Tips for Creating a Great First Impression and Making New Friends Your First Week on Campus

Be open
You have the rare opportunity for a fresh start at your impression. Smile as you walk across campus, walk down your dorm or class hallway or enter any room. Take the initiative to make eye contact, say hello and introduce yourself. Keep your body language open.


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Why Is It Important To Give Nonverbal Cues That Convey Confidence And Poise At Work?

First - How you hold your body, speak and move affects how you feel. If you are standing with your shoulders drooping and head bowed, the little pharmacy in your brain creates and sends chemicals into your bloodstream in less than a fortieth of a second - to make you feel the way you look. Not powerful.

Second - We form and use first impressions to access who and how to interact with each other.  The most current research says that we can form an accurate first impression 80% accurate or higher in 100 milliseconds — less than the time it takes to snap our finger.  The four first impression factors are credibility, likeability attractiveness and power. We need to make sure that we are communicating those four factors confidence and credibility so that others trust us, believe in us and want to do business.

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Tips for Creating a Great First Impression and Making New Friends Your First Week on Campus

Be helpful and considerate
Having roommates and being in a new living situation can often be stressful at first, even if you click as friends.  Before settling into your new space, offer to help your roommates carry in their belongings or bring some snacks to share.  Ask them about their interests.  Introduce yourself to their families.  Invite them to dinner with your family if they’ve arrived by themselves.  Laying the groundwork for a positive relationship with your roommates can go a long way to help things go smoothly

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Can Our Nonverbal Communication Be More Telling Than Verbal Communication?

Yes, because nonverbal cues are sent primarily from the “emotional brain” rather than the neo cortex.  They create more honest and revealing messages.  In a face-to-face interaction with just one person you can exchange up to 10,000 nonverbal cues in less than one minute. You cannot consciously control all that communication so it can be much more telling than the few words you could exchange in the same amount of time.

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Tips for Creating a Great First Impression and Making New Friends Your First Week on Campus

    Know a rebuff is seldom about you

      If not every single person says hi back or takes you up on your offers for plans remember college is stressful, most freshmen feel a bit insecure at times and if they seem distant, don't take it personally. Most body language rebuffs such as lack of eye contact and scowls are motivated by what is going on inside the person and not really about you.

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.