Unlike the most of you, I am not that great at first impressions. More so, if it's someone I am meeting for the first time. Doubly so, if I want to be nice around him/her. Triply so, if I like him/her. Quadruple it, if I want him/her to like me. As much as I hate it, I cant avoid it. From acting weird to being nervous, from being all sweaty to constantly looking around, from laughing to making funny faces, it jus' seems to worsen.
I am sure most of you like me love making first impressions, good ones at that. But in some situations where you really have no control over your actions and expressions, do we write off people based on a nervous first impression? Do they matter so much that we completely change our outlook towards the person? Do we ourselves always end up making the best possible first impressions? Can't we be too quick to judge? Did we even make an attempt to make the other person feel comfortable? Lastly and the most important, do first impressions change? Is it possible that you can go back and make a first impression again?
There are numerous articles on the web stating the importance of first impressions. From being confident to being polite, from being respectful to being nice (I still haven't been able to define nice), from dressing appropriately to making a checklist of things to talk about (where were all of these articles when my first impression went wrong), from talking about your likes and dislikes to maintaining calmness in what you do and how you act. From controlling your body language to maintaining eye contact, from being courteous to smelling good. Pheewwww !!!
Reading all is good. Sticking to the basics of making lasting first impressions better. Being yourself, even if that means being a lil' nervous, anxious, apprehensive, shaky and twitchy isn't all that bad either. Because then you are being you. And if that's the worst side of you, the better side can sweep someone off their feet (too filmy again, its the effect of watching too many movies these days).
On a more serious note, we all love to make ever lasting, wonderful first impressions. Showcasing our best side, our top notch vocabulary, our common interests and likes, dressing to impress and making conversation that would make the other person completely fall for you. But I remember learning all of this during my soft skills classes during my MBA. What we were not taught was that we could go wrong and falter. What we were also not taught was ways to correct them. What we were forgotten to be told was that in an attempt to create a better impression, you might create a bad second impression.
Just as looks are deceptive and we all want people to like us, do not worry about making bizarre first impressions because impressive first impressions can be practiced and rehearsed. Jus' go out and be yourself. If being nervous is the worst side of you, you sure as hell would be great at your best side. And as I always say, we all are weird, some all the times, some a lot of times and some never. But when you find that weird person who's compatible with your weirdness, that's when you know that first impressions are really just a result of you being vulnerable.
I guess my parents too said it around 27 years ago that our girl is weird, but look we've stuck around forever now. Sometimes you might discover it was "The One" who almost got away because you were too quick to judge. And we do tend to believe our worst reviews when it comes to love and life !!
(P.S: I will never be the woman with the perfect hair, who can wear white and not spill on it !!)
I am sure most of you like me love making first impressions, good ones at that. But in some situations where you really have no control over your actions and expressions, do we write off people based on a nervous first impression? Do they matter so much that we completely change our outlook towards the person? Do we ourselves always end up making the best possible first impressions? Can't we be too quick to judge? Did we even make an attempt to make the other person feel comfortable? Lastly and the most important, do first impressions change? Is it possible that you can go back and make a first impression again?
There are numerous articles on the web stating the importance of first impressions. From being confident to being polite, from being respectful to being nice (I still haven't been able to define nice), from dressing appropriately to making a checklist of things to talk about (where were all of these articles when my first impression went wrong), from talking about your likes and dislikes to maintaining calmness in what you do and how you act. From controlling your body language to maintaining eye contact, from being courteous to smelling good. Pheewwww !!!
Reading all is good. Sticking to the basics of making lasting first impressions better. Being yourself, even if that means being a lil' nervous, anxious, apprehensive, shaky and twitchy isn't all that bad either. Because then you are being you. And if that's the worst side of you, the better side can sweep someone off their feet (too filmy again, its the effect of watching too many movies these days).
On a more serious note, we all love to make ever lasting, wonderful first impressions. Showcasing our best side, our top notch vocabulary, our common interests and likes, dressing to impress and making conversation that would make the other person completely fall for you. But I remember learning all of this during my soft skills classes during my MBA. What we were not taught was that we could go wrong and falter. What we were also not taught was ways to correct them. What we were forgotten to be told was that in an attempt to create a better impression, you might create a bad second impression.
Just as looks are deceptive and we all want people to like us, do not worry about making bizarre first impressions because impressive first impressions can be practiced and rehearsed. Jus' go out and be yourself. If being nervous is the worst side of you, you sure as hell would be great at your best side. And as I always say, we all are weird, some all the times, some a lot of times and some never. But when you find that weird person who's compatible with your weirdness, that's when you know that first impressions are really just a result of you being vulnerable.
I guess my parents too said it around 27 years ago that our girl is weird, but look we've stuck around forever now. Sometimes you might discover it was "The One" who almost got away because you were too quick to judge. And we do tend to believe our worst reviews when it comes to love and life !!
(P.S: I will never be the woman with the perfect hair, who can wear white and not spill on it !!)
Impressive
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