First impression on the date

Making a positive first impression on a date is essential, but how can you achieve this? The initial few seconds of meeting someone can have a significant impact, so it's crucial to make them count. Whether we realize it or not, we tend to evaluate someone's body language, attire, and tone of voice when we first meet them. Therefore, it's important to be aware of these factors and use them to your advantage. Here are some tips to help you showcase the best and most authentic version of yourself.

1. Your thoughts affect your impression

What thoughts do you fill yourself with and how do you think about yourself? Your thoughts play a significant role in how you perceive yourself, and this can be reflected in your body language. Therefore, it's crucial to cultivate positive thoughts and beliefs about yourself. When you approach a new situation or meet someone new, try to adopt a mindset of curiosity and exploration. Rather than feeling pressure to impress or perform, view it as an opportunity to learn and discover more about yourself and the other person. This approach can help alleviate some of the potential stress and anxiety and allow you to approach the situation with a more open and positive mindset.

2. The importance of body language

Research has shown that 55% of our communication is made by our body language. As a result, how you present yourself when speaking has a significant influence on how your date perceives you. Your body language can either create a sense of safety and comfort or make your date feel uneasy and guarded, thereby setting the tone for the type of conversations you'll have. Therefore, it's crucial to be mindful of your nonverbal cues and try to project an open and approachable demeanor to establish a positive and engaging dynamic with your date.

Think about your posture. Stretch and have an open and inviting body language. If you walk in with bad posture, there is a risk that you are perceived as insecure. If you sit with your arms crossed, you can be perceived as closed or criticizing. Try to relax and become more confident in yourself by focusing on your breathing and relax your muscles and shoulders.

3. Your choice of clothing

Your clothes can be a powerful "tool" to express yourself and show who you are or what is important to you. You can, as an example, choose outfits that hint that you're a creative person. If it's important to you to spread joy, you might choose something colorful, while if you want to show that you're passionate about sustainability or nature, you might choose something that hints at that.

Perhaps the most important thing, however, is to choose clothes that lift you up, that you feel good in. Clothes affect how we feel to some extent, so it is important to think it through. Because what you want is to maximize your own sense of being comfortable in yourself and in the situation, that will make it much easier to relax and be yourself.

4. How to avoid a hoarse or cracked voice

When it comes to the voice, the breathing plays a significant role. Try to find the deep breath. If we breathe deeply, we signal to the brain that we are calm and this calms our nervous system. So take some really deep and calm breaths before you meet the person. Find the deep breath by placing a hand on your stomach and feel your stomach go out as you inhale. Then the stomach goes in when you exhale. Deep breathing also makes us appear safe, which can be a good starting point when meeting a new person. You can also go back and just notice your breathing during the date itself while listening to calm the system.

Nervous?

If you want to ground yourself before the date, you can listen to a