Groove Magazine International Issue 3 Issue 3 | Page 22

BUSINESS

Making the Right Impression

7 Ways to make a good first impression in business
First impressions last and the fortunate, or unfortue thing is that they last. So how do you make a great one when
meeting a new business contact? Thankfully there are plenty of tips and advice for those looking to improve theirs.
Here are a few of these insights:

1. Attend to the basics

Appearance matters, whether we like it or not. Looking polished, professional, and not overdone in your appearance is the founda
tion for any good first impression.

2. Set an intention

Goals matter when meeting new people as much as they matter in other areas of life. Take a moment before you attend an event
to ponder exactly what image you hope to project, and whom you'd like to meet.

3. Let them talk first

One of the best ways to win people's confidence is simply to let them talk first. If you want to establish trust, “let the other
person speak first or have the floor first,” social psychologist Ann Cuddy recommends in a Wired interview.

4. Don't skimp on the eye contact

You've probably been told somewhere along the line that making eye contact is a signal of sincerity, but according to the latest
research it also makes you seem smarter. “People who make more eye contact are perceived as more intelligent,” reports the
British
Psychological Society (BPS) Research Digest blog, but the post also warns against overdoing it on the basis of yet more research.
“Don't go too far with the eye contact though – if you lock on and don't let go, people will likely assume you're psychopathic.”

5. Pay attention to how fast you're speaking (and watch your 'ums' and 'ahs')

What else do recent studies have to teach us about making a killer first impression? The BPS post offers one more useful set
of findings. “Back in the '70s, researchers created over 50 synthetic voices and played them to participants at various speeds.
Increasing speech rate led participants to assume the owner of the voice was more competent,” it reports. “The participants
who were played the slowed-down tapes rated the interviewees as less truthful, less fluent, and less persuasive. Other research
has shown that people who 'um' and 'ah' a lot are assumed to not know what they're talking about.”

6. Reveal your flaws.
You'd think that with first impressions it pays to be as polished and perfect as possible, but experts actually insist that showing
your vulnerabilities and weaknesses can actually be both endearing and empowering.

7. Do it in person.
When meeting an important new contact for the first time, if at all possible try to do it face to face rather than over the phone or
via a video chat, science suggests.