in the first seven seconds of contact.

They are:

1. Education Level

2. Economic Level

3. Perceived Credibility, Believability, Competence and Honesty

4. Trustworthiness

5. Level of Sophistication

6. Sex Role Identification

7. Level of Success

8. Political Background

9. Religious Background

10. Ethnic Background

11. Social/ Professional / Sexual Desirability

(*Source: Michael Solomon, PhD, Psychologist, Chairman, Marketing Department Graduate School of Business, NYU.)

And then according to this study the rest of your time is spent finding evidence to prove your original impression of that person, whether that impression is true or not. This study emphasises the importance of creating good first impressions.

Here is an interesting exercise to test the impact of making a good impression:

• Check out the next 10 places where you spend your money, whether in person or on the phone, and see how effectively the people you come in contact with make a favourable impression with you.
• Notice how you are greeted when you call or go into a business or are contacted by its employees.
• How effective are they in creating a favourable and positive impression with you?
• Do they pay attention to you and treat you, as you would like to be treated?
• How do you and your team make good first impressions?

Not everyone knows how to make a good impression. Many people are often too preoccupied with themselves to pay due attention to you. And many people forget about using common courtesies that could make all the difference when communicating with you. Common courtesy, sadly, isn’t so common any more. So here are some tips on making a good first impression:

• Tune your world out and them in – really listen and pay attention to what they say and do.
• Think about what you can learn about them and in turn what you can learn about yourself by interacting with them.
• Think, “There is something about you I like” especially if they are very different from you.
• Whenever someone treats you kindly, show your appreciation, express your gratitude, and offer your thanks.
• Scatter the dark clouds of gloom and spread sunshine with your smile. Remember, a smile is a curved line that can straighten many problems.

I hope this goes some way in helping you and your team make positive first impressions with those people you interact whether it be in business or on a personal level.