‘Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover’ is a popular English idiom to portray the need to look past the shell or facade of someone or an object to see their truest form or nature. Yet, in reality it can be tricky and we are often being put in a situation where the first impression of people on us could be the break or make of us. Being stamped a ‘brand’ by another individual or group of people that we are not acquainted with is expected and a norm even in our daily lives.
However, there is a way to tackle this. As shared by Rotary Club’s Past District Governor, Andre Suharto during the ‘Brand Yourself Before Others Brand You’ virtual meeting hosted by Rotary Club of Puteri Lagoon Johor Bahru. Below is the rundown of what he has shared.
Know the person you are engaging with
Determining whom you are talking to or getting in touch with is important. Different people have different nerves and that requires a certain approach. So getting to know them first is a good start.
Engaging regularly with quality input or take out
Engaging with people regularly is great to make them understand that we are keeping them in mind. It does not have to be frequent, just regular enough with sensible input that is of their interest. Another way is to have them depart from prior engagement with a good take out, like good information or connection.
Improve the experience of the people you are engaging with
After quite some time, there is bound to be some miscommunications or clash of values in the time of acquaintance and while it is inevitable, there is always room for improvements. Now that we know what these acquaintances are not in favour of, avoid it and find a better way to communicate with them.
Be aware of any feedback you get
Feedback or in other words – criticism is important. Bear in mind to not take it personally as these people do not know you in person, and they are taking whatever they see or experience initially which is less than 30% of who you are. Take it in and then adjust on how to make the next experience with them better.
Keeping all these simple points in mind would help you in the long run for any type of relationships you are trying to keep tabs on whether for work, community, organisations, and so on.
Besides, these are basically modern twists from old proverbs for an example, “Action speaks louder than words”. Doing it is better proof than simply talking about it.
Remember to “Walk the talk” and “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today” because these people whom we are acquainting with could definitely tell if we are making an effort in keeping a good relationship.
