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Making a Lasting First Impression

2Roads-blogsHave you ever heard your appearance and your first impression is another version of a business card? It’s true. It is said that it takes less than 30 seconds to make a first impression. Unfortunately, we all come to instant conclusions about a person the first time we see and talk with them. How do we make sure that impression is a good one?

1.  Appearance
Walk tall and do not slouch. Clothes should be pressed and in good condition. Make sure your hair is nicely combed. Your breath is to be fresh. Leave at least one foot or more as to not invade their personal space.

  1. Focus on others and not yourself
    Shift your attitude from thinking about how to be more comfortable, to how can I make others more comfortable. The person you are meeting for the first time will feel more comfortable, which leads a positive impression of you.
  2. Prepare a seven to nine second introduction of yourself.
    The key here is to condense your introduction to seven to nine seconds, not fifteen to thirty!The idea is to give the other person something that they can comment on to get the conversation going.
  3. Smile!
    Research from Princeton University shows people make snap judgments about whether or not you’re a “trustworthy” person after only 34 milliseconds of looking at your face, and further research  found that your facial expressions can influence those judgments. Simply put, smiling faces are trustworthy and make lasting, positive impressions.

Obviously, you’ll never be able to control what people think of you but you can do your part to shape the perception of you to one that is positive, enduring, and authentic.

And that brings me to the most important tip yet: be yourself.

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