Give the first impression a second chance!

One of the most interesting things about the face to face networking world is the element of initial impression...the very first look a person gets of another person and the split second it takes for that person rightly or wrongly to form a viewpoint!

I have myself been guilty of being 'wrong' on the first impression. I am in the networking business with bizzwork and you would have thought of the hundreds of people I have met over my networking time that I would have a surefire way of getting the first impression right! Wrong.
I now have to follow a very disciplined procedure when I first meet a new contact and start to engage with them.

I remember once, when I was green behind the ears in business and my then boss, who was a wise old manager (I think he was all of 40+ at the time!) gave me a piece of paper to keep with me at all times in my top pocket...it said" remember the other person might just be right".

Although I do not still have that paper, I still hold that thought very much in my head . Whenever I meet a new person I of course form my first impression. It is a very strong human impulse and it cannot be ignored, but I then force myself to take a small mental step back and give that person the" benefit of doubt ".

The 'innocent until proven guilty' is still a very laudable element in our justice system and I think it must also apply to our human relationships. We all deserve a second chance. We all deserve to be able to let our actions speak for us, instead of just an "impression".

We have covered all the ways in which it is possible to create a good first impression and we have a free tool on our website, the Bizzpitch, which helps anyone who needs it to give themselves a good personal 30 second introduction. So here it is just a plea going out there to not be so judgemental on the first impression!