IT TAKES 7 SECONDS TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION - MAKE YOURS COUNT!

Although we cannot prevent people from making a snap decision on us, we can understand how to influence the decision to work in our favour.

Here are some ‘define tips’ to help you make a lasting first impression when entertaining clients.

Define your...

 1. Attitude

Your attitude is one of the first things that comes across when you speak. Prior to greeting your guests think about the situation, the purpose of the day and make a conscious choice about your attitude and how you wish to come across. Remember, our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us!

 2. Posture

Standing tall, head straight and shoulders back are all signs of confidence and competence. Status and power are non verbally conveyed by height and space. A tip to show that you are engaged and interested through your posture is leaning forward. However remember to be respectful of the other person’s space! That means, in most business situations, staying about two feet away.

3. Smile

As Max Eastman said ‘a smile is the universal welcome’. A smile on entrance helps to set the tone for the day. Think about how it makes you feel when someone genuinely smiles at you. It make me feel important, welcomed and at ease. It is also an open invitation to approach and strike a conversation. A genuine smile is untrainable and it is immediately clear whether it’s genuine or forced.

 4. Eye contact

Eye contact is a form of nonverbal communication and is thought to have a large influence on our behaviour. It is an important sign of confidence, respect, and social communication. A tip to help improve your eye contact with others is to make a conscious effort to notice the eye colour of everyone you meet.

 5. Eyebrows

Widening your eyes by intentionally raising the eyebrows is known as a submissive eye expression and is done in order to be perceived as less aggressive. It is also a universal sign of recognition and acknowledgement. Also a purpose of this signal is to draw the attention of another person to the face, so that other signals can then be exchanged.

 6. Hand shake

The quickest and most effective way to establish rapport. Research shows it takes an average of three hours of continuous interaction to develop the same level of rapport that you can get with a single handshake.

I hope the above is useful and given you some things to think about for future entertaining. I would love to chat to anyone reading this who would like to work at defining their hospitality in 2019 and looking to create a lasting first impression, but for now I will leave you with this… it takes 7 seconds to make a first impression - make yours count.

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