Perfecting your People Skills

First Impressions last longest

If one wants to achieve real success in life I believe each one of us has to understand this rule “We are all put here on this earth to serve one another”. Now I am not saying that you can’t charge for this service. Those of you who really understand this rule and those who apply it in a field or discipline that they enjoy and have expertise in will make a lot of money. This is especially true if the service pays well.  If it doesn’t pay, well at least they will be recorded in history as great humanitarians. If you are going to attempt networking, you need to like people or at least be good at pretending you do.

First impressions are impressions that last the longest. You only have a couple of seconds to make an impression and it is that impression that your contact will use to create a perception of who or what they believe you to be. So you can imagine just how important it is that your contact believes that you have integrity, that you are honest and if you are in business that you are professional. You certainly would not want to be seen in a poor light as financial rewards tend not to flow in this direction. It is equally important to understand that people’s perceptions are considered to be wrong 80% of the time; principally because people tend to believe their own hastily created impression which they make about you in the first couple of seconds and they battle to change this impression.

Be careful of being critical when you meet and deal with people. Criticism is destructive, praise builds people up. You can accomplish much more if you try and find a reason to give praise and recognition. Look for something to compliment them on, they have chosen great shoes, their shirt colour complements their eyes, the product doesn’t work but you have really handled my complaint well. Praise works in business, where management need to praise their subordinates and one another. Praise works in the social environment especially where parents need to praise and not always castigate their children. People may not always remember what you’ve said to them but they will remember how you made them feel. Do you want to make them feel motivated, comfortable, uncomfortable or dejected?

So how do you create a great impression of yourself in the mind of your target contact?

Cindy Norcott suggests that you wear a “WOTZAT”, a badge or something unusual that makes people ask “What is that?” She finds that it is a really great way to make sure that people will remember you.