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5 Tips For Making A Great First Impression In The Business World

First impressions seem to mean a lot, especially in the world of business. If you aren’t able to impress your counterpart right away, they will probably lose interest in what you have to say.

Whether it’s going to networking events, pitching to investors or trying to close deals, I’ve been placed in a ton of situations where a first impression has been crucial. In this post, I’ll share with you 5 tips for making a great first impression in the business world:

1. Seek Connections More Than Impressions 

Too many people are focused on pretending to be someone they aren’t with the hopes of impressing someone. Authentic people can quickly detect someone who isn’t being real with them. You don’t want to be overly fake and pretend to be someone you aren’t regardless of what you’re seeking.

Instead, focus on generating genuine connections. From my time spent meeting people for the first time, I’ve been able to build some amazing friendships, business relationships and connections that I have with me today. If you focus on adding value into the lives of others and seeking the same in return, you’ll meet some awesome people.

2. Listen More Than You Speak 

It’s easy to get caught up with the idea of selling yourself and talking as much as you can to portray that. However, I learned over time that listening is the most important skill of all when meeting someone. You can make someone feel extremely important if you listen and hear whatever they have to say.

When listening, do head nods and throw in comments to show that you’re really paying attention to what they have to say. By doing this, not only will people be impressed by your listening skills but people will ask you questions trying to learn more about you.

3. Find Common Ground 

If you can find a topic that you and someone else really care about, your conversation will organically take off. Often times, it’s hard to force an unnatural conversation with someone. Thus, the best option is to learn about passions, hobbies and interests that someone else shares.
From there, figure out the things you two may share in common and start your conversations from there. By doing this, the person you speak to will remember you because they’ll remember you as the person who shared that similar interest with them.

4. Be Confident In Yourself 

There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. If you’re too arrogant, people will be rubbed off the wrong way and you’ll end up leaving a negative first impression. However, someone who exudes confidence can leave a lasting impression.

Ever since I was 18 years old and going to networking events, I always knew confidence was vital. If I’m nervous, quiet and timid….people can almost smell that and it becomes tougher to leave a lasting impression. Go into the room confident and people will sense that from your behaviors.

5. Be Warm Towards Others 

Sometimes the easiest way to leave an awesome first impression is to create a warm and nurturing setting when conversing with others. Smile, maintain eye contact and have a great handshake. The little things can make a big difference when it comes to making sure people remember you.

Not only that, but dress well, have good breath and spray yourself with cologne/perfume. Do the basic things that you would do to make sure that people aren’t turned off by you for something else. The little things can go a long way.

Conclusion 

In this post, I shared 5 tips for making a great impression in the business world. What are some of the ways that you’ve been able to leave lasting impressions?

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