Make Good Impression | Few Alterations to a Powerful Presence

You dress well, you keep in shape, and you don’t suffer from bad breath – all significant to making a good impression. And while you may not exactly have to fight them off with a stick, both prospective employers and the opposite sex seem open to your occasional inquiries.

Buy every once in a while you look in the mirror and think, ” What would life be like if I were more than just good, old lovable me? What would it be like if I were one of those people who walk into a room and commands it?” You know the type. People respect them, listen to their opinions, are impressed by them. House plants bend their leaves in their direction.

Anyone can make an impact – good impression – if he has enough money or political clout, but there are way we regulars, too can, project a persona that commands attention. And we are not talking about visiting Michael Jackson’s plastic surgeon. These alterations are simple, reasonable, and are the most part inexpensive.

Good Impression – Get a Grip

What’s the first thing that happens when you meet someone? Generally, unless he is wielding a knife, you shake hands. That’s often the moment when first good impression goes awry. You don’t want to hand someone a slab of dough, nor do you want to crush his paw into powder. Your handshake should be naturally firm and steady, the kind of grip that says you are in control but not brute.

Being able to form first impression is very crucial to pass the first 2 minutes test during a job interview. If there’s a trick to perfect handshake, it’s to try to get the webbing between your thumb and forefinger to connect with the other person’s. Don’t force it in there, but try to give as much hand as possible. Eye contact and a smile are recommended.

A firm handshake won’t take you too far if your fingers feel like soggy French fries. To dry up sweaty palms, try washing them with soap and water, drying them thoroughly, then coating them with talcum powder, or better yet an anti perspirant. Wipe off excess.

Project Your Voice for Good Impression

For many people, there is nothing more embarrassing than hearing their own voices on audiotape. They feel the same while seeing their faces in passport photograph. Even a person who thinks his voice projects confidence can be shocked by the sound of his squeaky syllables. That’s because when you speak, you hear yourself through the bones in your head, which makes your voice sound deeper than it actually is.

Our adult voice develops around age of 12 or 13, but most of us never learn to use it.

We still use versions of our childhood voices: nasal, thin and high pitched. Many people, especially men, try to overcome their squeaky voices by talking from the lower throat, in deep, guttural sounds. They are trying to make a good impression, but mostly they make you think as if you are loosing your hearing.

So what exactly is your natural adult voice? Say the word “no,” forcefully, as if your dog were about to steal a steak off the kitchen table. That’s your natural voice – it’s strong and assertive, and more important, it will let you speak for long periods of time without going hoarse. With practice, you can learn to use that commanding voice al the time.

Here are some recommended voice exercises.

For starters, make an audio-tape of one of your conversations to hear just how you sound to other people. You are likely to be self-conscious if you speak into a tape recorder. So, for more natural results, turn on the recorder the next time you phone a friend. When you hear yourself played back, all the “well’s and the “ah”s will drive you crazy. Learning about the right telephone etiquette helps with making the right impressions too.
When you hum, you automatically use your natural voice. Hum a few bars of ‘Happy Birthday,’ then begin speaking with the same tone you used in humming. Your voice will be more resonant than usual. Since humming at the office is generally not the mark of a man – or a woman – in the fast lane you can find your best voice using “um-hum.” try inserting it into your speech in place of “ah,” “uh,” “like,” “well,” and “you know.” Not only will it bring your best voice to the fore, but “um-hum” is also usually received more positively than other little conversational inserts while intending to make good impression.
Breathe more freely. Sit on a chair with one hand on your chest and the other on your mid-section. Breathe easily through your nostrils. You should feel your abdomen expand every time you inhale; if instead your chest is moving up and down, you are breathing wrong for speech. Most people breathe with there upper chest because they are tense or because they have been taught to hold there stomachs in. The problem with that is it makes you sound nervous and hurried. Breathing with your abdomen allows you to take in more air, which gives your voice a richer, more forceful tone that won’t peter out, and will help make good impression.
Find your mantra. Here is an exercise to do when you are certain no one is home. Remember how forceful the word “no” was when you said it as a command. Use the same tone to say “right,” “ready,” “go,” “do,” “he,” and “push.” Repeat them aloud a number of times. The strength you put into them will stay with you in your daily conversation.

