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3 Easy Yet Effective Steps To Master The Art of First Impressions

3 Easy Yet Effective Steps To Master The Art of First Impressions

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3 Easy Yet Effective Steps To Master The Art of First Impressions

Summary: First impressions are about making the other person feel comfortable in your presence and building likeability; small actions like letting them speak first, listening closely, and indulging in small talk can go a long way in turning a budding acquaintanceship into a strong future business relationship!

How can an individual start off on the right foot in any given scenario and make others see them in a good light? How can you effectively create that First Impression? Read on to find out.

There’s a saying that goes, “You only get one chance to make a first impression”, which holds in just about every situation – right from interviewing for a job to making a sales call with a new client.

So, how does one ensure they start on the right foot in any given scenario? How do you make others see you in a good light?

The secret is to shower others with your interest in them and their interests. When you show interest in what the other person is saying or doing, they get enthusiastic about talking to you. They will see you as curious about them and will reciprocate listening to you attentively. You can then find common ground and establish a deeper connection.

Here are the 3 things that help leaders excel at the subtle art of leaving incredible first impressions:

Let Them Speak
When you’re meeting someone for the first time, let them speak more than you do. The easiest way to build likeability is to show a genuine interest in what the person wants to talk about. People want to feel understood, they want to share their story – and for that, you will have to let them speak first.
Practise Active Listening
While they are speaking, actively look at the person and listen with interest. Concentrate on what they’re saying instead of planning what you should be saying next. Shutting people down, even when you think you’re helping them – when it is not asked for – is nothing more than a polite way of saying, “Fine! How much longer are you going to speak! Can you please stop now?”
Make Some Interesting Small Talk
It sounds trivial at first, but starting a meeting with even five minutes of small talk can make the other person feel more comfortable. Once you have let them speak and listen to them actively, you will have created certain touchpoints in your mind – a common topic or two that you could relate to. If you initiate or follow up on a discussion about these common topics, people feel like you have an interest in them and what they do. This is what leads to small talk and can prove extremely important to building a rapport.
Impact on Leadership

Using interest to stimulate conversations can separate you from a normal, good listener to be a great one instead. As an HBR study

1 shows, most people think they are better than average at listening, but what truly separates the top 5% of listeners from the rest is the ability to use interest to energize and actively bring out more in a conversation, not just passively listening.

A Forbes Article

2 mentions the CEO of a 74,000 employee strong healthcare company visiting 24 managers in the middle of their training week and fostering relationships with great individual-level effort. He would memorize a list, with the photo, name and some important personal information of each manager. With these he would ask questions about their lives, and with his interest, boost their commitment.

54% of employees that feel they can easily approach their managers with any questions are actively engaged, as opposed to 65% being actively disengaged when they feel like they can’t3.

How much time do you think you spend talking, rather than letting someone else speak?
3 Immediately Actionable Steps
  1. Let the other person take the lead in the conversation; you can always ask some good questions to help the conversation along.
  2. Listen keenly to what they’re saying. Pay attention to the conversation.
  3. Engage in small talk. Find some commonality between the two of you, and relate over those common topics.
References
  1. Zenger, J., & Folkman, J. (2016, July 14). What Great Listeners Actually Do. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/07/what-great-listeners-actually-do
  2. Henley, D. (2018, July 18). Three Ways Great Leaders Show They Care About Their Team. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/
    dedehenley/2018/07/20/three-ways-great-leaders-show-they-care-a bout-their-team/?sh=1cc099cc46e5
  3. Harter, J. (2015, April 8). Employees Want a Lot More From Their Managers. Gallup.com; Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/
    236570/employees-lot-managers.aspx

Authored by Coach Vikram

Vikram is an Executive Presence Coach who supports CXOs and senior leaders to make an impact, influence, and lead with ease. He advises C-level leaders and teams to strengthen business performance through their executive presence and star leadership. 

Vikram works closely with Boards and senior leaders to align leadership needs with strategy. His forte is his ability to develop trusted partnerships with senior leaders at some of the most recognized companies in the world. Vikram coaches senior leaders to draw upon their best selves, while growing their business and their leadership capabilities.

Vikram and his team have developed a groundbreaking model of executive presence and an Executive Presence Index (EPI) Assessment, the first frequency based, scientifically validated tool to measure executive presence.

Connect with him if you want practical and immediately applicable strategies to accelerate results, develop your people, and influence others to make a positive difference in your organization.

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