3 Expert-Backed Strategies for Blowing People Away With Your First Impression Nothing is more important than a good first impression. The first five seconds are everything.
By Aytekin Tank Edited by Jessica Thomas
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
If you've ever watched Shark Tank, you know how important it is to make a good first impression. The idea of the show is that entrepreneurs have the chance to pitch their products to a panel of highly successful, highly choosy possible investors. Off-camera, contestants have around 45 minutes to make their pitches, which are edited down to around 11 minutes for the show itself.
But no matter how impressive the product, how well-researched the business plan or knowledgeable the entrepreneur is about the market, the truth is that nothing matters to the sharks (as the investors are called) more than the first few moments after the contestant appears in front of them.
"Whether or not a person likes you is going to be decided within the first five or six seconds of your meeting them," says Barbara Corcoran, real estate mogul and one of the show's longtime judges. "It's not fair, but assumptions are made within seconds about our intelligence, sophistication and abilities."
Long before she earned her title as a shark, Corcoran recalls the time she hired someone on the spot. Her office was small and lacked a reception area, and when the candidate arrived early, he offered to wait outside to avoid getting in the way — even though it was raining. Corcoran was floored. "All it took was about five or six seconds for me to make my decision," she said.
We all want to blow someone away with our first impressions, right? Here's how to do it.
Meeting in person
As an entrepreneur, it's likely that the first time you meet someone will not be their absolute first impression of you. After all, they've probably already checked out your website and social media presence; possibly you've emailed or talked on the phone. Because you've progressed to meeting in person, you can probably assume you've passed muster so far.
When it comes to meeting someone face-to-face, it's important to be well-groomed and sharply dressed. Whether it's fair or not, people's first impression of you is going to be how you look and the energy you exude. These snap judgments are generally unconscious, but they do tend to last. As Dr. Marcia Sirota puts it, "we make a guess based on our imagination, past experiences or wishful thinking."
Part of your overall appearance is how you carry yourself. Smiling conveys a sense of warmth and affability, which triggers a positive emotional response in those you're talking to. Good posture is also critical, not only to appear confident but also to actually feel confident. A joint study conducted by USC's Marshall School of Business and the University of Toronto's J.L. Rotman School of Management found that people feel more in control just by adopting an open and expansive posture. Smile, straighten your shoulders, and you're well on your way to dazzling the person you're meeting with.
Related: Don't Underestimate the Importance of Making a Good First Impression
Finding the right tone
The first first impression might be over once you've shaken hands and sat down, but what you do from here on out still matters.
It's important to be aware of how people perceive you; of course, it can also be hard to know that. Dorie Clark, author of Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future, suggests consulting a "trusted cabinet" of friends and colleagues to help you understand "how you come across to the world." Ask this cabinet what they consider your best traits, and try to play those up when meeting someone new.
You can also try thinking about compliments you've received from colleagues or clients in the past. "You might dismiss compliments for things that come naturally to you — but in fact, those are the things that you're best at," Clark says.
"Mirroring" is another useful tool for making people feel comfortable. This is when you pay attention to another person's speaking style and body language and subtly reflect it back to them. For instance, if someone is talking calmly and slowly, try to match their energy — don't talk at a breathless clip trying to interject as much information as possible. If they want to engage in small talk, don't cut them off and get straight to business.
Of course, it also helps to be genuinely interested in what is being said. One of the skills I value most in myself — and why I believe I've been successful at growing Jotform over the last 16 years — is my ability to engage with those around me. People love to talk about themselves. Listen attentively and ask questions, and in this way, you can start to build a rapport.
Related: Here's Where First Impressions Can Make or Break Your Brand
How to recover it goes wrong
Everyone blows it sometimes. No matter how well-prepared you are or how confident you feel going into an interaction, sometimes, things just happen. Maybe the train was late or you received bad news moments beforehand. Maybe there was no reason at all.
While recovering from a bad first impression isn't easy, it's also not impossible, professional coach Janet Zaretsky tells Fast Company. If you're late or have otherwise committed some transgression that needs rectifying, apologize. Make it sincere, but don't overdo it — one apology is enough. "Most people are very forgiving and will move on if you do," Zaretsky says.
The next step is to prevent yourself from descending into a spiral of negative self-talk. If you beat yourself up too much, there's a chance you'll harm your future interactions with that person because you'll be trying too hard. This is partly due to our brain chemistry — when we feel we've done something embarrassing, we secrete a "chemical cocktail" that puts us in survival mode, Zaretsky explains. Our full selves are diminished, and other people can sense our discomfort.
The best way to prevent this from happening is to go easy on yourself and let the bad first impression go. This way, you can be your true self — the confident, competent person you know you are — and show the other person that that's really who you are, too.
Experts agree that first impressions are perhaps the most vital part of any new relationship, personal or professional. Coming off as put-together, confident and approachable lays the foundation for everything that happens next. If all goes well, your excellent first impression is only the beginning.
Related: Boost Your Business with These First Impression Hacks
