“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
-Maya Angelou-
So, what matters most in your daily interactions is the specific actions or words that you say that people remember the most and how someone was made to feel.
These feelings last a long time and linger so they need to be positive ones.
Perhaps lasting positive first impressions are ones that are genuine, complimentary, helpful, generous, uplifting, fun, supportive, nurturing and kind. Opposed to being controversial, rude, curt, interruptive, and in bad taste.
A networking friend of mine always recounts the story of her first meeting where she was nervous and was about to go home. She walked into the meeting and came over the to the table where I was pouring a coffee. We got chatting and I welcomed her into the meeting and introduced her to people. Some years later she retold this story at a meeting and explained that I made her feel welcome and so she stayed and has continued her networking journey within the group and is now a director. For me I didn’t think that I had acted in a special way, just the way I always am. So I left her with a special feeling and view of me, that has stayed with her years later.
I am currently reading “Getting On- Making Work Work” by Joanna Gaudoin where she asks you to stop and consider what others may perceive of you and how would others describe you and your business and how it makes them feel.
I asked my networking pals to consider which 3 words best represent me and my business and provide this feedback to me which they were more than happy to do. I also wrote three words down at the same time, to see if any matched and mine were;
Professional, knowledgeable & passionate.
All the 3 words that people replied with are In the word cloud attached to this blog but the top 3 were
Professional, knowledgeable and communicator.
So almost a match.
The other words included;
empathetic, focused, committed, practical, helpful, supportive, articulate, inspirational, trusted, experienced, open, honest, switched on, and fun.
I believe that as a small business owner, you and your business brand need to be authentic, genuine, and energetic in order to affect how someone reacts to you. No one is perfect but we can strive to get close to it every day and that will give you presence, credibility, and engagement.
