5 Subtle Ways To Make An Outstanding Impression
There's a statistic buzzing around out there that states employers have made their decision on whether or not to hire you within the first 120 seconds of the interview. Now, I'm not one to call bullshit too quickly but I'll go ahead and say it, as someone who's been on the interviewing side of the equation: you probably have a 180 - 360 second time frame to get a solid impression in before your interviewer's decided to offer you that lucrative position or not. Those had better be some golden seconds.
The initial and consistent impressions you make upon people are the first bricks of the foundation to a potentially beautiful or disastrous relationship. In business and sales, the end game is the same: to always be building solid relationships that will benefit both parties involved. No one walks away richer when you fail to establish a good relationship with a given prospect - they just run to the next (inferior) business or applicant, missing out entirely on what you truly had to offer. It's crucial that you take every detail of your social encounters ridiculously serious, in the same fashion professional golf players give insane focus and criticism to the minutiae of their stroke, stance and follow-through. With that in mind...
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| If you watch a game, it's fun. If you play it, it's recreation. If you work at it, it's golf. - Bob Hope |
Here are five subtle ways to make a killer first impression.
5. Make 'Em Smile, Keep 'Em Laughing
The sooner you get them laughing during the initial stages of introduction the better. Laughter releases endorphins which people are accustomed to experiencing with friends, so it's the best step towards getting your foot in their subconscious door. On the premise that no matter what type of prospect it is, be it a prospective employer or client, you want them to like you in great capacity due to the age-old philosophy that people ultimately buy from and hire who they like, it's vital that you get them to vibe with you in this way.
It's also an easy way to break the ice, get people to relax and open up so you can begin building investigating buying needs and motivations. The best part is you don't have to be a comedian to make this work; simply utilizing your own personality and making observations about people and circumstances is a good way to open up a conversation. People want to laugh, so be the man or woman to efficiently put them in a situation that enables them to do so.
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| This man is clearly buying a Kia. |
4. Stand/Sit Up Straight & Say No to Hunching
Body language experts theorize that the physical act of hunching over sends a signal to the brains of observers that triggers an impression of someone either in a defensive state or a state preparing to attack. Essentially, signals you don't want your prospects getting. We've been told for years to sit up straight in class, that a confident man stands up straight and tall and that a sloucher is a drained loser, however, it may be easier than you think to slip into a slouch. When you're hunched over at your desk all day and have a surprise visit from an important client it can be tough to snap out of your current body language patterns and enable go-getter mode. The solution? Stay in the zone all day, baby.
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| Inspiring confidence in the hearts and minds of millions, eh, George? |
3. Keep Your Paws Outta Your Face
Ever notice someone talking to you with a hand covering their nose and mouth, or just generally obscuring their face? They're making visual facial and verbal cues harder to pick up on and it pisses people off. The subconscious mind picks up on all these little details, and it won't hesitate to make certain decisions that someone trying to cover their mouth is also trying to cover up the filthy stream of lies coming out of it. No unnecessary eye-rubbing either, it will subtly distract your listener and when you're communicating a multi-million dollar deal with the president of Taco-Hut the last thing you want is to confuse the man or have your message misunderstood.
On a completely different note, this study says keeping your hands away from your face will reduce the spread of germs. It's just an all-around self-destructive habit apparently.
2. Utilize Gestures Appropriately
Now, I'm not saying to flail your arms about like a coked-out Robin Williams imitating an overly expressive used car salesman, but gesturing in the right manner can be the difference between winning body language and drab body language.
In general, keep your hands above your groin region. Gesticulate around your waist and stomach area, calmly and confidently drawing attention to your stomach region. Think about news reporters:
The stomach region is always visible and their hands rest levelly on the desk. Automatic gesticulation creating a sense of trust within observing minds that perceive the person to be having nothing to hide, since it highlights the weakest region on the body thereby drawing attention to the most vulnerable organs. Prehistorically speaking this wouldn't be something you did if you were an aggressor or someone to not be trusted, and to this day the message conveyed is the same: trust.
On a similar note, if you want to influence the minds of your listeners to feel passion or excitement...
Presenting using gestures in the chest/heart region is the route to go. Lots of theoretical and biological science behind this but try it in the mirror and feel the effects yourself. Give yourself a lecture, a speech on whatever your heart desires, and gesture in the heart region. I dare you to not feel just a little excited about whatever the hell you're talking about. Inspired, even.
Use these gestures with moderation of course, as anything done in extreme fashion will lose effect. Weave them into your sales pitch, your interview, your first date, etc.
1. The Two Secret Handshakes
It's no secret: the handshake is tremendously powerful in social interactions. We all know how influential oxytocin is in unconsciously assessing whether or not a person is trustworthy, and that's the exact chemical released during a handshake lasting 4-7 seconds or more.
This is Daily Closer though, so we look deep into these matters. Years ago I wanted to discover just what constituted a great handshake, why poor ones were so bad, and how information was transported through such a simple act. Surely there was more to it than just ensuring your grip was firm and giving the good ol' 1, 2, 3 solid pumps. Turns out I was right.
The first handshake is what I call the "DominateShake". This is a maneuver you've probably had performed on you countless times and were left with an impression of a domineering presence. It's when you go to firmly and completely (thumb-to-forefinger webs meeting fully) shake someone's hand, immediately turn your wrist over to where your palm is down and theirs is up, shake and even push towards them a little. Try it out with someone and you'll immediately feel the effects. Have someone usually more submissive than you use it on you and you'll be put off. It's rarely the best handshake of choice to use in a business setting, but it can be used properly with certain men or women who need to be "put in their place" so to speak. Also, gently pushing towards them and their vital organs in their abdominal region shows power over them. Use it accordingly.
Otherwise, the best option that I consciously use the majority of the time is the "LikeShake". You want to instantaneously cause a spark of genuine attraction within someone? Shake their hand, reverse their hand to put your palm slightly more face up with their palm facing down on yours instead. Go all the way and subtly pull the handshake closer to you and your abdomen for the trust trigger.
Use these handshakes effectively and you'll begin to see why shaking someone's hand when being introduced to them, in and outside the world of business, can have a huge impact on the impressions you make. It may just be a small change made in your approach but in the spirit of what Bob Hope would say about golf, I'll say:
If you show up, it's work. If you do your job, it's business. If you work at your job, it's your business.
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