Ideal Firsts

There is almost no way to make a good first impression if you are having a bad day. If you have to go to an event, find a way to snap yourself out of your bad mood. 

Working out, calling a friend or watching funny or inspiring YouTube videos before events often gets you in a more social, feel-good mood.

• Your toes – which should always be pointed toward the person you are speaking with.
• Your hands – should always be visible and ideally expressive as you speak.
• Your arms – should always be loose so there is space between your torso and arms so you can gesture and easily reach out to shake hands.
• Your shoulders – which should be down and back so they look nice and relaxed. They also should be angled towards the person you are interacting with.
• Your chin – which should be neutral so you are not looking up at someone or sneering down at someone.

People can judge our personality from handshakes alone. What does yours say?

Your goal is that your nonverbal shows whomever you’re interacting with that you’re calm, confident and powerful. You can do this with a launch stance.

Get some of your favorite outfits or ornaments together and ask friends you trust what they think of when they see them. 

Thin-slicing is when we take a mental snapshot of someone and guess their competence, confidence and likability in less than a second. 

Choose ONE word from this list of adjectives or pick your own to fill in the blank. When people first meet me, they think I am_____

• Charismatic or boring
• Outgoing or shy
• Kind or judgmental
• Intelligent or weird
• Open or closed
• Powerful or weak
• Engaging or odd
• Professional or casual

Did you pick a positive word? Or a negative word? You have to know where you stand now to move to where you want to be.