Seal the Deal: The Power of Last Impressions
We have to face reality that first impressions often steal the spotlight. However, the importance of leaving a strong last impression should not be underestimated. Whereas first impressions open the door to opportunities and set the tone for delivering a message or topic, a last impression seals the deal, proves your authority on the matter and gives a finishing touch for a lasting effect. You need to know what kind of lasting effect you want to leave, because it is possible to plan and practice so that your closing can enhance your goal.
Whether it's regarding a job interview, a networking event, or a client meeting, the way you end an interaction can leave a lasting impact on others. In this blog post, we will explore the key components of making memorable last impressions in professional settings.
Get ready to shine and make a lasting impact!
Why Last Impressions Matter
To understand why last impressions matter, we need to look at the psychology behind the final moments of an interaction. The peak-end rule concept is a cognitive bias that suggests that individuals tend to disproportionately remember the peak (the most intense or emotionally impactful moment) and the end (the final moments) of an experience rather than the overall duration of the experience. Obviously, this phenomenon has significant implications for how people perceive and remember interactions with others. That doesn’t mean that your entire presentation, introduction or speech was for nothing - it just means a good last impression is going to solidify the experience of the listener.
Looking still at the psychology behind the final moments of an interaction, here is why a last impression can be such a strong moment:
They Make an Emotional Impact: Positive or negative emotions felt at the end of an interaction can color the entire experience and influence the individual's lasting memory of the encounter.
The Provide a Sense Closure and Satisfaction: No one likes to have loose ends. The final moments of an interaction provide closure and a sense of completion for both parties involved. How the interaction concludes, whether with clarity, resolution, or positivity, can significantly impact the overall satisfaction and perception of the experience.
They Amplify or Diminish your Goal: Whether it’s an interview or call to action that was your goal, a last impression can amplify this or diminish. Having a strong closure emphasizes what the purpose of the whole experience was.
A good last impression can have a significant impact on building relationships, closing deals, and leaving a positive lasting memory. By nailing your final moments of interactions and experiences, you can enhance relationships, increase chances of success, and create a lasting positive impression that can benefit you in various aspects of your professional lives. Here are some ways a great last impression can help you on your journey to success.
Building Relationships: A good last impression can solidify and strengthen relationships by leaving a positive and memorable final interaction. When individuals end a conversation or meeting on a high note, it creates a sense of satisfaction, trust, and goodwill that can enhance the bond between them.
Closing Deals: In the context of business and negotiations, a good last impression can be critical in closing deals successfully. The final moments of a negotiation or sales pitch can sway the decision-making process and influence the outcome. It can leave a memorable mark on potential clients, partners, or stakeholders, enhancing their confidence in the deal and increasing the likelihood of a successful agreement.
Leaving a Positive Lasting Memory: The impact of a good last impression extends beyond immediate interactions and can leave a lasting memory in the minds of others. When individuals consistently make positive final impressions, they create a favorable and enduring image that can shape how they are perceived in the long term. By leaving a positive lasting memory through good last impressions, individuals can build a strong reputation, garner respect, and create opportunities for future collaborations, referrals, and success.
“Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after having an experience with you becomes your trademark.”
Tips and Strategies for Sealing the Deal - Verbal Cues
Here are some practical tips and strategies for effectively sealing the deal and making a positive lasting impression. By incorporating these practical tips and strategies into your interactions, you can effectively seal the deal, make a positive lasting impression, and increase your chances of success in building relationships, closing deals, and leaving a lasting impact on others.
BEFORE - Prepare and Plan Ahead
Anything I ever do with my clients, we always start with preparing, analyzing and planning. I would go even further to say that about 80% of success is good planning. Before any important meeting or negotiation, take the time to thoroughly prepare and plan your objectives, key points, and desired outcomes. This will help you stay focused, organized, and confident during the interaction.
What is your goal? If this is an interview, then your goal is to show you are the best candidate for this position. If this experience is a sales pitch, your goal is to create a last impression that will be a call to action so you can sell. You need to know the goal, then plan around that to create a well-received ending statement.
