Two seconds to impress

The key is to prepare yourself before get into a stage, and give your speech with security. As simple as that. Imagine you have a presentation. You plan your schedule, you create an impressive material, and you practice answers to the most difficult questions.

But, there is a problem. All that effort is focused on the mid and final part of your pitch, and skip the most important part: the first two seconds. If they are not going right, all that previous work will become irrelevant.

First impressions.

In 1992, researchers from Harvard, Nalini Ambady, and Robert Rosenthal found out that the first impressions are critical for success. In an experiment, they ask students to qualify videos that lasted two seconds of teachers giving classes.

They took these calcifications, and they compared them with the evaluations the lecturers received from other students after a whole semester of being in class. They found out that teacher with bad grades also have obtained bad grades in the video evaluation, and those who received good grades, also had the best evaluations in the experiment.

This means a lot.

Teachers were judged in the same way, either based on a two-second video, or in dozens of teaching hours. The curious thing was that the videos did not have sound. Therefore, the students qualified the teacher based only in their body language.

Ambady and Rosenthal explained this behavior by arguing that we make fast judgement about people we know, and we seldom change. The lesson is clear: if we do not make a good impression, all the previous preparation will be in vain. If we see that on the positive side, you can earn the people in just two seconds. Let’s see the two steps.

A good start.

We like to think that we can make our first impression once we start to talk. That is why we put too much effort in our introduction.

However, the first impression is built as soon as someone sees us. Your presence on the stage, or the way you enter to the room is as important as your first words.

Make sure to be more than ready. Do you have your environment under control before starting the pitch? Are your slides ready? Did you do microphone test? Do not spend your first two seconds in trying to correct something that is not working. When you are in front of the stage, a meeting room, or a classroom, the first thing is to smile and introduce yourself.

If you have to wait for your audience, do not distract by checking your cellphone, delivering material, or checking your slide show. Take a seat, and say hello to the people individually.

Know your content.

The best teachers showed themselves confident with the subject they were teaching, and also happy of giving it. On those two seconds you will want to do the same. Use a prepared phrase and say it with enthusiasm. Words are not that important, but the way you utter them.

Once the two seconds passes, make visual contact with the people in the room. This is easy in small rooms, or classrooms, although you can also do it if you are in a big auditorium. Imagine a big 8 shape, go to the corner and stop at the middle of the auditorium. Repeat this during the presentation.

Once you have done all the process, you can relax yourself. Your audience will already make their own concept about you, and that will be positive. Now you can enjoy the benefits of being able to give a good impression.