Women in Business: First Impressions Count

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You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

“If you don’t make an impact when you are there, no one will notice when you are not.” Jodi Goldman, Image and Impact Expert

Like it or not we make judgments all the time and when we meet someone for the first time there’s no exception. Within seconds we make a variety of assumptions such as, whether or not they’re friendly, efficient, successful and trustworthy.

In business, first impressions count as we need people to buy into us quickly and very often we’re in a competitive environment. A great deal of work goes into creating big opportunities, for example that interview, client pitch, meeting with a potential future boss so why waste all that effort if we can influence the impact we make?

If you understand the messages you communicate you can influence the impact you make and the great news is that it’s not that hard. A couple of us at everywoman have been using our Image and Impact workbook to put this to the test. It’s amazing the difference small changes we’ve made have influenced the way people have reacted to us - we’re holding far more authority and that feels great.

Here are some of the things we’ve been working on. Clothes, dressing for the occasion - these communicate subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) messages about us to everyone we meet. Our body language - this contributes more than 50 per cent of the meaning of whatever we say. Subtle things like holding eye contact for 70 per cent of the time when talking and listening can make a big difference. Our tone of voice - this can communicate far more than the words we are saying.

everywomanNetwork members are able to view an exclusive seminiar  Jodi Goldman's "Get the First Impression Cycle Working For You" 

Take a look at what else is coming up on the everywomanNetwork and find out how to join.

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Women in Business: Build your confidence in 5 steps

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AppId is over the quota

Are you a confident person … all of the time?  Some people have an abundance of self-confidence and others suffer from self-doubt, but no matter who you are, and how you feel now, confidence is a constantly evolving state of being.

Whether in a business or personal environment, you can go from feeling amazingly confident when carrying out tasks you are familiar with or know you do well, to crippling fear when you are taken out of your comfort zone.  Being a confident person does not mean you’ll never feel fearful, but it does allow you to work through your fears and even enjoy the process of moving out of your comfort zone.

I’ve taken the five tips below from the Boost Your Self-Confidence Workbook (available for download from the everywoman website) as this is the framework I use when my confidence needs a boost - and it helps me.

1.     You are your best asset – trust in your abilities

Think about what you have accomplished.  Being confident means knowing what you are able to achieve and doing more of it.  Think broader than just a work context – what you have accomplished in your home environment is just as important when learning and appreciating what you, as a person, are capable of.

2.     Think positively – banish self-sabotage

People react to you according to how you behave, and how you behave is a result of what you believe.  If you believe that you won’t be able to do something means you probably won’t.  Forget the negativity of self-sabotage and start to think positively about what you can and will achieve.

3.     Focus on what you have done right, not on what is wrong

Acknowledge your successes and celebrate them however big or small they are.  Focus on your core strengths in the many roles you have in life – both at work and at home.  Being confident is about using positives from the past to help you be even more successful in the future.

4.     Set realistic goals and then celebrate success

Goal setting is a vital part of self-confidence.  A confident person knows the direction she is heading in and makes a plan, with set goals, to get there.  Before you set a goal, think about what needs to happen before that goal can be met then create a timeline and assess your progress regularly, remembering to celebrate success along the way.  

5.     Pay attention to your non-verbal communication

Your body language is a great source of information to those around you and is a projection of your confidence levels.  Remember that your body language says a lot as we read more into non-verbal messages than verbal ones.  Picture yourself in a work situation … how do you look?  A confident woman smiles, stands tall and upright with feet planted firmly on the floor, maintains eye contact, and uses her arms and hands effectively. 

Use the everywoman Boost your self-confidence workbook and these five steps to change from feeling ‘Woe is me’ to ‘I can do it!’.

Download a sample copy of Boost Your Self-Confidence

If you are a member of the everywomanNetwork, login and gain access to the workbook plus associated videos, online seminars and articles.  If you are not yet a member, go to www.everywoman.com/join and sign-up for instant access and to take control of your personal development.

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Women in Business: If we believe we can't do something, we won't

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AppId is over the quota

People react to us according to our behavior and our behavior is a result of what we believe. If we believe we can’t do something we won’t. 

I noticed, on the X Factor this weekend the Judges were forming opinions of the 6 contestants in their categories before they even opened their mouths to sing.  Confidence levels played a key part in the decision making process, there were some contestants who sang brilliantly but because they didn’t appear confident when they presented themselves, the judges were concerned they wouldn’t be able last the distance. 

One guy in particular didn’t believe in himself which meant that I had my heart in my mouth as soon as he started singing as I was waiting for him to fail.   I didn’t want him to and thankfully was brilliant but if he’d handled his insecurities differently we’d have had faith that he would deliver the amazing performance he is highly capable of. The rollercoaster effect was not comfortable for him or us.

