WEEKLY FOCUS
Creating a ‘Personal Impact’
Whenever you communicate with people, it’s important that both your message and signals given create the impact necessary.
Many of us will have been in situations where we hear people say, ‘They lit up the room when they walked in!’ Some people have the natural ability to have that effect, Barrack Obama springs to mind- but how can we do a few simple things that will make a difference?
Much is spoken of ‘Body Language’, often quoted as 70% of our communication. In this context, a number of things need to happen, as we approach people, we make eye contact.. not staring but a warm friendly smile, our facial expression… relaxed and welcoming- everybody loves a smile!
Personal energy is equally important, our posture and the gestures that we use, our body language is telling people that we are confident and ready to talk. To meet new people and in a way that both puts others at ease and also instils them with confidence in us.
Building ‘Rapport’ is an important part of creating personal impact and simply means, being on the same wavelength. This can also be called ‘Mirroring’ and is achieved in a number of ways… through body language and non-verbal communication… through the energy and pace of the conversation.. but most importantly through ‘Active Listening’.
This is a key part of both communication and building rapport, we listen in three ways.
- To the facts…what is being said.
- To the feelings… voice tone, body language, posture and facial expression.
- To the intentions… how things are said and the animation displayed
- When you ask questions it shows interest.
- Questions also provide useful information.
- Questions also help to demonstrate understanding and help to provide clarity.
Creating ‘Personal Impact’ may not be just for the stars! Showing an interest in people, building rapport, remembering that our body language is 70% of our communication and greeting people with a warm smile will help you very quickly to build a strong personal presence…and be remembered for all the right reasons! Look in the mirror and start practicing now!
If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito. Anita Roddick