Who is your target audience? Look at the profile of who you are talking to in general. If you can find any patterns, that can work to your advantage. This does not mean we stereotype people. However, we do need to know what is appropriate and what is not, as well as what listeners might react to more positively - let’s put it this way, if you are at a medical conference for incurable diseases, you will not be making and dark humor jokes as a part of your ending.
How long do you want your closing line to be? You never want to have a closing line that will be too long as this diminishes the effect of the closing statement. If this is a presentation, sales pitch or a speech, generally allocate maximum 10% of your time for it. That means in a 30 minute listening experience, only 3 minutes will be allocated for a review, sum up and generally a closing statement, which will together form a last impression on the listeners. Let’s not forget, this is very individual and based on the particular experience you will be delivering so even 5% can be appropriate in some situations.
Important note: in case you are preparing an interview or introduction, most likely you will be given just time enough for a closing statement so the 10% rule is not really applicable to those situations. In exceptional cases recruiters may ask you to sum up why you think you are the best candidate so it can be a bit longer, but in this circumstance, generally, you will have a very concise and on-point closing.
DURING - Follow The Three-Part-Closure
There are several ways that you can craft your last impression. In the previous step I outlined that the duration does play an important role. I would say your last impression is made out of three distinct parts which I call The Three-Part-Closure: Sum up (Review) + Goal emphasis + Closing statement. Not all situations require all three parts to make a successful lasting impression, though, and this is where the art of planning and tailoring to your own needs comes in. So what exactly are these three parts and how can you customize them to your advantage? At the end of this blog I will give you real-life examples, however it is important for you to understand why they are important and how they comprise a well-rounded ending to the experience you are delivering.
Sum up/Review. Having a review of what you just talked about highlights what you just talked about and help the audience remember everything they have heard in the time you have started talking. It is a great way to show what value they have received for the time they have given to you, it helps them summarize their experience in a nutshell and it also gives a very clean ending to a whole topic. The longer the presentation/speech was, the more important the sum-up or review is, after all, humans don’t have a very long attention span no matter how interesting your topic or speech might have been.
Goal emphasis. This part serves the purpose of solidifying why you came here in the first place and should be a representation of your whole presentation or speech. That means that hopefully, beforehand you have already made some pointers which would emphasize your goal. Your goal can be to demonstrate your expertise and value, deepen relationships, focus on solutions, sell a product, manage a concern, promote a brand or negotiate a deal. Whatever your goal is, you need to have already proved a point and this part will then serve to reminder listeners of why your goal matters.
Closing Statement. Always close with confidence and clarity. A closing statement can be very varied depending on the situation you are in. It can explain the next steps, be a call to action, emphasize importance, include a quote as a thoughful finisher, express appreciation towards the listeners and their time or even be a joke to end the topic in a positive and light way. The closing statement is a powerful one and will definitely be important, kind of like a cherry on top of a cake. To find an appropriate closing statement you need to look at your particular situation. Do circumstance allow for you to be witty? Is the topic very serious and you need to have a dramatic flair of an ending to make an impact? Or are you in a more formal setting where you can thank your audience and express willingness to cooperate in the future? A lot of this will depend on your personal style. If you are not comfortable with humorous endings (yet!) then don’t use them just because someone said this is a perfect way to make a last impression. Your last impression is YOUR and YOUR last impression only.
AFTER
Congratulations! You made a great last impression and what now? Well, it really depends on your circumstances, but generally you last impression has not fully ended. You will still be watched for your post-presentation or post-speech reaction. If you have just been introduced to your new team, maybe you will shake hands with everyone (if culturally appropriate). If you are at a science conference, you may have other scientists approach you to share their thoughts, or if you had a sales pitch, you might have potential customers approaching you. How you react to these situations will play a small, but significant part in your last impression. This is when people see you outside of the presenter role and will look to see if what you have talked about matches your overall behaviour. However, these circumstances are a phenomenal opportunity to really seal the deal.
