First Impressions Are Often Cured By A Second Look Syndrome

whygoodfirstimpressionscountWe know that body language is the first indicator on making a good first impression, so those who are aware of this will use impression management techniques appropriately. What they know are the cues, the signals to give off during that first initial meet.

So whether it’s a business meeting, social gathering, a blind date, or a family function, by how you enter the room and navigate the setting, you’re able to control whether the rest of the encounter, the engagement goes well for you or not.

Those in the entertainment profession are the consummate experts when it comes to making a good first impression, a grand entrance. The directors of film and stage will make sure that the characters body language conveys confidence, a reflection of their personality, an aura of confidence, creating immediate relationships with the others.

First Perceptions Count
We can conclude that making a confident entrance influences how you’re perceived, the first moments entering the stage or room. It’s known that the audiences initial reaction will usually carry over the entire performance.

If they’ve happened to be favorably impressed, they will want the performance to go longer. If you yourself ever sat through a bad movie, a boring party, or a poor concert performance, you know the feeling.

It’s possible that your discomfort and the uneasiness was because of the performers inability to fully capture your attention, this immediately before, or soon after they began their performance.

With this first impression mentality in mind, there are steps on how you can turn your own entrances into better ones, this by using better impression management techniques.

Know What The Situation Is
This before making your entrance. Be as appropriate as possible to gain maximum audience impression. Know how “grand” your entrance needs to be. If it’s informal, don’t bother making a big splash.

If you know who everyone in the room is already, then your impression was most likely made prior to this. So if you draw too much attention, then you’ll be perceived as being narcissistic.

Always Be On Time
No such thing as being fashionably late, not perceived as that cool. Some think it’s trendy to be the last person to enter the room or setting, but in fact, if you’re always constantly late, you’ll get the reputation as being unreliable.

Even if you’re not the last person there, you can still make a great impression, this by welcoming those after you with a nod, smile, or a handshake.

Show Appropriate Emotion
Display the appropriate emotions for the situation, gauge it and don’t always be a clown, or talk too much. Realize how formal and subjective the gathering is. There are enormous emotionally tinged contexts which require differing displays of affect.

Business meetings or parent/teacher gatherings, for instance, which are serious in nature, requires for you to display a certain level of gravitas, not everything’s a joke or about you. Holiday gatherings or parties are more pleasant and relaxed.

So take the emotional temperature of the situation and then conduct how you act accordingly.

Gathering Your Thoughts
Take a brief pause and gather your thoughts. Take a second or two to collect yourself completely. If you do happen to be late, then show your full regret by seeming a bit stressed, begging for their forgiveness.

You’re best to just apologize, and then blend into the room without drawing any more attention. Even if you’ve timed things correctly and you made a grand entrance, still always step back and assess the situation.

Acknowledging Those In The Room
Musicians and comedians have a knack for this, they’ll look at their audience, make eye contact or will personally nod to them. So if you enter a crowded room, and there are people that look your way, you’ll appear haughty if you don’t acknowledge them.

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There’s no need to be a complete egotistical moron or a diva, just politely acknowledge their presence, and appear that you’re happy to be there with them.

Know That You’re Not The Center Of Attention
In most situations, you’re just another face in a crowd of many. Accept the fact that you’re not the star attraction, so just make your entrance in a dignified way and not be grandiose.

Whenever the actual “star” attention enters, remember that everyone else wants to meet and greet that person as well, so never rush or push in line to be the first.

Just Be Happy You’re There
Appear like you’re glad to be there and having a good time, even if you aren’t. Use your body language appropriately to communicate to everyone that you’re pleased to be in the company of them, in that situation.

This could be a meeting which you’ve dreaded for weeks, so if you somehow display your disdain or anxiety, even subconsciously, it will most likely turn out badly.

Remain Cool If You Make A Mistake
You enter the room and then trip over the leg of a chair or spill a drink on someone. Mishaps happen and shouldn’t be insurmountable. Although you wished that the flub didn’t occur, but you can’t ignore it and need to acknowledge that it happened.

Just don’t go overboard. Don’t go blaming someone else for placing that chair in your way, or blame yourself for being such as klutz, or continue to make reference to it the entire meeting or occasion.

Just smile, maybe laugh about it a bit, then pick yourself up and then brush yourself off, reminding everyone that “stuff” happens, and then forget about it, move on. Then focus on the meeting or occasion.

First Impressions Are
Great entrances can be grand, but they’re the most successful when they’re completely appropriate for the situation at hand.

Once you’ve assessed the situation and mastered your ability to completely control it, you’ll then be more than likely to enjoy it. You will create an excellent first impression regardless of whatever happens next.

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