Jon Kraushar & Associates, Inc.
286 Madison Avenue Suite 907  New York, NY 10017
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  The following three columns have been excerpted or reprinted in several publications, including Newsweek and SUCCESS magazines.  Based on reader responses, the advice has proven valuable to communicators for a wide range of audiences, including voters, investors, clients, prospects, shareholders, securities analysts and the news media. For a fuller treatment of the subjects covered, please see the book, You Are the Message, by Roger Ailes with Jon Kraushar, chosen as one of the “year’s best” business books by The Wall Street Journal and published by Doubleday.  To order a book, audiotape, or CD-ROM of You Are the Message, call 1-800-CEO-READ (236-7323) or order online.  To contact Jon Kraushar, call 212 685-8157.
The First Seven Seconds: Make The First Impression Work For You
You’ve got just seven seconds to make the right first impression.  As soon as you make your entrance, you broadcast verbal and non-verbal signals that determine how others see you.  In business, those crucial first seven seconds can decide whether you will win that new account, get financing or succeed in a tense negotiation.

Are you confident?  Comfortable? Sincere? Glad to be there?  In the first seven seconds, you shower your audience with subtle “cues.”  And whether people realize it or not, they respond immediately to your facial expressions, gestures, stance and energy.  They react to your voice—the tone and pitch.  Audiences, whether one or one hundred, instinctively size up your motives and attitudes.

We can all benefit from a review of the first impressions we make. Before your next important business encounter, review this checklist.

Prepare.  Learn as much as you can in advance about your audience’s motives, needs and interests.  Establish goals.  What do you want to happen as a result of this encounter?  Organize your thoughts and rehearse out loud.
Absorb.  Quickly take in the mood of the audience.  Are they skeptics?  Eager?  Relaxed?  Excited?  Get your “radar” up.

Listen.  Trust your instincts.  Be sensitive to recent events that may influence the group’s mood.  You may need to adjust your approach. 

Control.  You can set the tone by appearing confident and friendly.  It puts others at ease.  Use graceful gestures and avoid sharp moves.
Emote.  Your body reflects your feelings, whether you’re aware of it or not.  Concentrate on your face, especially your eyes—they should be engaged and lively.  Use them to convey sincerity.

Voice.  Pay attention to vocal quality, pitch, tone, pace, and volume.  Record yourself, monitoring what you hear for variety, commitment, and authority.

You are the message, and that is never more true than in first impressions.  If you’re in control of the composite message you send via your face, body, voice and attitude, you’re on your way to success in any business situation.

Author & communications consultant Jon Kraushar may be reached at 212 685-8157.
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