Earlier this year I bought a 1 on 1 consult with a young lady who was, at the time, the 99^th ranked global influencer on LinkedIn.

(I have no idea how these things are ranked.  And I haven’t checked the rankings since, but she’s going great guns as far as I can see)

The consult ranged from posting, to branding, to content, to general strategy.

A few days ago I re-watched the Zoom recording.  And, even though I took copious notes the first time, I still spotted some gems of gold which I’d missed the first time round.

One of these was a little nugget on capturing people’s attention. 

It was all to do with first-impressions.

Otherwise known as “thin-slicing”.

For those not in the know:

Thin-slicing is a term which refers to the very quick, almost instantaneous, snap judgements humans make when meeting another human for the first time.  From the general cut of their jib and bonhomie, to their haircut, posture, facial expressions, all the way down to their micro-expressions and the state of their finger nails.

Yes, we all do it. Even if we don’t realise it.

And this is why so many of the old-school self-help books are packed with tips like “smile generously”, “make sure your handshake is firm” and “look people dead in the eye”.

It’s all about making a good first impression and trying to control someone else’s thin-slice of you.

All good stuff of course.

And as I learnt on the consult call, the same thing happens on LinkedIn.  You only have a few seconds to catch someone’s attention, make a good first impression and demonstrate all the things someone would want or expect to see (competence, trust, consistency, authenticity etc).

So it’s not just face-to-face impressions that count nowadays. 

It’s your “digital face” too.

Everything from how you present yourself on a Zoom call, to your social media profile, to your emails and your CV.

And as people find themselves with less and less time, the time we have to make a snap judgement gets steadily more limited, almost to the point of being at zero.

Which means one aspect of how you present yourself is becoming increasingly crucial. 

To the point where it’s not a nice-to-have or important, but fundamental to how people see you.

What aspect am I speaking of?

I speak, of course, about clarity.

(what C-word did you think I meant?)

Those who can instantly present themselves in a clear & unambiguous manner – even within one or two seconds – will reap the rewards.

Rewards like confidence in you and your abilities…

Credibility and respect…

Knowing what you stand for…

And trusting that you know what you’re talking about.

All of which can lead to more tangible rewards too.  Like more clients, more opportunities, and yes - more moolah.

So when it comes to making good first impressions, clarity is what counts.

The best way to demonstrate clarity?

You need to have clarity yourself.

This may seem like a bit of Captain Obvious statement.  But if you don’t know what you stand for, how will anyone else know?  If you don’t know where you’re heading, why should other people? 

You can’t inspire clarity in others if you don’t have that clarity yourself. 

Not clear about how to get clear?

Well, coaching might help.

Here’s a testimonial from Veronica, a client I worked with recently:

On the first call with Tom, I got what I had been searching for: 

Clarity. 

As someone who has just launched into solopreneurship, there's a lot of the scaries and anxiety that comes with it.  I was able to vocalize to Tom for the first time the emotions I was feeling and he guided me into finding more emotional clarity. 

I now feel much more at ease with this decision, and know the next steps I need to take.

So it was for Veronica, so it can be for you too.

I’m not taking on new coaching clients right now. 

But if you’re interested in coaching and you’d like to be notified when some slots open up, you can join my waiting list here:

https://waitinglist.followingfulfilment.com

This link has a few more details on the sort of coaching I offer.

And once you’re on the waiting list, you’ll be the first to know when new slots become available.

That’s all for today.

 - Tom