3 Ways to Make a Good First Impression

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Seven seconds.  That’s the amount of time you have to make a good first impression according to a study conducted by NYU.  Another study says that the opinion made within that time will never change.  I know I have made good and bad first impressions, depending on how nervous I was in a certain situation.  When the nervousness goes up, I tend to become flustered and forget what I was going to say, making me seem like a babbling mess.  If you ask my children, they will probably say this impression is correct.  I don’t want everyone to think this so I have gathered the best tips I could find to help you (at least pretend) to be more confident and make a great first impression on a job interview or in a social setting.

1.  Watch your attitude.  On days when I am tired, don’t feel well or didn’t get much sleep, my attitude takes a turn for the worst. I have to stop and say to myself, “Don’t take your bad mood out on anyone else.”  It helps to listen to a favorite song or think of a funny moment from the past too.  If all else fails, smile and fake the good mood.

2.  Make eye contact and smile. Not making eye contact can be seen as a sign of deception or untrustworthiness, although I know in many cases, like my son, it is because of shyness.  Make a habit of trying to look the person in the eye and give them a smile when you greet them.  The upside of this is if they are being rude to you they won’t be able to understand why you are being nice.

3.  Stand or sit up straight.  This is one of the hardest for me.  Slouching comes naturally and just feels so much more relaxing. Unfortunately, this can be seen as having low self-esteem or from being tired, which as a mom, I often am.  Standing up straight makes you appear confident even when you are not.

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161 Comments

  1. I like rule #47.
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  2. I like #34. Thank you!!

  3. I like Rule #34 the best
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  4. I love rule #47. It is indeed all about thinking on your feet!

  5. Rule #11 is my fav. Be a man of Eloquent words and be charming – are good advice.

  6. I like #47.

  7. My favorite is Rule #47: When in doubt, improvise but look good doing it.

  8. I like rule #47, when in doubt improvise, but look good doing it.

  9. Rule #34 is the best rule. I think it needs to be broken at times though

  10. Rule 47 is my favorite. It says when in doubt, improvise.

  11. I thought rule 11 was funny.

  12. I like rule #73, I think this movie looks hilarious.

  13. My favorite is rule #47.

  14. These videos from the new movie The Internship look are so cute. I like Rule #47, improvise the most.

  15. My favorite is #47! I am a mother to two boys with autism!

  16. I like #47, improvise and look good doing it.

  17. Rule 73, compliment her. Who doesn’t love compliments?

  18. I like rule #47.

  19. My favorite is #73. Compliment her.

  20. My favorite is Rule #47: When in doubt, improvise … but look good doing it.

  21. My favorite is #11 even though there are quite a few good ones.

  22. I like a few of them, but my fave has to be rule #73!

  23. we like the rule #34

  24. I like 34

  25. Rule # 11 is my favorite rule.

  26. Make eye contact and smile. I try to make sure my children grow up knowing this is the first impression you can give to meeting a new person.

  27. My favorite rule is #11, be charming and have great hair!

  28. I liked rule #11.

  29. Watch your attitude — because really we always need a reminder to do that.

  30. I like rule # 11 . Thanks for the giveaway

  31. I think that rule #34 gets my vote! 🙂

  32. rule #47 has to be definitely my favorite rule. Office Home Premium sounds amazing and could help me lots and lots

  33. When in doubt improvise, Rule # 47 is my favorite because we all have to do it sometime in our life.

  34. I like rule #34. And, the movie is GREAT!!

  35. rule 34

  36. I like rule #73

  37. I like rule 47

  38. I like rule 73. There were a lot of funny ones though!

  39. I like rule #11 best.

  40. I like rule number 34 best, when in doubt improvise.

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  42. 47 When In doubt improvise

  43. I like rule number 47 the most

  44. Heather Poindexter

    I like rule #34 best! When in doubt improvise.

  45. My favorite is rule #47.

  46. I’d have to say #11 as well — eloquent words are the best means of persuasion a man can employ!

  47. My favorite is rule #11 which is be a man of eloquent words.

    kport207 at gmail dot com

  48. I have to go with #47, too!

  49. i liked the #73 rule =D

  50. My favorite rule is rule #47.

  51. Rule #47 is my favorite rule!

  52. I like #73 the most

  53. I like 47, when in doubt, improvise, but look good doing it 🙂

  54. I love rule #47 When In doubt improvise

  55. My favorite rule is Rule #47.

  56. Rule #34 is a good one.

  57. Rule # 47 – yes, improvising is important and can get you out of tight spots! Office Premium will really help when I work at home, I use a lot of Excel and Word!

