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bljoh!b!hsfbu!stu!jnqsfttjpo!jt!tvqqptfe!up! be fairly simple. Smile. Make eye contact. Listen more than you speak. Ask questions about the other person. And, oddly enough, simply believe you will nblf! b! hppe! stu! jnqsfttjpo/! B! 311:! tuvez! qvc- lished in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin shows people who expect to be accepted act more warmly and therefore are seen as more likable. (Of course, you genuinely have to believe you will be accepted - or at least "George Costanza believe" you will be accepted - which is obviously the hard part.) So, yeah: You know what to do. But knowing what to do is never a guarantee of success. Ipx!dbo!zpv!ufmm!jg!zpv!bduvbmmz!nbef!b!hppe!stu! impression? Science to the rescue. According to a 2018 meta-analysis of more than 50 different studies published in Psychological Bulletin , uif!lfz!jt!up!mppl!gps!tqfdjd!opowfscbm!boe!wfscbm! signs to determine if you've established some degree of rapport.
Smiling and laughing.
Op! tvsqsjtf! uifsf/! Cvu! nptu! qfpqmf! sffyjwfmz! tnjmf! cbdl-! ftqfdjbmmz! bu! stu/! Boe! uifo! uifsft! uif! Kjnnz! Gbmmpo.ftrvf! Pi-! nz! hpti-! Jwf! ofwfs! heard anyone say anything so funny" kind of laughter that doesn't indicate anything genuine.
Here's How to Tell in Less Than 1 Minute Whether You've Made a Great First Impression, Backed by Science
By Jeff Haden Holding eye contact.
Also, unsurprising; the eyes are usually the stu! joejdbujpo! uif! puifs! qfstpo! jt! uijoljoh! bcpvu! somewhere they would rather be.
Maintaining physical proximity.
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Starting newtopics of conversation.
Another less obvious, yet important, indicator. If theres no spark, polite people will see the current topic through and try to move on. But if they bring up something else without prompting...
Unconsciously mimickingnonverbal expressions.
A 2019 study published in Cognition and Emotion shows that when other people mimic your nonverbal expressions, that indicates they understand the emotions youre experiencing - and may even result in "emotional contagion." (Which means, if zpv!xbou!up!vtf!zpvs!stu!jnqsfttjpo!tljmmt!nbojq- ulatively, copying the other person's expressions and gestures can make you seem more likable.) So: Imagine you meet someone new. You know what to do. Smile. Make and hold eye contact. Laugh when appropriate. Don't back away. Shift the conver- sational focus to the person you just met; one way is up!vtf!uif!4!Rvftujpot!Svmf/!! All the while, pay attention to how the other per- son responds. Whether they smile, laugh, and hold eye contact. And more important, whether they maintain phys- ical proximity, initiate new topics of conversation on their own and mimic some of your nonverbal expressions. Boe!uifo!vtf!xibu!zpv!mfbso!up!nblf!b!cfuufs!stu! impression with the next person you meet. Because the next person you meet could turn out to be one of your most important connections. Or one of your biggest customers. Or, best of all, one of your closest friends.
Jeff Haden is a keynote speaker, ghostwriter, LinkedIn Jovfodfs-! dpousjcvujoh! fejups! up! Jod/! boe! uif! bvuips! of Uif!Npujwbujpo!Nzui;!Ipx!Ijhi!Bdijfwfst!Sfbmmz!Tfu! Themselves Up to Win /
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