Finally, don’t be afraid to change your speaking voice. It wont make you sound phony or intimidating or too much like a bad DJ. That new voice is not your put-on voice, its your natural voice. Learn the basic professional communication etiquette.

Good Impression – Stand up for Yourself

You can walk into a meeting with every piece of information you need drilled into your head. But if you slouch, the others will see someone who lacks confidence. Then again, if you concentrate too much on walking erect, not only, will you be distracted from the task at hand, you will score zero on spontaneity. Instead, you need a carriage that is linear, yet natural for making a good impression.

Look at yourself, from the side, into a full length mirror. Your hip and shoulder should be in a vertical alignment with your ear. If your natural stance looks all out of kilter, take some steps to improve your standing posture. One of the main reasons why people develop slouch is they have too much weight around their mid-section. That forces the back into an arch, which doesn’t do the posture any good – its also very bad for the lower back.

The obvious solution is to trim down. You also need to strengthen the abdominal muscles, which will keep the pressure off your back even if you have some extra fat tissue there. Experts recommend crunches, because they put less stress on the lower back than regular sit-ups do.

Exercise for a good Impression

Lie on your back, knees bent and feet flat against the floor. With your fingertips lightly touching your ears, lift your head and shoulders off the floor. At the same time, press your lower back into the floor so that you are reversing the normal curve of the spine. Work up to three sets of 10 crunches per day.

The second thing you can do to improve posture, as well as to prevent back pain is to strengthen your lower back muscles. Practicing yoga techniques for lower back pain can help you for achieving the same. If you belong to a gym, use the lower back exercisers on commercial machines such as Nautilus.

If you don’t belong to a health club, try this exercise: Lie face down on the floor, fold your hands under your chin and using your lower back muscles, gently lift your head and chest off the floor. keep your legs pressed into the floor, or ask someone to hold them down. Work up to three sets of 10 repetitions.

Redo your Wardrobe – Good Impression

When shopping for clothes, keep in mind these two key rules: 1 – Buy for style, not fashion. In other words, if mini skirts are big one year but they don’t look great on you, don’t by one just to be hip. You won’t be. 2 – Shop for fewer cloths, but buy better cloths. A classic suit will not go out of style, and if it’s well made, it will last you many years.

Worry about the details. Like well pressed, lint free cloths, well-shined shoes, trimmed (or neatly shaped) nails. Socks should always reach to at least mid-calf – no showing patches of hairy leg every time you sit down. Toss the plain blacks and blues and opt for subtle stripes, checks and other patterns.

A good watch can also make a strong statement about you. Don’t go for anything chunky or flashy. Buy the best understated gold watch you can afford, and if it has a leather band, replace it as soon as it starts to show signs of wear.

Good Impression with Redone Hair

One of the quickest ways to re-make your image is to get a new haircut. It’s also one of the quickest ways to look foolish, and mar a good impression. Remember the Beatle long-haired look-alikes, and the Sadhana bee-hive look-alikes? But if the hair stylist down the street has been cutting your hair the same way since before they invented hair dryers, may be it’s time for a change.

If you trust your stylist, go ahead and ask for suggestions. If you are looking for anew one, ask for a recommendation from a friend with an admirable cut, but make sure she or he has a hair type similar to yours.

When you get to the air dresser’s, for readying up for a good impression, the first thing you need to discuss is the image you want to project. Yes, we all want to look healthy, wealthy, and brimming with sex appeal. but if you have just quit your job and flying to Tahiti to become a painter, your hairstyle goals are a little different from those of the assistant junior trainee who want to look mature enough to handle his position.

