Have you ever made a split-second decision on whether to engage someone’s services, buy their product or do business with them? Have you found the decision has already been made in your head before they have said more than a few words?
My guess is that you have done this many times. It is human nature to take in information about each person we meet, using all our senses and make a quick judgment almost subconsciously.
Creating a powerful first impression matters, because people want to do business with people they like. People assess ‘who you are’, ‘how you look’, ‘how you communicate’, and ‘how you relate’ at every touchpoint. Their experiences and perceptions of you, whether positive or negative, will determine your business success, results and reputation.
Studies show that it takes just 3 seconds for people to form an impression about who they are. An article in the New Scientist magazine stated that we have only a second before people start making judgments about you - just one second!
This means that before you even get a chance to introduce yourself, the other person has formed an idea of you in her or his mind because of how you look.
This might sound harsh, but it is the truth. Either we like what we see or we don’t; we are very quick to make judgments about people and places based on the way we see them.
Imagine you are walking down a beautiful street in a new city and you are about to choose where to have dinner. You want to have a nice dinner and you are looking for a restaurant that ‘looks’ good. In your mind, you are judging the quality of the food based on how the restaurant looks. At this point in time you don’t have any other information. If the restaurant doesn’t look ‘good’ you instantly assume the quality of the food isn’t good either. The exact same phenomenon happens when we meet people. We will make assumptions about their capability and professionalism based on how we perceive them.
Studies also suggest that 55% of that first impression is created based on what we see (your image and body language), 38% based on how you sound, and our words take just 7%. This means that if your presence and body language are not congruent and sending the right message, your words might be lost. People might get distracted by the way you look and the messages your body language is sending, and will miss what you have to say.
Of course, your words count, but only after you have managed to get the listener to like you enough to be open to those words and ideas! Your body language and the way you look either work with the tone and words coming out of your mouth or against them, to either support your message - or send a mixed or negative one.
Think of it as a piece of cake. You are at a coffee shop and order a coffee and a piece of cake. You take a bite of that cake and if you like the taste of it, you will assume the rest of your piece is as good as that first taste. The same happens to you. People get a little taste of who you are in those first seconds and if they like it they will be open to talking to you, listening to what you have to say, and doing business with you.
How powerful are your first impressions at the moment?
Lots of love,
Alba Gomez is a presence and personal brand coach, keynote speaker, first impressions specialist and professional image consultant. Born in Colombia and based in Australia, she travels nationally and internationally for speaking, executive coaching, consulting and training.
Alba works with individuals and small groups right through to large corporations. She brings her client’s brand into line with their personal and professional roles, giving them the clarity and confidence to communicate and be their best. Alba uses a unique, results-orientated approach, drawing on her 14 years of experience with systems and processes as an engineer.
