How to Make a Good Impression & Leave Them Wanting More of You

Everyone in life should know how to make a good impression. The better image people have of you from the start, the more opportunities you have.

There are way too many situations you’ll be in where you need to know how to make a good impression. A first date, an interview, and meeting new friends are just the tip of the iceberg.

In truth, you should know how to make people like you after just a few short moments together. Even if you’re the introverted type, you never know what could result from a positive meeting with someone. You could end up with a better job or even an incredible partner based on how they feel about you right away.

Too many people don’t care about the impression they leave on others

This is just the reality of life. And while you shouldn’t really care what people think about you as a whole, you should aim to leave them with great thoughts of you. When you don’t care, your impact on people can be a lot more harmful than you think. [Read: 12 easy ways to avoid a first impression catastrophe]

How to make a good impression and make people love you right away

The benefits of being well-liked are far better than you can imagine. You’ll feel better about yourself, you’ll make meaningful connections, and you’ll just leave the world with a positive view of who you are.

But in today’s society, our default isn’t to be outgoing and likable. We want to be ourselves and are concerned with what we want. Knowing how to make a good impression isn’t common knowledge. But here’s how to change that.

#1 Smile more. If you want people to like you, you have to make them think their presence makes you happy. The more positive you appear to be, the better impression people will have of you.

Even if you have to force it at first, do it. Many people can look upset or even angry when they’re just feeling neutral. If you’re one of those people, make an extra effort to appear more upbeat and happy. [Read: How to smile more and change your life]

#2 Be attentive. There’s nothing better than talking to someone who’s actually listening. When you appear to be paying really close attention and you care about what someone else is saying, that’ll make an impact on them. We all want to be heard and if you make someone feel that way, they’ll love your company.

#3 Ask about their life. The entire point of learning how to make a good impression is about making someone feel cared about. A great way to do that easily is to ask about their life. You don’t have to go into intense detail, but just ask.

If you know they’ve been doing something major at work, ask about it. You can even just talk about something you saw recently on their social media. If you make them feel like you care about their life, they’ll want you around more.

#4 Don’t interrupt. This has a lot to do with being an attentive listener, but it’s also just about manners. The more someone interrupts you, the less they care about what you have to say. When you make someone feel like their voice doesn’t matter, you push them further away. So avoid doing this. [Read: Why people talk too much and how to handle them]

#5 Make them feel special in some way. It can be anything, really. Find out something about them that’s unique and talk about how much you like that about them. When you make someone feel special, they’ll crave your attention more. That’ll leave them with a great impression of you when they head home for the night.

#6 Laugh at their jokes. People love to feel funny. Not only that, they also love to feel like you get them. Sharing a sense of humor with someone will definitely make them think of you in a more positive light.

They’ll remember you as the person who thought they were funny. So if you truly want to know how to make a good impression, laugh with them. They’ll feel connected to you and that’ll resonate with them.

#7 Make physical contact. Innocently, obviously. You can’t go around slapping people’s butts. Just make light contact. Put your hand on their shoulder or even just shake their hand when you leave.

Once you make that physical contact, you’ve established a connection. And as long as it’s appropriate, they’ll remember you positively. [Read: 20 types of physical touches and what they mean]

#8 Look great. Not everything is about appearance. That being said, if you want to leave them with a good impression, you want to take a little more care in how you look. If you look like a bum, they’ll remember that. If you look amazing, it’ll only add to their positive impression of you.

So spend more time to get dolled up. You don’t have to go out of your way to buy a new outfit, but be clean and smell great.

#9 Hold yourself with confidence. The more confidence you have, the better the people around you feel. However, there is a line you can’t cross. If you get cocky, it’ll be annoying. That being said, if you maintain an air of confidence, it’ll ooze into other people and they’ll like you just as much as you like yourself.

#10 Make an effort to talk to multiple people. Don’t just hang around a single person. People are observant. They can tell if you favor one person and that’ll be odd to them. They’ll feel left out.

If you want to leave people with a good impression, focus on leaving everyone with that impression of you. Talk to a bunch of different people. Spread your positivity and people will begin to remember you that way. This will leave them thinking about you and wanting you around more. [Read: How to be funny and make people love your company]

#11 Ask follow-up questions. The way you interact with people will determine what they think of you when you leave. Instead of just nodding along to their ramblings, ask follow-up questions.

Get them talking more. Not only will you seem more invested, but they’ll feel like you actually care. They’ll go home that night and think of how you got them talking and they’ll want to see you again.

#12 Connect their life to yours in some way. People want a connection. They want to feel as though you should be in their life. The more you feel like you connect to them, the better they’ll feel about you.

So get them talking and see what you have in common. Don’t be afraid to point out similarities and expand on topics you’re interested in. When they feel as though you’re someone who belongs in their life, they’ll leave with a better impression of you.

[Read: How to talk at a party and make an impression]

A lot of learning how to make a good impression is about figuring out how to connect to someone on a deeper level. These tips can help you stand out from the crowd and leave people wanting more of you in their life.