Most people have heard the saying, there is nothing quite like the impact of a great first impression. The truth of the matter is that you can’t redo a first impression. So what happens when you find yourself making a bad first impression? The first thing to do is to make sure that you don’t panic. It can seem like the end of the world or a difficult obstacle for you to overcome, but the good news is there are things that you can do to undo a first impression. While first impressions will stick for some time, it doesn’t mean that they are possible to overcome, even if you never officially erase it. Keep these three things in mind if you have ever made a bad first impression on someone. If you keep this approach in mind then you may just be able to undo the bad first impression that you made and leave people with a much most positive image of you and who you are.
Make sure you’re trying to impress the right people.
Sometimes we can get so caught up in trying to impress people that we waste far too much time and energy in trying to make sure everyone has a great first impression of us. If you are going to focus this much attention on impressing people, make sure that you are trying to impress the right people. Don’t waste your time in trying to impress the wrong people. It is not worth the extra effort.
There are certain people that you need to impress. These are the people that you need to focus on and the people that you need to apologize to if you make a bad first impression. The first step is knowing the difference between the two.
Own up immediately and don’t let the bad taste linger.
Once you have made a bad first impression, make sure that you stay calm and take action to reduce this bad impression as soon as you are able to. Own up to what you did to make that poor first impression right away. Don’t hide from it and don’t try to sweep it under the rug. Face the person that you just met, apologize for any wrongdoing that you had in the situation and focus on moving forward. The faster that you act the sooner you can reverse the damage that you have done. Do not let the bad taste linger. It will only make the situation worse. The longer you let a bad first impression sit, the worse it will be in the eyes of the other party and the more time they will have to think about why they didn’t think you made a good first impression to begin with.
Maintain a positive, consistent image.
Once you have made a bad first impression, there is nothing that you can do in order to go back and time and prevent yourself from making this bad impression. However, there are things that you can do moving forward in order to erase the impact of that bad impression. The number one thing that you need to focus on in the future is maintaining a positive, consistent image moving forward. In all other interactions with the person that you made a bad impression with, make sure that you are focused on the positive. Try to be your true self but to be a more positive version of that true self. Put your best foot forward and do it consistently. If you act in this way each and every time you interact with this individual and you area always consistent with this more positive behavior, over time, they will start to see the real you and start to value who you are truly as a person instead of the image they got of you when they first met you in a much less positive light. It is perhaps the most permanent way to erase a bad first impression.
A bad first impression doesn’t have to be the end of your relationship with someone. There are things you can do to help undo and erase this bad first impression. Keep these tips in mind to undo the deed and leave people with a much more positive image of you and who you are as a person.
Be the first to comment on "How to Undo a Bad First Impression"