Ten Tips for Successful Meetings and Greetings

By Lydia Ramsey

Most businesspeople meet and greet many people every day. Whether you are making the initial contact with a client or meeting with a colleague, it’s important to make a good first impression. Here are some simple yet effective tips that will ensure that all of your encounters get off on the right foot.

1. Stand up when you meet someone. This allows you to engage the person on an equal level—eye to eye. By remaining seated, you send a message that you don't think the other person is important enough to warrant the effort it takes to stand. If you find yourself in a position where you can’t stand up—perhaps you are stuck behind a potted plant—offer an apology and an explanation. You might say something like, “Please excuse me for not getting up. I can’t seem to get around the foliage.”

2. Smile. Your facial expression says more than your words. Look as if you are pleased to meet the other person, regardless of what is really on your mind.

3. Make eye contact. Looking directly at the people you meet says you are focused on and interested in them. If you look somewhere else, you may appear to be looking for someone more interesting to come along.

4. Introduce yourself immediately. Identify yourself as soon as you approach or are approached by someone you don’t know. Don’t stand around waiting to be formally introduced.

5. Include a statement about who you are when necessary. It is not always enough to say, “Hello, I'm Mary Jones.” Give more information--“Hello, I’m Mary Jones, I'm in charge of sales for XYZ Corporation.”

6. Offer a firm handshake. Extend your hand as you give your greeting. The person who puts a hand out first comes across as confident and at ease. Make sure that this physical part of your greeting is professional—no bone-crushing grips or wimpy, limp-wristed shakes. Also, note that the old rules about men and women shaking hands no longer apply. It’s the 21st century—everyone in business shakes hands with everyone else.

7. Learn how to make smooth introductions. In business you always introduce the person of lesser rank to the person of higher rank. The way to do this is to say the name of the more important person first, followed by the words “I'd like to introduce...” and then give the other person's name. Be sure to add something about each person so they know why they are being introduced and will have some information with which to start a conversation.

8. Know who the more important person is. The client or the business prospect is more important than your boss. (Just hope your boss agrees).

9. Pay attention to names when you meet people. Focus on the other person. If you concentrate and repeat the name as soon as you hear it, you stand a better chance of remembering it later.

10. Use first names of people whom you have just met only after they give you permission. Not everyone wants to be addressed informally on the initial encounter. It is better to err on the side of formality than to offend someone.

Your goal within the first few minutes of meeting other people is to make them feel comfortable and to put them at ease so they will want to do business with you. When you are confident of the rules for those critical initial encounters, you will have a solid basis on which to build profitable long-term relationships.

Improve your communication skills at these AMA Seminars:

• Interpersonal Skills
• How to Communicate with Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility

Author Bio: Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert with over 30 years of experience. She is the author of the book Manners that Sell--Adding the Polish that Builds Profits. She writes a business etiquette column for several southeastern newspapers and has written for the Wall Street Journal, Selling Power, Cosmopolitan and Woman’s Day. For more information please visit: www.mannersthatsell.com.