"Hello" Or "Step Right Up!"

My buddy Scott (aka The Guy With The Nametag) Ginsberg wrote a great blog piece entitled "First Words Make (or Break) First Impressions". Below are a couple of excerpts to whet your appetite for the full article. While Scott is focusing on the words we speak as a first impression I couldn't help but think that written words *Cough*businesscards*Cough* have the same ability to make a good first impression.

SAD BUT TRUE FACT: the first impression window is narrowing. Consider these numbers:

• In the 80'’s and 90'’s, NLP authors like Nicholas Boothman claimed you only had 90 seconds to make a first impression
• By the time the new millennium hit, you only had four seconds, according to hundreds of articles
• In 2005, Malcom GladwellÂ’s bestselling book Blink explained that people made first impressions in TWO seconds
• This year, an article from The BBC quoted a study which explained that Internet surfers form an impression "in one 20th of a second of viewing a webpage".

I used to work at the Ritz Carlton. We were trained to eliminate the word "Hello" from our vocabulary. It was always "Good morning!" or "Welcome in!" What ever happened to phraseology like that? Have we become so rushed, so programmed, so unfriendly, so unapproachable and so robotic that we can't sincerely take the time to offer a customer a warm welcome?

Nevertheless, the following list of substitute phrases will make the first words out of your mouth UNFORGETTABLE: Instead of "Next" try:
"Step right up!"
"Come on down!" (that one's for you, Bob Barker!)
"Don't be shy!"

So in the style of HelloMyNameIsScott...LET ME ASK YA THIS...
What kind of first impression does your business card leave?
Is your business card a simple "Hello" or a hearty "Step Right Up!"

Regards,
Chief Show Officer
www.ShowOffCards.com
Home of the World's Most Unique Business Cards

Tags Scott Ginsberg, First Impression