They say first impressions are all that matter. Though its really quite an overstatement, yet a confident initial meeting with a new client is really important. And if you’ve ever said something bizarre, or acted differently than expected around someone new, you know that first impressions aren’t that easy to nail. However, there’s a little hack that would help you nail your next first impression.
Related media: Believe In Yourself — Power of Self Confidence
Hey There, Nice To Meet You
First and foremost, let’s be honest, you really don’t have enough time to make your first impressions perfect — people usually decide whether someone’s worth trusting in a matter of seconds upon contact with them. And spoiler, if your first impression was a heck of a mess, well, then that’s going to leave an impression about you on them.
We’ll all agree that you probably went through the oft-repeated advice when meeting someone new: smile, stand upright, eye contact, ask questions about themselves, be a good listener, and what the heck else… duh! You surely know these things, but it seems easy reading them than trying it out in reality, like say, meeting your crush for the first time (actually not the first); these many elements may be difficult to juggle all at once when he or she suddenly pops up in front of you. Yikes!
Redefining Self-Confidence
In a 2009 study according to researchers from the University of Waterloo, there is one thought you need to keep in mind whenever you want to make a great first time impression and get everyone you meet to like you right away. This is the deal: If you ever get into an encounter with anyone new, have the perception that that person will like you, and maybe they probably will. Voila! That’s just the power of self-confidence. Anticipating that someone is going to like you can act as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Or, as the authors explain, “If people expect acceptance, they will behave warmly, which in turn will lead other people to accept them; if they expect rejection, they will behave coldly, which will lead to less acceptance.”
It might seem too optimistic, and certainly, isn’t an easy one to nail, anyway — believing that almost everyone you meet is going to think that you’re super awesome as you think you are. Like the heck we’re talking about, sometimes it can even be worse than you’d imagine it would turn out. One way to surely help you boost your confidence is with a little positive self-thought — think like “They’re going to really like me!”
Yes, Just A Little Bit Of Self-Confidence!
Yet again another 2015 study published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology found that self-affirmations really do have the power to calm your jitters and boost your confidence.
Angie Morgan, co-founder of a leadership consulting firm, and co-author of “SPARK: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success,” told Fast Company:
“Confidence isn’t a skill, it’s an emotion. You can manage it. In fact, unpacking your confidence is a part of self-efficacy. Our words run through our brains reckless and unchecked. Get rid of thoughts like, ‘I’m lucky to be here’ and ‘I hope I do well.’ Instead, say to yourself, ‘[Confidence] is a thing, and I can manage it.’”
So just take it easy, you’ve got it.
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Written by: Nana Kwadwo, Sat, Mar 09, 2019.
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