From business to your personal life first impressions are everything. We all know you never get a second chance to make a first impression and to that person you’re meeting, that small snippet of you is 100% of what they know about you. If you make a bad first impression, it’s not that you can’t recover. It’s just an uphill battle. To help avoid this battle we’ve gathered a few tips to help you nail the first impression the first time!

APPEARANCE 

It’s not fair but it’s true. People make judgments about you based on how you look. It’s not about whether you’re wearing expensive clothes, but if you look like you take care of yourself. Do you take pride in your appearance? Is your hair combed? Is our outfit intentional, and does it fit the environment? Make sure that you’re always putting your best foot forward.

BODY LANGUAGE: 

Watch your body language—and this is huge. If you’ve got bad posture, you’re slumped or slouched or you seem closed off, that’s going to come across. Maybe not on a conscious level, but subconsciously people notice it. Whether you know it or not, you’re sending the message that you lack confidence, that you’re uncomfortable in your own skin, or that you’re not happy to be there. Why not take the opposite approach? Make your body language represent the best version of you. Stand up straight, pull back your shoulders, suck in the gut, and walk with purpose.

OVERALL WARMTH:

Next, there’s your overall warmth. Are you smiling? Are you making eye contact? Or do you seem distant and distracted? Do you look a friendly person who’d be open to chatting with someone? Or do you have that cranky look like you got sand in your boxer briefs? Which of those is going to make you seem more welcoming to talk to? In social situations, no matter how confident people are, nobody wants to be judged or rejected. Everybody wants to be accepted and if you can make it clear you are a “welcoming environment” you’ll increase your ability to make a good first impression with strangers.

HANDSHAKE:

The final and really important tip is your handshake and what it says about you. Is it a limp-fish apology-of-a-handshake that says “I have no confidence and I’m not that interested in meeting you”? Or is it the other extreme that says “Because of my various and deeply-rooted insecurities, I feel compelled to demonstrate my strength by trying to crush your knuckles with my grip”? No, you don’t want either of those. You want something in between: firm yet measured. Your handshake should say “I’m confident, and I’m excited to meet you and learn more about you.”

Even if it doesn’t seem fair, the old saying is true: you never get second chance to make a first impression. Once people make an initial assessment of you, they continue to see you through that lens.

So, when making a first impression, you should strive to be the person you want people to remember.

That means taking stock of all the things you say without saying anything…to make sure they work for you, not against you:

• Your appearance
• Your body language
• Your overall warmth
• Your handshake