Hello folks, welcome to CCB, in today’s post let us have a look at ‘How to make a good first impression ?’

Let me begin with a story, it was the first day of my college and being an introvert I headed to the college just like a newbie with lots of emotions running through my mind. The first day went fine and then came the second day, we had physics lecture and the lecturer gave us homework. I obediently did the homework and submitted it the next day. Meanwhile there were some students who didn’t do their homework and the lecturer scolded them. I noticed the body language of the lecturer and came to a conclusion that this man must be a strict one. The lecturer gave us homework on the second day too. Then came the third day, I hadn’t done the homework and I took an apology letter written by my mom saying that due to some valid reasons I hadn’t done the homework and the lecturer has to forgive the mistake and such a thing (mistake) wouldn’t happen in the future. I gave the apology letter as soon as the lecturer came towards me. The lecturer read the letter and was kind of happy and the reason could be that he hadn’t seen a student like this before. On the fourth day he was asking questions to the students on what he had taught us on the third day. When my turn to answer the question came he addressed me saying “My favourite student”. The bond between the lecturer and me became so strong that he never scolded me again during the two complete years of my college.

If you analyse the above the above paragraph, you could see that I made a mistake and yet I used the situation in favour of me when compared to the rest of the students in the class. Now, that’s what’s called making an impression. Though it was the fourth impression, when you look at it in terms of two years it kind of comes closer to a first impression. Many successful people call first impression as the best and last impression. If you make the right move during the first impression, the incident builds a strong bond between you and the person who you are interacting with.

Let us now have a look at some tips to make a solid first impression. The first tip to make a superb first impression is to dress for the situation. We don’t know when and where we meet people and if your outfit doesn’t match the occasion, there’s a sharp chance that your first impression goes down the drain. When I say dress for the occasion, I don’t mean you have to wear some Louis Vuitton or Gucci clothing to make a stellar first impression, choose what’s in your budget and be the best at it.

The point number two is don’t wear fakes. Counterfeit or fake Gucci clothing can bring down a person’s opinion on you. The next thing to make a rock solid first impression is to master your body language. Non verbal communication like your posture, eye contact etc. can mean a lot in deciding your image in the brain of the person with whom you come in contact with. When it comes to verbal communication, the method in which you can make a solid first impression is by not using bad words. Imagine you are driving a car and your client too is in the car and then comes a situation on the road that may force you to use some swear words, those words can make your client form an opinion about you. However, there are certain times you may need to use strong words because if you are too good, people take you for granted. The next pro tip to ace your verbal communication is to not use filler words like hmmmm, ummm, uh etc. The next thing you shouldn’t do is to look at your phone all the time while talking to someone in person. This shows that your mobile is more important than the person with whom you are speaking. The next thing on the list is to complement the person whom you are interacting with. Note that the compliment has to be genuine and you shouldn’t complement just for the sake of complementing. Some good things to complement on are cologne, clothing etc. When you are complementing the person of opposite gender make sure that you don’t complement on things that may indicate you are hitting on that person 😛 When it comes to me the complement I usually give the people (men) is on their cologne. One of the most commonly used cologne by men is Davidoff Cool Water. I instantly recognize this odour, since I too used that cologne and many a times it brings a smile on the person I’m interacting with, and on the other hand even if the other person too is a fan of cologne it could be a good conversation starter. The next thing to make you look amazing in the other person’s eye is enthusiasm. If you are enthusiastic and cheerful your level goes up by many stairs in the steps called first impression. Looks like this post is getting lengthy than what I initially thought it would be, if you too are feeling the same don’t worry. I’ll finish off the following tips within very few words as possible.

Next tip – show respect. Use words like thank you, please etc. Give seat to the elderly if you are travelling in public transport. Also don’t use dirty humour.

Next tip – Do not lie.

Next tip – Avoid the bad days. When you are upset on something there is a chance that you might show it on the other person. So it is better to postpone the meeting than losing a million dollar deal due to petty issues.

Next tip – Realize that it is not only about you. Let the other person to speak too. Be a good listener.

Next tip – Up your hygiene game. Stinky socks, bad breath etc. can become a deal breaker.

Pro tip – Set boundaries. Sometimes you need to disagree with what the other person says if it is against your policy. This instantly raises respect in the other person’s eye.

Well folks, that was it for this post. See you next time with a different one. If you liked this post please share it with you near and dear ones too. Byeeee 🙂