The Art of the First Impression
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by James Gallichio
A wise man – my grade 1 teacher, Mr Stevens – once said, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. A wiser woman – my mother – once said, “People are not books.”
She’s a smart lady.
Humans are judgmental creatures. We love to critique, criticise and categorise the world around us, in an attempt to make sense of the overwhelming amount of information that invades our senses on an everyday basis.
There is nothing inherently wrong with this, of course. Our tendency to judge is an innate part of human nature, evolutionarily developed as a means of simplifying the incredibly complex world around us.
Our social interactions are no different. When we meet someone for the first time, we use each of our senses to create a mental impression of that person, as an easy way of remembering them in our minds. The visual, audible and olfactory cues that our eyes, ears and noses pick up on combine to create a mental picture, which is in turn categorised into mental groups, such as, “People I like”; “People who act nervously”; “People who remind me of my friend Hamish”.
And so, dear reader, we come to the crux of this article: What makes a good first impression? Libraries of books have been written on the subject, and I make no grand illusion to being able to give a comprehensive discussion here. There are infinite ways in which one can improve their first impression: eye contact; body language; a warm, friendly smile.
There is one area, however, that every person – man or woman – must be proficient at: handshaking. If performed incorrectly, the handshake can completely ruin a first impression. There are a few key factors that need to be avoided in order to have a good, firm handshake – which will leave a great impression with everyone you meet.
Read on for Part 2: The Art of a Good Handshake
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