Whatever the case, stay grounded, stay calm and be yourself. You just did a great job, and all you have to do now is engage in the circumstance that you are in. Do not pressure yourself to excel. Make eye contact, show appreciation, if necessary talk about your topic or goal and know when is your time to leave. Only when you have completely left the scene, that is when your last impression ends
After the entire interaction has ended, a follow up may be appropriate. This would be the case of a job interview where you would send a short thank you note or email to express appreciation for the recruiter’s time and reiterate your commitment to get the job. Of course if you were just introduced to your team and shook hands with everyone, please don’t send individual emails - in this case less is more.
Tips and Strategies for Non-Verbal Cues!
Think again, if you imagine all you have to do is stand, read aloud what you prepared and get a very good lasting impression. It’s time to delve a bit deeper into non-verbal cues and how body language, facial experessions, spacial awareness and eye contact all play a role in creating your memorable last impression!
Eye contact creates a bridge between you and the listener, it is literally a contact point between you that is beyond physical touch. Maintain good eye contact to convey confidence, attentiveness, and sincerity. Avoiding eye contact can give the impression of disinterest or dishonesty. You want to show you are open and noticing the listener. What if you are in a big audience? Same thing! Make eye contact with people, keeping a connections for 2-3 seconds, not more and not less. If you keep a connection for more it might be uncomfortable. If you keeep it shorter, then it seems erratical. The sweet spot is 2-3 seconds, long enough to establish a connection and short enough for it to be pleasant for both. In case you are not comfortable with doing this with a big audience, there is a trick! Look at the listener’s forehead, right above the eyes or slighty over their head. It will help you manage this circumstance until you public speaking skills improve, because, after all, this is just a matter of practice.
Facial expressions play a big role in non-verbal cues. Pay attention to your facial expressions and try to convey warmth, positivity, and enthusiasm. A smile and nod can show that you are engaged and receptive. Rolling your eyes can show disinterest and annoyance. What kind of facial gestures you will use depend on what emotion you want to envoke. Is it positivity? Seriousness? Empathy? All you have to do is match your facial exppressions to the emotions that are connected to your subject, topic and goal.
Posture, in the eyes of listeners, gives away your mood and attitude. Stand or sit up straight, with your shoulders back and relaxed and head held high and straight. Good posture exudes confidence and can make you appear more confident and assertive. Slouching can make you seem tired, defensive or disinterested. Posture is a matter of practice. I even recommend to clients, if necessary, to work on their posture by wearing a posture correcting vest as a prt of their preparation process. Nothing can beat good posture and good posture is something people notice and admire - it is such an important part of not just your last impression, but also your first impression and overall impresion as well!
Gestures! Use open and expressive gestures to emphasize your points and engage with the listeners. Avoid crossing your arms or fidgeting, as it can signal defensiveness or nervousness. Don’t play with your hair, jewelry, buttons or even pick your fingers. All of this might be minor to you but deliveres a wrong impression to the audience. It is a sign of anxiety and nervousness and doesn’t exude the confidence we want you to exude to the listeners. While using open gestures, it is important not to overdo them as this will be counterproductive as well. The best advice here is to use them in unison with the key points you might be making, and match them to your intonation.
Mirroring is something that is an option if you are in a 1:1 setting. For a bigger group, you will need to refer to the other cues listed as mirroring a crowd is not possible and definitely not advisable (I do have to admit trying to mirror a big audience creates comical scenes in my head, but it is not something you want to do in rela life!). Mirroring means that you copy the the body language and gestures of the other person as sunconsciously this makes the person more open to you. It can help establish rapport and create a sense of connection. As an example, match their tone to create a sense of alignment and match their pace to create a sense of understanding. Just a side note on that: Mirroring does not mean being a mime and mirroring every single movement. This can be interpretated as mockery and is an emotion you do nto want to envoke.
