
You don’t have to force a smile if you’re not feeling it, of course - a fake smile might have the opposite effect. In short, don’t hesitate to laugh, smile, and show excitement. Study participants not only rated people with happier expressions as more trustworthy, but they also said they’d be more likely to loan them money or vote for them. They might even find you more attractive.Ī subtly happy facial expression could also help you seem more trustworthy than a neutral or subtly angry facial expression, according to a 2021 study. When you display emotions like joy and happiness in your facial expressions, others tend to assume you have positive personality traits, 2011 research says. If you know you’ll likely end up tapping your foot, focus on nodding or making eye contact. If eye contact feels uncomfortable, try just focusing on your posture. Keep in mind: You don’t need to do all of the above every time you’re interacting with someone. Show interest and engagement by facing the speaker and turning toward their face, even if you don’t make direct eye contact, and nodding occasionally in response to their words. If you fidget to soothe yourself or improve your focus, try keeping a small object in your pocket or slowly wiggling your foot instead of audibly tapping it. People often assume fidgeting equals boredom, though that’s certainly not always the case. If possible, start by making eye contact when introducing yourself, then briefly return your gaze to theirs, or to another part of their face, as you talk. Eye contact may not always feel easy or natural, but you don’t have to stare into someone’s eyes to make a good impression. Crossing your arms can suggest a closed-off attitude, so aim to keep them at your sides instead. Turning toward the other person, instead of angling your body away, can show interest. Other people use this information, consciously or unconsciously, to form an impression of you. You use more than spoken words to communicate with others.īody language - including your stance, gestures, tendency to fidget, or fleeting changes in expressions - can convey quite a bit about how you feel in a given situation.

In search of ways to leave the most favorable first impression possible? These tips can help. You want people to remember you, of course, but you want to feature positively in their memories. With all that in mind, you might start to wonder about the first impression you leave behind. The “ halo” of this first impression can linger for a month, if not longer, and it can absolutely affect your interactions in the meantime. When you first meet someone, your brain tends to zero in on a few specific traits, like their clothing and overall appearance, and quickly patchwork together a general idea of who they are as a person.

In other words, physical appearance really shouldn’t matter, but it often does - even when you don’t realize it. It takes time to get to know personality traits that really convey someone’s nature - compassion, patience, sincerity, humility, or good humor, just to name a few. And certainly, you may not have much else to go on when meeting people for the first time. Perhaps you’ve noticed all of these factors are observable traits. surrounding environment, like their office or home.nonverbal communication, or body language.Several factors can influence your first impression of someone, including their: Or, you might have picked up on some things you didn’t entirely appreciate - they stood a bit closer than you liked or seemed to favor an outside voice, even in a very small office. You might have noticed something you admired, like their perfectly matched outfit or adorable dog.
