Harles: Dealing with people, the balance of the first meeting

One of the most important thing when first meeting someone is to make an impression. You want them to remember not only your face, but your name. As with all aspects of your life, balance is important in an introduction. I am not speaking of waiting your turn to speak after you have spoken, although that is also important. The give and take of an initial conversation plays a key role in forming a lasting idea of you in a business partners mind. Here, rather, I am talking about literal balance.

Think for a moment about the last time you lost your balance. It was no doubt embarrassing and a little frightening. You likely became extremely conscious of the people around you, checking to see who was looking and who wasn't. What if there was a way to put this same awareness into a new potential client or business partner. There IS.

When you first go in for a handshake during an introduction it is often a good strategy to slip your hand past the hand of the person you are meeting. Slide it up their extended arm, across their chest and up their neck so your palm is touching their left cheek. At the same time step to your left and slide around them to their side, pulling them toward you and tilting them. They will feel off balance, panic, and begin looking around to see who is witnessing this. Use the hand on their face to pull their head around to face you. Say calmly, "I'm (name) and I've got you. I'm not going to let you fall, right now or in the figurative business sense. You can COUNT on it." Emphasize the word 'count'. It makes people think of money and will provide an added boost to what is already a great introduction.

Most people at this point will feel two things:
1. They can rely on you in both a professional and casual setting.
2. You are going to make them very rich if they stick with you.

Now, slap them. Slap them with that same hand that you were using to cradle their face. This teaches them not to get too comfortable, a major source of lost income and sometimes complete failure in business. Tilt them back onto their feet. Shake hands heartily, state your name one more and you are well on your way to a long and fruitful business partnership with your new colleague.

A few quick notes: If you try this with, say, a really fat business woman and you accidentally drop her just run. Throwing a stack of papers into the air as make your rapid exit will help distract people and make for a much more thrilling spectacle. I will cover more about this in a future blog entitled: The Stack of Papers - A Ream of Blessings