Interpersonal skills: how to make a great first impression

Interpersonal Skills: How to Make a Great First Impression

We all grew up hearing how the first impression is the best. But as time passed, we learned that it was not an ultimatum. Yet, in every business sector, first impressions are given a lot of importance. People make a lot of effort to make themselves presentable, groom themselves, and put a lot of effort into how they look, walk, and speak.

Making the first impression is the result of several aspects, including interpersonal skills. Before understanding how to make a good first impression, it is crucial to know what interpersonal skills are.

What are interpersonal skills?

Interpersonal skills or people skills are a set of abilities a person possesses that help them communicate well in a group or otherwise. Also known as soft skills, it is a crucial need for any kind of business. If the field you work in has interaction with people, people skills are needed by default.

Developing your soft skills can be done through undertaking training from reputed institutions. Join interpersonal skills training for a multi-disciplinary approach to soft skills training. It will help you go a long way in your professional life.

Significance of first impressions

In the business world, people observe every little detail about you. Whether you are new to the field or an experienced person, no one is exempt from first impressions. For various reasons, first impressions need to be given some primacy as they can accelerate your growth positively.

More often than not, the primary impression someone makes of you lasts for a long time. People remember what they noticed first. The chances of them remembering subsequent interactions are less likely, but if you influenced them in a good way, they would remember it.

If you are meeting a potential partner with a proposal, before even considering the deal, the company would be assessing your interpersonal skills. Talent is so common in today’s world. The deal would be good or can be improved. But a person with good soft skills is an asset.

The world is very competitive. The impression you make today might be the chance you get tomorrow. So, if the first impression is subpar, you will face a lot of competition and even miss the opportunity. Since talent is not very hard to find these days with so many smart and technically skilled people, companies are actively looking for unique skills in communication and conflict resolution, among others. Since these skills come under interpersonal skills, it is a great way of making a good first impression.

Here are some tips to make a good first impression on any professional occasion

• Be well-groomed always 

The first thing people notice when you enter a room is how you are dressed, how well your hair is kept, how clean your shoes are, etc. The attention of the observer goes into these details without them knowing. By seeing how a person is dressed, a lot of information about them can be gathered.

Being well-groomed does not mean wearing expensive clothes and shoes. Neat and ironed clothes, tucked-in shirts, and clean shoes are what make you presentable. Taking showers, wearing a perfume that is not too strong- all these points come under grooming.

A person forms their first impression of you based on how good you look. Your physical appearance matters a lot when it comes to giving a pleasant feeling about you. Make it a point to purchase fitting clothes and accessories for your office or interview so that you make a great impression among your co-workers and employers.

• Show confidence 

It is okay to be a little nervous from time to time. Not every human is confident all year long. But the key to making a good impression is to look confident. You do not have to be confident, but try to overcome your worries and have a confident exterior for others to see. With the right interpersonal skills training, you can learn to become more confident.

Confident people are always noticed by others. In a crowd, the attention always goes to the person who stands up and speaks or is willing to come forward to make the first step. It makes a good impression that you are willing to take charge. In the corporate world, such a skill is worth a lot more than one would expect.

• Eye-contact

Only confident people can maintain eye contact for a long. It is a body language everyone should master. People often think it is awkward and hesitate to make eye contact. Sometimes, they are confused about how long to maintain it.

Eye contact is proof that you are listening to the person and are interested in what they have to say. Listening actively is a crucial part of communication in a workplace. It is a form of respect to listen to someone when they speak and then answer after fully understanding them. Wandering eyes signify boredom and distraction. Such an image is hardly desirable. Practice maintaining eye contact to be better at it. Enrolling yourself in a program for interpersonal skills training would be a fine choice for you to better your eye-contact game.

• Listen attentively

Hearing is a passive process. In the workplace, any conversation between your co-workers regarding projects or assignments needs to be registered in your brain. The information needs to be retained to use later on. If you are indulged in the passive hearing routine, you will forget details and end up doing the wrong thing. This affects your productivity as well as wastes your time and efforts, along with that of others.

Practice active listening to retain all the relevant information from a meeting so that you do not make mistakes. A person who does their job well and listens intently to all briefings and sessions would make a good first impression among their colleagues.

• Positive attitude

A person who can stay calm in all kinds of situations is most welcome in the corporate world. The stress and conflicts faced every day would mess your head. But if you do not lose your calmness and deal with every problem with a positive attitude, people will always see you as a positive person. The pleasant aura you give would be the best impression you can form.

Asking questions without being defensive or resolving conflicts respectfully are some of the preferable skills in a person. Such skills would help a person grow professionally and fuel their career a lot more than their technical skills or academic knowledge. Recruiters often find soft skills as superior quality in a candidate and evaluate the candidate based on these skills too.

These are just five of the many ways of making a good impression with effective interpersonal skills. Mastering these skills can be a lot more useful in an interview, in the workplace, during presentations and pitching, or on any other professional occasion.

Orator Academy is a reputed institute that offers interpersonal skills training to all interested candidates to help them make good impressions in their workplace. It is high time we recognize the benefits of first impressions and act accordingly.

Join training classes, book your seats, and learn the tricks and tips to do well in a workplace with good interpersonal skills.