How to Make a First-Rate First Impression

Add Context to Your Introduction

Dr. Nancy Weigle, Associate Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health, often meets new patients with medical students by her side. She advises students to introduce themselves to patients as a student and to explain their role in the encounter. The extra information clears up confusion and puts people at ease.

“Sometimes we assume people know who we are,” Weigle said. “But being clear with an introduction can go a long way.”

When making an introduction in any setting, fold in details such as where you work and your role to help new acquaintances know where you fit in their network.

Add a Human Element

In his role, Duke Career Center and Nicholas Institute Senior Career Specialist Carl Thompson needs collaborative relationships with industry professionals, Duke alumni and campus colleagues.

Hired in spring 2023, he has been busy building new connections, meaning he’s often faced the challenge of making a great first impression.

“I just try to remind myself to be confident and be myself,” Thompson said.

With nearly half of Duke’s workforce hired within the past three years, new professional relationships are being formed everywhere. They begin with a first encounter which, when done right, sets the tone for a positive connection.

Here are some ways to make your next first impression a success:

With many workdays consisting of virtual meetings, Lora Griffiths, a Research Award Manager on the remote Campus Award Management team, appreciates that her colleagues know one another as more than just email addresses.

Since the pandemic, her team has hosted regular Friday Zoom get-togethers known as “tea times.” In these meetings, new employees introduce themselves and are encouraged to share bits of their lives outside of work with colleagues, who do the same.

“This helps everyone know that we’re all just normal people,” said Griffiths.

By offering a glimpse of your life and personality, colleagues find common ground and add a human element to work interactions.

Be a Good Listener

Author and Fuqua Business School Instructor Dorie Clark said that one way to leave a good first impression is to turn the focus away from yourself and toward the other person.

By being a good listener and asking questions about the other person and what they do, you show your interest in the connection.

“It’s surprisingly rare in contemporary society to be a genuinely good listener,” Clark said. “We will, by default, make a good impression with the other person if we are just thoughtful listeners and really try to draw them out and get to know them. That will cause them to want to get to know us.” 

By Stephen Schramm

Learn more with Dorie Clark’s “Networking the Right Way,” a 27-minute LinkedIn Learning course available through Duke at no cost: duke.is/znfug