  58. My favorite Rule is #47: when in doubt improvise. I always find that if you LOOK like you know what you are doing, even when you don’t, it all works out:) Maybe its the confidence.

    The office home premium would keep me organized:)

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  59. rule #73. a honest compliment is my favorite! I think it’s very important to be honest & nice!

  60. rule #47 to improvise. This would help me be more organized. thank you

  61. Rule # 47 Improvise is the one I like. Microsoft Office would help me get my resume updates and sent to potential employers faster

  62. i like rule 47. i think this would help me get organized.

  63. Rule 47 is great!! Always improvise!!

  64. Oh I loved Rule #11! So funny when they said…and have great hair! Had to laugh!

  65. I like Rule #47 the best. I’d love Home Premium to put on my grandson’s laptop. He needs it sometimes for home work and has to use my computer!

  66. I would say the rule #11 is my favorite.

  67. You have to use Rule 73 to get started.
    She needs to know you noticed her.
    Office would help me document my compliments.

  68. I like rule #73. Office Home Premium would help me organize my life…or at least my documents!

  69. I like rule #11.

  70. Rule #73 would help me be more organized.

  71. Office Home Premium would help me with the household budget which I desperately need.

  72. i like rule #11 the best. Office Home Premium would help me to keep track of all the giveaways i enter.

  73. Rule #11 was cute. He always knows what to say (eloquent words). Organization is sorely lacking here, the Office Home Premium would certainly help there.

  74. I like Rule #73. And it would help my life because my husband owns his own business and it would help him keep organized.

  75. Rule 11! 🙂

  76. I like rule #73 the best which was to compliment her and found the video of that one hilarious.

  77. My favorite is #47. And it would help simplify my life by making it easier for me to use spreadsheets for all my classes!

  78. I like rule # 73, compliment but choose words wisely! ha!
    I think the home office premium came from a previous giveaway but my high schoolers could really use it for school projects!

  79. I like rule #47. Improvising is key. Office Home Premium would make my life easier by letting my wife do more dog club activities.

  80. I like Rule #11.

  81. I liked rule #73. a honest compliment can go a long way.

  82. I like rule number forty seven. Improvising is necessary for almost any industry! This movie was great!

  83. When In doubt improvise is a rule I follow.

  84. I like rule #73 – compliments are always nice! Office 365 would be awesome because I could have it on all of my devices (like Outlook on my phone to have my calendar handy to make appts)

  85. I love rule #47 This movie looks funny

  86. #47 is my favorite

  87. When in doubt improvise #47

  88. I like Rule 47 – when in doubt improvise very useful!
    This software would help me organize volunteers for Toys for Tots.
    Thank you.

  89. I like rule #37 the best.. this is a hilarious rule.

  90. I liked Rule # 73: Compliment her.

    Office Home Premium would help me track our household budget

  91. (Which rule is your favoriteHow would Office Home Premium help simplify your life?

    i like rule 11 and office home premium would help with me contest wins that dont come in pdf

  92. I like rule #47- when in doubt improvise…. I saw this movie it was hilarious. Office premium would really help me be more organized!!

  93. I like Rule #34

  94. I really like Rule #47: When in doubt, improvise. I have to say that is kind of true in today’s world. 🙂

  95. Rule #11 is good too.

  96. love this

  97. I love Rule #11. As a teacher I would put Office Home Premium to great use!

  98. I like Rule #47 – when in doubt, improvise! Office would help me stay on top of things I need to do! It would also help me improvise.

  99. Rule #47, when in doubt improvise is my favorite. Office Home Premium would definitely help me be more organized and keep track of everything.

  100. my favorite is Make eye contact and smile its shows people you know what your talking about

  101. Oh boy………..the one rule i NEED to follow is number ONE. I am NOT not not not a morning person and I do tend to take it out on everyone around me… oh boy I’m sure I crushed my husband’s mood for the day because I’m like a bear in the morn.

  102. I like rule 47. when in doubt improvise.

  103. I like rule 11: Be a man of eloquent words.

  104. My favorite is Rule #34. Home Office would help me stay organized.

  105. I like #11- this movie looks hysterical. I think the Office Home Premium is a product that would help me organize my life.

  106. #34 is my favorite Rule because it is so funny! When the Boss says no. I think Office Home Premium would help me with my budget.

  107. I like rule #73! Office Home Premium would make my life simpler because I could use it to create spreadsheets to help me perfect my budgeting and organization.

