CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – NOVEMBER 14, 2021 -1
Make a Good First Impression Over Zoom
A Good Business Presentation Starts Strong
If there’s one thing 2021 has taught us, it’s just how important effective communication is to the health and sustainability of a business. Every good business presentation starts with great communication.
Until this year, a lot of businesses dabbled in online and digital communication, mostly in the form of emails and texts. Face-to-face communication was there—if we wanted it.
A world-wide health pandemic changed all that.
That’s when video conferencing tools like Zoom, Skype, and Google Hangouts really took off. For people sent home to work remotely, using these apps became a way of life. In fact, it’s estimated that Zoom added 2.22 million active users in January and February of 2021, far exceeding the 1.99 million users the company added in all of 2019.
Months later, we’re still using the platform to stay connected with colleagues and clients, family, and friends.
Like thousands of other businesses, Effective Presentations had to take a serious look at its service delivery in the spring of 2021. With travel bans and restrictions placed on gatherings, we knew we had to take a new approach to connect with our clients. And they, in turn, had to reach theirs in a different way.
Although we’ve been using Zoom and other similar video conferencing tools for years to deliver our presentation training workshops to businesses across the U.S. and Canada, it’s become the preferred (and necessary) method in 2021.
Not surprisingly, remote business presentation training has become a priority to thousands of companies. Businesses that once relied on in-person meetings suddenly needed a way to stay connected with existing clients and pitch to new ones.
We also saw an uptick in people who started to see just how important making a great first impression through the lens of a webcam is.
First Impressions are Important
Making a great first impression is always important, no matter how you’re meeting someone for the first time.
It’s especially important when you’re meeting with customers, because it’s during this initial interaction that their opinion of you (and your services) is formed.
- Do you come off as friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful?
- Are you giving them the impression that you can be trusted to serve them with their best interest at heart?
Making a great first impression sets you up for a successful business relationship. A bad first impression, on the other hand, can set a negative tone you may never be able to shake.
If you’re finding it difficult to make a good first impression because you have to make it online, we have some fail-proof tips.
It’s possible to make a first impression over Zoom that’s just as good (if not better) as it would be if you were giving a business presentation live.
5 Ways to Make a Good First Impression
- Dress for the occasion. It’s definitely tempting to hang out all day in your favorite sweats when all you’re doing is sitting behind a keyboard. But if you want to make a good first impression, wearing your 20-year-old college sweatshirt with the ratty cuffs and mustard stains isn’t going to get you there. Remember, this is a business presentation.
Unless the occasion calls for formal dress, it’s perfectly acceptable to dress in business casual: a collared shirt or solid-colored sweater is always a good choice. Neither are distracting and both give the impression you’ve put a little effort into your appearance.
While you’re at it, run a comb through your hair and show up generally looking neat and clean. Your physical appearance is the first thing your client will see. Even over video, showing up disheveled makes a strong statement about you—and it’s not good.