First, what is the first impression?
The first impression is the feeling or the initial evaluation a person has of you when they first meet you. The first impression can be made at a glance, a conversation or even from a distance when someone is looking at your body language. As a freelancer for my SAP business, I meet people all the time, and the first impression is critical to build a great relationship with the clients and also bring confidence to the team. These 3 actions help me get the best of it: a smile, a lively body expression and last a voice.
Always bring the smile!!!: “A smile is one of the most powerful things in the world. It can change everything”. Think about when you walk into a room. What do you want to achieve? I imagine you want to appear warm, approachable, open. A smile achieves this. A smile puts people at ease. It makes them think you’re genuinely happy to meet them. A smile means something. It helps you ‘own the room’. You look genuine, rather than detached, cocky and arrogant.
“If there’s one force that can either sabotage or propel your message, it’s your body”. Make an Entrance, walk with confidence. Make sure your body language is inviting people to speak with you. Square Up, have correct posture when you are sitting or standing. You don’t want to look tired or disinterested. Make Yourself Big, don’t walk with your head down and be ready to have any conversation with everyone. You have to make sure everyone sees you. Maintained and engaged eye contact with anyone you see and give them the smile that we talked about in the previous paragraph.
The last piece is your voice. It is not about your voice tone, I don’t expect you to become a radio announcer but make sure you speak loud and clear. You should sound confident and make sure you understand the questions before answering them.