Here are some general rules:

Long hair hides the neck and shoulders and can make a person with slight frame look even smaller. Instead, if you have a small built, what you want is a some what short haircut with a little lift on top to add height and a little length behind the ears to give a vertical frame to the face.
Go soft on baby faces. Those with toned faces and chiselled features can look great with short hair, but those of us who are more chubby of cheek would usually want more mane.

Tooth Care for Good Impressions

If you have got crooked teeth, braces are still an option, and the newer braces are more discreet – no more metal mouth jokes. But in the last few years, laminates, which are the thin layers of porcelain permanently bonded to teeth, have dramatically changes the extent to which dentists can alter our looks, in helping you make a good impression.

Not only can they make teeth straighter-looking, but they can also make you look younger, more assertive. In two visits, a dentist today can change the image that a person projects.

Qualities you dentist may be able to impart:

Youthfulness. Yellowish teeth can age you, because as we age the outer enamel of our teeth wears down, revealing the yellowish layer underneath. Porcelain laminates not only whiten your chompers – they can also make the teeth longer. Added length will help disguise your true age.
Improved social standing. There is a definite socio-economic stigma to crooked or yellow teeth. The perception is that this person can’t afford to take care of his teeth.
An assertive nature. Lets say a guy applies for a job at a company where they want someone who is aggressive. They may get the impression that he is a go-getter simply by the strength conveyed by his eye teeth. These are the teeth that look like fangs in vampire movies. By enlarging those and the neighboring teeth, and honing the tips just a bit, a dentist can give you a more assertive image, which will definitely make a good impression.

Self Confidence for a Good Impression

You want people to see you as confident, in control, self assured. You don’t want them to see some swaggering jerk who is just so full of himself. Balance is the most important part of making a good impression.

For example, eye contact is still the best test of honesty in the world. But if you hold someone’s gaze too long, or try not to blink, you give the appearance that you are trying to intimidate him. Think of eye contact as a game of throw and catch. As I say something to you, I am throwing this metaphorical ball and watching for a sign that you have caught it. Once you receive that sign -a blink, a nod, or an approving murmur – you are free to move your gaze or go on to the next point.

Maintaining proper eye contact is crucial to a successful job interviews strategy.

The way you stand matters

Your stance is also very telling. Here are some common mistakes:

Slouching can say that you are intimidating but it can also say that you are uninterested in what others have to say. You should try to keep your weight on the balls of your feet. That position will give you more energy; you should feel capable of moving in any direction.
Swaying intimates that you are nervous – not the impression you want to give on a job interview or on a first date. For a job interview we need to know some extra body language tips too. If you tend to sway, try putting one foot slightly in front of the other, or opening or closing your stance. This will hold you steady.
Jangling your keys can really irritate the people you are talking to. If you tend to keep your hands in pockets, keep other things out of them.
When you sit, sit back in the seat, but don’t rest your back against the backrest, which can lead to slouching. Put one foot slightly in front of the other, a position that naturally forces your hips forward and makes you look involved.

Choose the Right Eye Glasses

A new pair of glasses will impact your image on daily basis. If you are buying a new pair, keep these tenets in mind:

Color – The iris of your eye contains a few different hues. Look for a frame that matches one of them, and your eyes will stand out. Black frames will do the same for you if you have a thin black outline around your iris.

Shape – If your eyebrows are arched or rounded, look for frames that have a little lift at the top. If your brow is flat, look for flat-top frames. Other rules about frame shape for making good impression: Match the shape of your face. If you have a long face, look for glasses that are longer than they are wide. For a round or square face, select frames that are wider. In case of a button nose and round chin, look for an angular frame to add character. For pointy features, soften them with rounder frames. You can lengthen a short nose with a highly arched bridge and shorten a long one with a low-set bridge.

Style – Remember that in eye wear, image is everything. If you think you have found a pair you like, have someone else in the shop try them on. What is the immediate perception you have of him? If it’s a high fashion design and you work in an industry where thrift and sobriety are key, may be you should keep looking.