Business is really not that different – people make decisions about us very quickly and if we believe we can do something we’re able to communicate that with confidence. That generally leads people to believe in us and support us to do so. 

Self-belief is a key ingredient of success but, when we’re out of our comfort zone the reality is that many of us are guilty of the X factor confidence crisis. 

Much of the time this is due to an internal dialog of negative thinking, so here are 4 things to help keep negative thinking in check and develop our self confidence

1)    For a day or so keep track of the negative thoughts you have, this will train your mind to recognise when you are thinking negatively.  It might be a good idea to write them down.

2)    Think about some positive thoughts that you can call on when you catch yourself thinking negatively. Again write some down I always feel that makes it stick in my mind better.

3)    For a week, pick an hour every day that you will refuse to have negative thoughts.  When they creep in push them away with your positive thoughts.

4)    Build this up until you notice you push your negative thoughts away a lot faster.

Read more in our Boost your Self-Confidence workbook on the everywomanNetwork. 

Join today and access of personal development tools on the everywoman network.

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Women in Business: It’s never too late to be who you might have been…

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AppId is over the quota

The above quote by English novelist George Eliot captures the kind of spirit that really epitomises the strength and determination of winners of the NatWest everywoman Awards that we see year after year. What stands out at these Awards is the sense that focus and passion really can lead to success, and that with a little self belief, amazing things can happen. 

Nowadays, perceived barriers such as age no longer hold women back – the landscape is changing, and more and more women are achieving great things as entrepreneurs who have started out at a later age. 

One fabulous example of this is Sylvia Hopwood, a 79 year old entrepreneur, who runs the successful recycling business ‘The Recycle Works’. Being widowed at the age of 62, Sylvia was facing financial hardship and her decision to start her business was a direct result of this, and, of her determination:  ‘I had a choice of staying at home with a stick and a shawl or making an effort to improve my lot’.

The Recycle Works was launched from the study of her home in Chatburn, East Lancashire in 1995 and the first product was a compost bin which sold for £42. Her resolve and strength really stand out and her business is still going strong now with an international client base and a website in five languages. Of winning her Award (The everywoman Iris Award) in 2008, Sylvia said ‘It was wonderful to feel that hard work and determination really does get recognised’. I couldn’t agree more. 

The perception of the ‘dynamic entrepreneur’ is often one that we associate with younger people, often exclusively. It seems this is changing; with the threat and reality of redundancy playing a large part (indeed many older women are starting their businesses through necessity). What is interesting is how many women turn this around into something positive, with personal benefits as well as benefits to the UK economy. 

With the wide reaching implications of the economic downturn, it’s important we recognise positive news. In terms of female entrepreneurs overall – recent research from XLN Business Services states that the number of small businesses that are run by women in the UK has risen sharply from 20.13 percent to 30.22 percent since 2008. 

We celebrate stories like Sylvia’s and many more besides at the NatWest everywoman Awards. Female entrepreneurs of all ages and with an incredibly diverse range of businesses are celebrated – to recognise their achievements and to inspire other women to take the plunge and follow in their footsteps. As Dame Mary Perkins, co-founder of Specsavers puts it: ‘it takes energy, grit, enthusiasm and lots of self-belief. No-one says it’s easy but it can be done..’.

Be inspired by a decade of success stories in our supplement featuring ten years of NatWest everywoman Awards’ winners. In this, our decade year of the Awards, we want to hear more of these amazing stories. So, if this sounds like you, or someone you know – now is the time to tell us – you have until 20 July – nominate at www.everywoman.com/ewawards/nomination.

Download the NatWest everywoman Awards supplement here:

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Women in Business: How do you deal with stress?

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AppId is over the quota

A few days ago, a white van backed into my house, destroying my front fence. I could hear the crash from upstairs. I think this qualifies as a pretty stressful situation, and I may have coped better if I had read the everywoman workbook Tackling Critical Situations. Instead, I just jumped up and down screaming.

The ability to think on your feet and communicate in a reasonable manner with others in a reasonable way is apparently the sign of true leadership. Well, I’m not sure I would have passed with flying colours in my stressful dealings with white van man.

But, as I learned from the workbook, I could turn a critical situation from a negative into a positive. After I’d calmed down, I got white van man’s number and am in the process of sorting out insurance and getting a quote for the fence. So, the upshot of this story is that I might get a brand new fence out of this mishap. Every cloud has a silver lining, as they say. Or as the Chinese say ‘Weiji’ the word for crisis, which means danger and opportunity.

