Critical First Impressions WeCo Chat March 2016

True or False? You have never had a second chance to make a first impression. First impressions are LASTING impressions. It only takes a few seconds to make judgements about the people we meet. It takes twice as much effort and as many as seven encounters with someone to change a bad first impression!

True or False? You cannot control the kind of impression you make. This takes planning and effort As you prepare for each day, think about where you are going, who you are going to meet and kind of impression you want to make.

You only have 10 seconds! Have you ever met someone you immediately disliked? How long did it take to form that opinion? How did you know you didn’t like the person? What did you base your opinion on?

Initial impressions are instinctive It is that “gut feeling” What we see, hear and what we smell. When we first meet someone we don’t have time to process all these things separately, so we rely on our feelings instead of logic

Ingredients of Impressions Verbal Nonverbal Tone of voice Choice of words Attitude Rate of speech Enunciation Overall appearance Posture Facial expressions Gestures Clothing Hair

Senses What we SEE What we HEAR What we SMELL Clothing Shoes Hair Face Posture Gestures Expressions Pitch Tone Volume Accent Words Dialect Body scent/odor Breath Perfume Cigarette smoke Food odors

A person’s physical appearance is the strongest factor in a first impression Our sight is the strongest of the senses when first meeting someone . Clothing Positive: wear age and industry appropriate style, clean and pressed clothes that fit well. Negative: wear anything too flashy, dirty, messy or outdated. Leave your big wild fashion choices at home. Hair Positive: keep your hair clean and updated. Negative: wear your hair covering your eyes, faded or untouched hair color, or come with hair messy or dirty Face Positive: smile, keep eye contact, positive expression, blended makeup for women and a well kept beard for men. Negative: frown, dart your eyes, look away, squint, expressionless, food in teeth, gaudy makeup or unkempt beard.

Sound Positive: Fluent, medium low pitch, medium deep tone, medium volume, smooth speech pattern, command of language, articulate. Negative: Speech fillers, poor grammar, too loud or soft, mumbling, whining or negative tone, high or squeaky pitch, elevated inflection at the end of every sentence, very fast or very slow speaking rate.

Smell Positive: No smell Negative: Body odor, cigarette smoke, alcohol, coffee breath, food odors, strong breath mint, overpowering perfume.

Notice what YOU notice when you are meeting people for the first time.

The Process Who do I expect to see and meet today? What do I want to accomplish – what are my objectives? What kind of impression do I need to make to accomplish my objectives? How will I convey that impression?

Points to Remember First impressions are lasting impressions. Get it right the first time. Implement a process. Notice what you notice. Follow the recipe for making a good impression. Pay attention to all the senses.

First Impression Resources from WeCo WeCo Training CTC Orientation & PD Training Staff Orientation and Monthly Staff Meeting segments Free Wardrobe Assistance Career Path Apparel Program Staff Team Apparel Program Ready for Success Other services in your area Leads & Directors Not certain? Ask them!

Questions? Concerns? Ideas?