Make a Good First Impression: Make Use of All Five Senses

For the Men

• Avoid most ’spicy’ fragrances. Even if you adore them, there are many people who cannot stand them.
• The emphasis should be on freshness and cleanliness.
• A musky or earthy smell is best, warm and soft.

For the Women

• Again, nothing spicy or overpowering.
• The emphasis here should be on delicacy and subtlety.
• The ideal fragrance for most women is jasmine.
• It’s always best to use products with only natural and organic compounds, as these are generally less likely to irritate those with particularly sensitive noses.
• Pay particular attention to your hair. Hair is surprisingly good at holding smells. Some people will even recommend you to apply perfume directly to your hair, but at the very least you should be paying attention to the smell of your shampoo.

Sound

While you may dislike the sound of your own voice, it is certainly worth making an effort to adjust the tone of your speech to allow yourself to sound more amiable/authoritative/trustworthy.

• If you have a strong local accent (ask someone non-local whether you do, as your friends may not notice it) then it may be worth paying for elocution lessons in order to tone it down and achieve a more universal voice.
• A lisp isn’t necessarily a bad thing. To some it may even be endearing. If you feel that your listp is adversely affecting your ability to speak clearly and precisely then you should consider visiting a speech therapist. If not, do not try and hide the fact that you have a lisp as this will invariably make it sound worse.
• If you speak in any form of eye dialect or local slang, be careful to avoid using it in inappropriate situations.
• Cursing is fine if the situation allows for it. Don’t overdo it, but don’t be that one guy that refuses to curse. A curse word is a powerful weapon when used appropriately, and a black mark against your name when it isn’t.
• Always speak slowly and clearly (but not patronizingly). You may have heard a million times that you should think before you speak, but just how often do you really do this. It’s a skill worth acquiring if you haven’t already.
• Use technical words in technical situations, at all other times stick to your common parlance.
• Think about all the other sounds that you make vocally that don’t really count as speech, and apply the same rules to these as to your speaking.

Touch

• The human psyche is obsessed with touch, and if you expect to be touched, then you should be in a position to cater to this.
• Keep your skin moisturized. Men, this won’t erode your manhood or make you ‘metrosexual’, it’s simply a sign that you are looking after your own body, and an invitation to be touched more often.
• Stubble is fine. Beards, generally, are not. Women, unfortunately, you are expected to keep yourself entirely smooth.
• Experiment with textures in clothing. Flock printed t-shirts, corduroy and suede can turn your outfit into a touch journey.
• Accessories made of different materials (shells, wood, metals) should be worn expressly to be played with. Accessories make an impression on sight, but their true function should be to make your body fun to touch.
• Men, a ’six-pack’ is unnecessary, but a little definition goes a long way.
  Women, as long as your weight is ‘healthy’ you shouldn’t worry too much about it. Too much excess fat is indeed a turn off, but you should have at least some. No, really.

Taste

Yes. Though somewhat eclipsed by the other senses in terms of the signals your own body is giving off you should, theoretically aim to ‘taste’ good. I don’t mean that sexually at all. Put simply, if you are looking after your body properly then you should taste as well as look, smell and feel good. If you have a good diet and beauty regime (you too men) then this should also be taken care of.