First Impression
FIRST IMPRESSION - IS IT ENOUGH???
Have you ever heard about “first impression”? If you have ever wanted to find a new job, to get a job as an actor/actress or to date someone you must have heard about first impression. Unfortunately, there are lots of people who think first impression is last impression or worse they think they can get to know someone well in a couple of seconds. Isn’t it superficial??? Is first impression the right impression???
WHAT IS IMPRESSION?
Impression is two communications - one, what I show to others (need to find out what kind of mask we are wearing in front of others and second what kind of mindset or presumption the other person has). If you are a nice human being, you should let the show be a real and original. Masking ourselves and handling situation is always easy but to be real and then facing others is a bit difficult job.
Impression is about: sending information about you in a short time and receiving information about other people in a short time. It’s about giving what your partner wants or needs. It’s about expressing yourself not about pretending! It’s about harmony between expressing yourself and your goals… Because you are individual, there is no one who is like you. So you must sell your individuality. And express your individuality appropriately within that context.
WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
If you want to impress somebody, if you want to make friends, if you want to date somebody, if you want to get what you want and what you need from people you must know how to sell yourself. You must know how to impress them. You must know how to impress them in a couple of seconds. Why? Because people won’t give you another chance to show them who you really are. I know it is not ok but it’s just a fact. So you can try to motivate them to give you another chance to rectify their first impression about you or you can show them your real personality right away. What will you choose?
Do you remember the blind dates you’ve ever had? Your first impression probably played a large part in how well you and that person got along later and it more than likely was a major factor in the decision whether or not to see the person again. So you must know how to show other people who you really are in a short time…
HOW WE IMPRESS PEOPLE
The key is communicaton. Without communication you can’t impress anybody. No matter if you use letters, if you speak to somebody or if you use another form of communication you must know how to communicate effectively. No matter what form of communication you use you must know how to show other people who you really are and what you really want in a short time. There may not be any doubt about it unless it is your goal… And communication has these forms:
Verbal comunication=using words: it is all about what words you will use and when you use them, what intonation you will use and when you use it. Writing a letter is a verbal communication because you must use words… BTW, do you have a website? What does your website say about you, how do you communitace using the internet do you use ignoring- what does it say about you? Do you really express who you really are? It is not enough to have just a pic of a celebrity…
Nonverbal communication: is communication when you don’t use any words. Your body can communicate with other people. Your body can tell about you if you are nervous now, if you are self-confident or not and much more. Also your things and your cloths can say lots of things about you. They can say if you are rich, if you are always on time etc.
So as you have read: making the right impression is about right communication and communication is about sending information about you and receiving information about other people. And remember:
The key to a good impression is to present yourself appropriately.
KINDS OF IMPRESSION
Basically there are two kinds of impression: first impression and other impressions- I can change my opinions about your after several impressions when you’re finally yourself…
WHAT IS FIRST IMPRESSION?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and so the “picture” you first present says much about you to the person you are meeting. Is your appearance saying the right things to help create the right first impression? But it certainly does not mean you need to look like a model to create a strong and positive first impression. (Unless you are interviewing with your local model agency, of course!)
It takes just a quick glance, maybe three seconds, for someone to evaluate you when you meet for the first time. In this short time, the other person forms an opinion about you based on your appearance, your body language, your demeanor, your mannerisms, and how you are dressed. The question is if your decision made in a short time is true…
You have just a few seconds to make a good first impression and it’s almost impossible ever to change it. So it’s worth giving each new encounter your best shot. Much of what you need to do to make a good impression is common sense. But with a little extra thought and preparation, you can hone your intuitive style and make every first impression not just good but great.
First impression is about your personality and your body and mind skills you could have. So if you don’t know how to make the right first impression, if you don’t know how to show people in a short time who you really are then don’t be suprise when people have incorrect opinions about you. Because lots of people don’t know how find out the truth about you. So it’s up to you. Just show them who you really are…
MAKING A GREAT IMPRESSION
Making a great first impression, make your first impression your best impression, make a great last impression… Now you can read some advices how to make a great impression no matter if your goal is first impression or second, third impression.