All very well, you might say. But how does this apply to business? The Critical Situations workbook asks some pretty searching questions that can help how I deal with stress at work.  Am I a ‘bury my head in the sand’ kind of person, hoping it will work out eventually?  Hmm, yes I think that definitely ticks a box.

But what about you? Do you ask yourself how do I deal with stress in a constructive way? Have you created a contingency plan? Have you got people you can ask for help and support?  I was saddened but not necessarily surprised to read in the workbook that two-thirds of Britons have fewer than five people they can count on in a crisis.

As the anthropologist Margaret Mead once said: “Nobody has ever before asked the nuclear family to live all by itself in a box the way we do. With no relatives, no support, we've put it in an impossible situation.”

Note to self: must widen my network of friends and business colleagues. And indeed, this may help how I deal with stress if I have sympathetic people to talk to.

In all, the workbook asks some searching questions and has certainly made me think how I conduct myself and how deal with stressful situations. It’s really helped me plan for the future and see how I might do things differently in the future.

Don't miss the Live Seminar: Being Proactive with Problems>>
Join Sara Parsons, who has developed and run customised courses throughout the UK and Europe. Her clients include blue-chip companies such as Paramount Pictures, Ipsos- MORI Research, Oxford University Press and Donavan Data Systems.
Thursday, 29 November 2012
8:00am - 8:30am

Download the everywoman workbook Tackling Critical Situations>>

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Business Women in Technology Focus on Their Leadership Skills

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Businesses thrive on technology, our day-to-day lives are shaped by technology and the world is ever-changing because of technology. Yesterday, we met some of the women who work behind this exciting industry at the inaugural everywoman in Technology Leadership Academy.

Held at the beautiful Cisco offices in Feltham, it was a day to hear from successful women working in the industry, learn about the opportunity that exists within the sector and allowed attendees to grow their confidence to excel as a leader in technology.

India Gary-Martin, Managing Director - Global COO, Investment Banking Technology & Operations of JPMorgan, provided the keynote address for the day. India, who never expected to end up in role such as hers, was personable, friendly and a character whom everyone in the audience could relate to, regardless of their level within the industry. Moving from New York to London, adopting two children and becoming Global COO of an international company have just been a few of her life highlights. Through all of these achievements however, she encouraged the audience to "know your personal boundaries" and to not compromise your values or yourself. She also emphasised the importance of "being yourself. Be who you are, and people around you will see something is great about you". Her work-life balance was incredible and clearly shows this was a key in her business success. She let the audience know that clearly someone saw something great in her, and that everyone in the audience had that in them too.

Following India was the panel session led by moderator Rebecca George OBE of Deliotte; with an introduction by Wendy Mars of Cisco. Rebecca was joined by Polly Burtinshaw from Cisco; Mandy Chessell from IBM; Sheila Flavell from FDM Group and Lyn Grobler from BP. The panel topic of how to navigate your path to success provided a great opportunity for attendees to ask direct questions to successful women working in the industry. Polly talked about the road blocks she has encountered in her career in sales and how to get past them, while Mandy stressed the importance of visibility within the company; sometimes a lack of visibility can cause one to not progress at the level they should be. Sheila encouraged everyone to pick an issue that was bothering them in their workplace and to make a change with it, and Lyn talked about how to make it easier for women entering into the IT industry. All agreed that women working in the industry should be committed to their jobs and assertive in their roles.

The lunch break offered some time for networking, before attendees began their afternoon masterclasses. ‘How to influence and communicate effectively in a male-dominated environment’ was hosted by Sara Parsons and covered how to make effective decisions, shift out of your comfort zone and stretch yourself in your career. She told the audience that you can’t influence others if you first don’t look at yourself – and the interactive tools she used made the masterclass that much more exciting. Kate Turner, who hosted ‘Learning to become a leader from within’ encouraged attendees to share the same views as their colleagues and to work hard to get their colleagues to share the same views as them. She expressed the importance of reinforcing to your team what you want people to demonstrate.

Closing off the day was the motivational session hosted by the vibrant Ros Taylor. Ros let everyone in the room know the perfect ingredients to create The Confidence Cocktail. Taking chances and challenging yourself were just some of the areas she wanted everyone in the room to focus on. She then went on to encourage everyone to think of four key words that explains them, and to use these words in the future to promote themselves.

Although a long day, the energy that came out of the attendees when the clock struck five was startling. The attendees’ enthusiasm showed that the day really did set out what it intended to do – it provided a great environment for women in technology to learn, grow and develop – something which is crucial in the industry.

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