    Entered the rafflecopter as “Wild orchid”

    Thanks for the chance to win!
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  108. I like rule #73. Im a huge Owen Wilson fan, cant wait to see the movie.

  109. My favorite rule is #47. Sometimes we have to improvise when we are faced with uncertainty. Office Home Premium would allow me to get my work done and help me track things with the use of spreadsheets.

  110. I love #73 where he is stumbling all over his words and Office would help out my sister who doesn’t have a lot of time with working, etc. and she could use this to keep organized and have all her bills, etc. in there.

  111. I like rule #47. Improvising is key. Office Home Premium would make my life easier by letting me send out my resume more quickly.

  112. Rule #34 is my favorite.

  113. I like rule#73 because you can never go wrong with compliments!

  114. #47 when in doubt improvise,it usually works.

  115. Rule #47, when in doubt, improvise. I could use any help I can get to stay organized. Being a single mom with a house full of kids, I can never keep organized.

  116. #1 is a good one. On days where I am lacking sleep, I try to avoid people. 🙂

  117. Rule number 47 for me. That’s good advice and I’ve certainly had to improvise often!

  118. I think “First Impressions Count” is my favorite, because it is so very true.

  119. I also like #47 Office Home Premium would be very helpful in our business.

  120. I like Rule #73, Compliment Her. Most women like a nice compliment. Thanks for the super giveaway opportunity. Keep up the terrific blogging.

  121. I like Be A Man of Elequont Words.

  122. #74 – I really love complements. lol. My son is only 3, so I feel like there are a lot of these that I am constantly reminding him about.

  123. #47 – When in doubt improvise. There are times this definitely works!

  124. alicia k (Petite Pilates Pixie)

    My favorite rule is rule #47. i enjoyed that video

  125. I like rule #73…I love compliments!! The Office Home Premium would help keep clutter off my desk since I’d organize it all within the program and no need for added papaerwork.

    sweetheart4171(at)yahoo(dot)com

  126. I love rule #11 and the office home premium would help me as I start my new job this week!!!

  127. My favorite is rule #34. Thanks so much.

  128. I like #34 the most.

  129. I like number 73. All of them were pretty funny though!

  130. Rule #73 is my fav video.

  131. I like rule #73. Office home premium would help me out alot.

  132. Okay That is going to be a seriously hilarious movie.. uh can’t wait.. but if I have to pick a rule I would pick Rule #11.. that was awesome.. he is so not a lady pleaser….

  133. I think I would have to say that my favorite rule is Rule #11

  134. i like rule 34, i really could use Office Home Premium

  135. I like #1, Watch your attitude. I always say “attitude is everything” because it’s the one thing we can always control in spite of circumstances.

  136. Among three videos, I like rule #47. Office Home Premium would help me get organized.

  137. Definitely #47. All about improvising!

  138. Rule number 73 is my favorite. This would really help me stayed organized!

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  140. Gosh I am in love with Vince! Okay I pick rule #47 because improvisation is hilarious.

  141. Rule #73 is my favorite! Office Home Premium would help with household budgeting and keep me more organized.

  142. I like rule #34. Office Home Premium would help me with budget planning

  143. Love #73! Compliment her! Women can never get enough of it esp when its genuine!

  144. I like #34, office would help me organuize all my work.

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  146. Rule #34 is my favorite. Office Home Premium would help me with my resumes. I need all the help I can get!

  147. Rule # 11 for me

  148. I like #47 because I love to improvise. Office Home Premium would help me with my budget and planning for the household.

  149. Thanks for the tips! I find giving the person my full attention, listening without scanning the room or interrupting – shows I care about them and what they are saying.

  150. I like rule 11. Office Home Premium would help me with my job.

  151. From watching the videos, rule #34 is my favorite. Thanks for the chance.

  152. I like rule #47. Improvising is key. Office Home Premium would make my life easier by letting me send out my resume more quickly.

  153. Rule #47 is my favorite! Always improvise, if need be! Haha. We just got a new computer and all it has on it is notepade so office premium would be amazing for helping the kids with homework and letting my husband be able to easily do his weekly football stats for the pick em league he started!

  154. I love rule #47 When In doubt improvise… This movie looks funny! Office Home Premium would help me with getting the kids homework done easier!

  155. rule #34 is my favorite. Office Home Premium would help simplify my life buy allowing me to type the necessary documents and spreadsheets I need, and to keep them organized on my desktop.