There are no second chances to make a good first impression.
Making a lasting first impression goes beyond the clothes you are wearing, the firmness of your handshake or the confidence you exude when meeting someone for the first time. It also means being conscious of your body language, having prepared talking points, and finding something you have in common to make small talk about first before getting down to business.
Dorie Clark, the author of “Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future,” has said the way to make a good first impression is to engage the person you are meeting in a memorable conversation, not try to dazzle them with your intelligence.
“The better you make the other person feel, the more they’ll be inclined to have a positive impression of you,” Clark told the Harvard Business Review. In other words, make a connection on a human level first that establishes camaraderie before getting down to business.
At the upcoming New Jersey Women Business Leaders Forum, powered by NJBIA, the “Improving Your Professional Presence” panel discussion will feature four experts who will share their insights on how to effectively engage with other professionals to make the best impression.
- Alethea Marie Batts, first senior vice president of Learning and Development and chief diversity officer at Lakeland Bank. Batts is a highly regarded panelist, public speaker, advocate and volunteer for women’s initiatives and DEI.
- Kirthi Mani, CPA, managing principal of New York Global Services, CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen). A DEI champion, Mani is a thought leader and a regular speaker at global conferences, based on her extensive experience in cross-cultural interactions working with global businesses from The Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Australia, and the Middle East.
- Jeana Piscatelli, senior vice president and director of Treasury Management, OceanFirst Bank. Piscatelli is involved in various community support programs furthering diversity and women’s leadership initiatives and serves on the leadership committee of WomenLEAD, OceanFirst Bank’s program to enhance the professional development of women.
- Catherine Frugé Starghill, Esq., vice president of Strategy and Partnerships for the New Jersey Council of County Colleges and executive director of the New Jersey Community College Consortium for Workforce & Economic Development. An influential businesswoman and frequent speaker at women’s leadership events, Starghill currently leads the statewide coalition of industry and education partners for the New Jersey Pathways to Career Opportunities initiative aligning education to build an innovative workforce for a stronger state economy.
The 9th Annual New Jersey Women Business Leaders Forum will be held Sept. 27-28 at the Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott. The largest professional women’s conference in New Jersey, it brings together hundreds of corporate and nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and students each year to inspire and empower the building of successful businesses and to increase diversity in corporate leadership, both in the C-suite and the boardroom.
The two-day event includes executive TED-style talks, multiple breakout sessions led by expert panelists, one-on-one coaching, help with building résumés, LinkedIn makeovers and numerous networking