Personal space is a little overlooked and sometimes can be outside of your control, especially if you are on a stage. Respecting personal space by maintaining an appropriate distance from the other person, in a more intimate setting is important. Invading their space can be seen as aggressive or intrusive. In a small space most likely you will not move much but focus rather on having a respectable distance or maybe making one step here or there. However, in a stage setting, you will be moving around and going too fast can seem like you are nervous or want to just get it over with. Not moving at all can be a sign of fear and stiffness. There are several methods on how to move around a stage and one of them is the triangle method. You can outline a triangle and then see which are the three (general) points between which you will move. You move when you go through your presentation from one key point to the next. You stay at the triangle tip while explaining your point. You will not move too fast, in fact, it might take you a whole presentation to do one round. Your movement should be synchronized to your speech and for your ending, that means that you will move along the triangle right as you start talking about a review or sum-up and then stay there until you finish your closing sentence.
EXAMPLES of Successful Three-Part-Closures
As promised, I will give you an outline how you can craft your perfect ending and make a long-lasting final impression that will engage the listeners and create a positive and memorable experience.
Our formula is: Sum up (Review) + Goal emphasis + Closing statement. Keep in mind for some situations, not all three parts will be equal in length or even reasonable to implement.
Job Interview. You may not have a sum-up, unless asked by a recruiter to do a sum-up or answer a question like ‘name two of your strongest skills’. So here we go directly to goal emphasis and a closing statement: I appreciate you giving me the chance to showcase my skills and how they match the role of [position name]. Thank you very much for you time and consideration, have a great day!
Sales Pitch: I am sure throughout the last 30 minutes you realized why we believe in our product, what the benefits are and how it can enhance your professional setting. We truly believe [product name] will make a difference and considering our return policy of 30 days it is a no-brainer to give it a go while we still have this 50% off promotion running. Let’s not forget, time is money and [product name] will save you time so that you can focus on what matters most!
Brand Promotion: As a brand ambassador of [brand name] I am thrilled I had a chance to portray our new product line and explain to you the behind-the-scenes of making a brand like [brand name]. Our values [value 1], [value 2] and [value 3] are important to us and our goal is to be accessible to each and every one of you. We would now like to open our sampling desk which is located at the left side of the entrance. Thank you for your attention and enjoy your first-hand experience of [brand name]!
Team Introduction. You may not need to do a sum-up as usually your whole introduction to the team would already give some information about skills and background. This line is optional and would probably not be necessary (use with caution!): Overall, I have had 5 years to gain [type of skill], improve [skill or area] and reach [goal]. What you will definitely want to use in your last impression is emphasis on a goal: I will give my best to be a valuable asset to our team so we can reach our goals and targets. I am looking forward to getting to know everyone and working with you all.
These are just various examples that can help you craft your perfect last impression. The key is to plan ahead, analyze and customize as necessary. You need to be flexible and adapt to the particular circumstance you are going to be in. Feel free to customize these xamples to your needs and goals.
At Ness Coaching, in personalized 1:1 coaching sessions, I can help you craft the perfect speech, presentation or introduction so that your first and last impression will stengthen your goal and help you reach success faster!
“Last impressions leave LASTING impressions.”
While first impressions can set the tone and open up the listeners to what you have to say, in the end, if you want to make a lasting impression, you need to think of a proper ending to enhance that overall feeling and solidify the whole experience. Seal the deal! In this blog we covered why last impressions are so important, what is the psychology behind their value, how you can use verbal and non-verbal cues to your advantage and how anyone can craft a perfect last impression following The Three-Part-Conclusion.
By planning ahead and practicing these strategies given to you, you will be able to enhance your personal presentation, deepen professional relationships, reach your goals, establish partnerships as well as demonstrate professionalism, exude confidence, authenticity, build trust, and leave a lasting impression in your professional settings.
At Ness Coaching, creating last impressions to seal the deal are a part of Coaching Programs like The Game Changer: Unlocking Your Dream Career, Talk the Talk: Impressing With Your Words and Presence and Lead by Example: The Ultimate Leadership Coaching Program!
It’s your time to shine and excel! Ness Coaching is here for you with tailored one-on-one Coaching Programs that will guide you every step of the way!
Try Your FREE Discovery Session - it’s entirely free of charge and can show you how you can unlock your potential and inspire you to aspire to your greatest goals.