I think most of us would agree that first impressions are important. After all, people do make up their minds quickly, often on very little evidence, about us. And, due to the Halo Effect, those first impressions linger. The question then becomes, how do we maximize our chances for making a good first impression? I hope to provide a few suggestions in the next several posts to this blog.
If we do a search for advice about making a good first impression, we find the nearly universal admonition: RELAX!
Yeah. Right. These are the same people that remind us, “You only have one chance to make a good first impression!“
In my experience, a little nervousness is a good thing. A little fear helps to keep us on our toes. A friend of mine pointed out that having the right balance of relaxation and fear is also a requirement for a good athlete. The athlete must relax to the point where he or she can focus, but not to the point of carelessness. Focus implies seriousness. Seriousness implies intention and seeking after a goal. “Relax and be afraid,” then, means to strike a balance that allows us to be very serious and intentional about making a good first impression without being overrun by nervousness.
The key is to control the nervousness, not letting it leak out into our behavior, not letting it overwhelm us with fear.
In future posts, we’ll be talking about techniques we can use to help achieve the balance.
Posted by briancastelli 