1. Self-Image+Self-Knowledge
Everyone has it’s image about itself. How do you see yourself? And especially is your imagination about yourself true? Your imagination about yourself can’t be true if you don’t know yourself well. The way you see yourself can’t be true if you don’t know yourself well. So you must know yourself. What you can do or not. What are your limits and so on. But if you want to get to know yourself well you must be sincere to yourself. Don’t lie to yourself. And of course you must watch yourself no matter what you do. Then you have a chance to get to know yourself. And then you know and not just think you can become a new American Idol or a new Hollywood star…
2. Be Yourself, Be at Ease
If you are feeling uncomfortable and on edge, this can make the other person ill at ease and that’s a sure way to create the wrong impression. If you are calm and confident, so the other person will feel more at ease, and so have a solid foundation for making that first impression a good one. Try to use some relaxation techniques to control your emotions. And remeber this rule:
Present Yourself Appropriately
3. Of course physical appearance matters. The person you are meeting for the first time does not know you and your appearance is usually the first clue he or she has to go on. But it certainly does not mean you need to look like a model to create a strong and positive first impression. (Unless you are interviewing with your local model agency, of course!)
Problems: their minds, their habits to prejudge people. It’s about their experiencies with someone and about their fantasies about you. So you must show people you are not like other people because you are original. There is no one like you. So they can forget about their experiencies with someone or what they think about you. Because it will be probably wrong… It’s up to you to show people the truth about you. In my views, I think we are taking things a bit too lightly. It is true that, with so many people around us, it hardly matters what people think about you but if we take it in a positive manner, people will not remember who you are; they will not remember how you look like, but they will always remember how you made them feel like; how you treated them; how you behaved with them. I think it is very important to have a good impression. That is how people will remember you. Hence, though there is a very little possibility that you get “another chance” to rectify your impression but if you get, make a best use of it.
And don’t forget: First Impression is not the Last Impression.
TRYING CHANGING OPINION ABOUT YOU
A simple skill to practice and remember is “Say Why, Ask Why”
When you interact with another, tell them the motivation for your interaction. When their response is puzzling to you, test your assumptions about why they are responding as they are. Curiosity will open the door to better relationships and more effective interactions”.
QUESTIONS FOR YOU…
We all know that your first impression might not be the impression that you want to create. You met a person and made certain opinion about him or her. Your assumptions about the person might not be correct. So, will you give that person another chance to rectify that “first-impression”? How easy or difficult will it be for you to change your first impression about that person? Why you shoud give a second chance to someone? You know you can’t do it for everyone…
So answer this questions:
Do you never reveal yourself in the first meeting?
Do you think that people should be given more than one chance to be judged?
Would you give more than one chance for a person to change it’s opinions about you?
Do you believe in second chances and that’s why you don’t judge people by first impression?
Do you think you have ever given a wrong impression about yourself to anyone?
Do you give a chance to someone to improve their first impression?
Do you give one more chance to someone to rectify his / her first impression?
If you know that you are not what the other person is thinking or assuming about you- Will you make an attempt to correct that impression or assumption?
Or do you think:
Others’ opinions of me do not matter to me.
Work hard and eventually reality comes in the fore figure.
I see no point in trying to change the first impression or the opinion formed as a result of that impression.
People will believe what they want to believe.
So will you give people a chance to change their opinions about you? And will you give yourself a chance to change your opinions about someone?
And what about me? How am I going to rectify my image…? Well if this person is of so much importance…I might create a situation to interact more with that person and give myself a chance to quickly portray my correct image.
CONCLUSION:
There is no doubt that your first impression is very important and most of the time you get only one chance to make that knocking impact. It is also true that usually you do not get another chance to rectify your first impression. However, if you are lucky enough to get another chance, hold that with both hands and make an everlasting impact. Here, there are two types of people…people at your workplace, people in your family and those with whom you meet occasionally, once in a year or so…one should take care of that.
At the end, I only like to say, that it is very important to know the type of person you are going to meet and what type of future you are looking forward, involving that person in your life; so based on that…one should be prepared. This is life and in life, there is no retakes…only one shot.
WHERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS:
Buy books or find on the Internet something about:
communication skills, verbal and nonverbal communication, NLP
Tags: communication, impression, NLP, nonverbal, psychology
