This document provides tips for making a great first impression. It discusses preparing talking points about yourself and the other person, being aware of body language, playing to your strengths, finding common ground, and following up. Specific tips include doing research beforehand, engaging the other person in conversation, observing your own body language, emphasizing your strengths with evidence, and asking open-ended questions. The document also provides two case studies as examples, one about focusing on personal engagement and another about highlighting your skills and ideas.

1. How to Make a
Great First
Impression
You only have one chance to make a First impression
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By:
Marketing Team, SMT

2. C
B
A REINVENT YOURSELF
Define your Brand, Imagine your
Future
WE MAKE JUDGEMENT IN
NANOSECOND
About other people
DISRUPT YOURSELF
Putting the power of Disrupting
Innovation to work.
Disrupting Innovation is the Key
Reinvent Yourself
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What the Experts Say

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WHAT EXPERTS SAY
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PREPARE TALKING POINTS
BE AWARE OF YOUR BODY
LANGUAGE
PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS
FIND SOMETHING IN
COMMON
ENGAGE AND BE ENGAGING
06 FOLLOW UP

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PREPARE TALKING POINTS
N
E
S
W
• Do Your Home work
• Know who you’re meeting
• Know what he cares about
• Know what he might need from you
• Show that YOU understand the problem the other person is trying to solve
• Show how your skill put YOU in a position to help

5. OBSERVE YOURSELF
BEFORE & AFTER
STAY CONFIDENT &
COMFORTABLE
TAKE LONG STRIDES, SIT UP
STRAIGHT
WALK WITH YOUR CHEST
HELD HIGH
YOUR BODY
LANGUAGE
Be Aware of

6. It is useful to have a ‘TRUSTED CABINET’ of friends &
Colleagues who can help you understand
‘ How you come across to the WORLD”
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PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS
THE MOST LIKABLE
THING ABOUT YOU.
STRENGTHS. WINNING TRAITS
QUALITIES
DON’T TOOT YOUR
OWN HORN,
PRESENT EVIDENCE
THAT TOOTS IT FOR
YOU
IDENTIFY

7. Créate
Memorable
Conversation
Do not
wow &
Dazzle
Ask open-
ended
questions
ENGAGE & BE
ENGAGING

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DO:
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ASK QUESTIONS & TRY TO DRAW OUT OTHER PERSON
THE BETTER YOU MAKE THEM FEEL,THE MORE LIKELY THEY ARE TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPRESSION OF YOU
BODY LANGUAGE: WATCH ANXIETY LEVELS
BY PREPARING TALKING POINTS TO GET ACROSS DURING
YOUR MEETING.
GATHER FEEDBACK
FROM TRUSTED COLLEGUES ON YOUR BEST TRAITS AND TRY TO EMPHASIZE YOUR STRENGTHS
WHEN YOU MEET SOMEONE NEW02
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WATCH OUT
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EVIDENCE
Instead present evidence that speaks to your domain expertise and managerial experience
BODY LANGUAGE
Your body language should be relaxed, confident and
comfortable
DISCOUNT SMALL TALKS
It can be a good way to uncover common bonds
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CASE STUDY 1
Case Study #1: Do your homework on who you’re meeting and engage the person as a human
Mike Byers, executive chairman of DirectPath, an employee health care engagement and compliance company, says that when he’s
meeting a prospective client for the first time, he takes the long view. “I think about building a relationship, not selling software,” he
says. “I think, ‘I’m going to be with this person for a long time.’”
Mike recognizes that he’s in the meeting because the other person “has a business problem, and I have a potential solution,” but his
main focus—at least at first—“is to get to know the other person as a human being and develop a relationship.”
He does this in a variety of ways. First, he does his homework on who he’s meeting prior to seeing the person face to face. Once,
for instance, he had a sales call with a Nebraska-based HR executive who, Mike saw from his LinkedIn profile, was originally from
the Boston area. “I walked into the meeting with Red Sox paraphernalia [as a gift],” he says. “His eyes lit up and he said, ‘You can’t
get this stuff out here.’ It immediately disarmed him and made him more open.”
Second, he makes sure his body language is confident and relaxed. “And I always look people in the eye,” he says.
Third, Mike engages would-be clients in personal conversation. “People love talking about themselves,” he says, adding that it’s
often more fun anyhow to “talk about people’s lives than about benefit administration platforms. “I say, ‘Tell me about yourself. What
are your interests? How old are your kids?’ I try to create dialogue, not a sales pitch.”
A few years ago, for instance, he was in a meeting with “Mary,” a senior manager at a Fortune 10 company. “I mentioned that my
son had just been accepted to law school and she told me that her niece was interested in applying. That helped create a bond,” he
says.
“We spent half the meeting talking about law school—LSAT review classes, rankings, and career [prospects]—and the other half
talking about my company’s technology.”
Mike ultimately made the sale and he and Mary have a strong professional relationship.

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CASE STUDY 2
Case Study #2: Know what you’re good at and prepare a list of talking points
Before a recent job interview at a fashion retailer outside of Boston, Lane Sutton did a lot of prep work so that he’d make a good
impression on the hiring managers. “I do not get nervous for interviews. I think of an interview as a conversation, just with more
importance and with someone I have not met yet,” he says.
Friends and former colleagues have told Lane that he’s an “ideas man,” and he wanted to make sure that came across during his
meetings. To prepare, Lane researched the job—a social media role for talent acquisition—by reviewing the company’s social media
channels, its careers site, and its Glassdoor page. He then brainstormed a list of “creative and innovative ideas” for the company to
grow and enhance its employer brand to attract talent. Those were his talking points. His goal was to show that he was eager to “go
above and beyond what was in the job description.”
Lane also researched the interviewers and found that one of them was a graduate of his university. “I made a point to mention that
at the beginning of the interview, and it broke the ice.”
Lane also tried to engage his interviewers by asking them about their career paths and histories at the company. “This question lets
them talk about themselves beyond your basic interview questions,” he says.
During the interview, Lane made sure to bring up his list of ideas and recommended improvements. “To get my points across, I
answered with a general answer to the question and a specific action example backed by data and numbers,” he says. “For
instance, ‘At my last company, I increased website visits from Facebook by 100%.’”
He finds out next month if he got the job.

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Thank you!