Summary: Saying hello can greatly impact your life by shaping first impressions, which are formed quickly and can last a long time. To make a positive first impression, focus on your voice, body language, and genuine curiosity in conversations. Every greeting is an opportunity to connect, learn, and potentially build a meaningful relationship.
Your voice doesn’t start in your head, as we might imagine, it starts down between your gut and your heart with the pull of your diaphragm. By the time the air travels all the way up your throat to be shaped by your vocal cords, it already should possess the resonance of your body. (View Highlight)
If someone asks you “what do you do?” resist the temptation to respond with your job title. Instead, respond with an “I believe” statement. Example:
*“So, Jim, What do you do?”
“ I believe story, art, and design can bend the arc of humanity’s progress, and I try to bring that into everything I do: from movies to startups to paintings to books and to ballets.”
*A statement of belief will start more interesting conversations than your job title. If the person doesn’t immediately ask a question in return, you can ask themwhat they believe. Compare this to the usual path: if you open with your job title or rank, this sets up a confrontational hierarchy. And if you introduce yourself with something vague, like “finance” or “tech” or “science” or “art” this sends a signal that you don’t really want to talk about it. Open with an idea, and the conversation is already interesting before it begins. We crave interestingness over almost all else. (View Highlight)
