First impressions in the workplace are of paramount importance, as they form the foundation of trust and positive experiences between individuals. In this episode, we delve into the intricate psychology that governs these fleeting moments, illuminating how our brains make rapid assessments within mere seconds of arrival.

The exploration of first impressions in the workplace reveals a nuanced interplay between psychological principles and the physical environment. In a world where organisations invest considerable resources in strategising layouts and selecting decor, the subtle yet powerful influence of a warm welcome often goes overlooked.

Charlie Baber, with her expertise in crafting memorable first encounters, underscores the importance of training front-of-house teams to embody emotional intelligence and awareness. This episode highlights the essential role that first impressions play in shaping not only individual experiences but also collective workplace culture. The discussion also touches upon the evolutionary roots of our rapid judgment processes, illustrating how these instincts, while historically advantageous for survival, continue to affect our professional environments today. By understanding what makes first impressions effective, organisations can build trust and a sense of belonging, which in turn boost employee satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Takeaways:

• First impressions are formed within a mere seven seconds, underscoring their significance in workplace interactions.
• The psychological impact of a warm welcome is profound; it fosters trust and openness among individuals.
• Environmental factors such as lighting and signage influence first impressions, shaping perceptions of professionalism.
• Emotional intelligence is crucial for front of house teams, enabling them to manage perceptions effectively.
• Memorable moments in guest interactions are created through genuine engagement and attention to detail.
• Training for front of house roles should prioritize self-awareness and interpersonal skills to enhance guest experiences.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Apple
• Coral
• Amica

This is High Five, the podcast for anyone passionate about people and the modern workplace.

I'm Mike Galea and I'm here with Tristan Kelly to unpack what really drives creativity, culture, and high performing teams.

We're talking the big ideas, the small moments, and everything in between.

So buckle up. This one's full of energy.

Before you've even reached the desk, before a single word is spoken, the workplace has already told you a story. Seven seconds. That's all it takes for your brain to decide whether a place is safe, friendly, professional, somewhere you belong.

And yet most organizations spend more time choosing the carpet than designing the welcome. Today, we dive into the fascinating psychology behind those split second judgments.

The front of house magic that creates unforgettable moments and the impact of an exceptional hello. This is the episode where small gestures make big waves. Mike. It's amazing, isn't it?

Workplaces spend months perfecting strategy decks and furniture layouts, but the moment someone steps through the door, that's where the real story begins.

Well, it really does, because people don't wait to be impressed. You know, they're making judgments instantly. Before you even get to reception, before a word is exchanged, you're already forming.

A feeling, and that feeling becomes the filter for everything else. If the welcome is warm, confident human people relax, you know, they open up, they trust the space and the people in it.

But if it's confusing, cold, you know, or inconsistent, you're already fighting an uphill battle. It's incredible how a small lapse, like unclear signage, rush greens, cluttered lobbies, they, they do literally ripple through someone's entire day.

And what we love about this topic is it isn't just hospitality, it's psychology. Humans are wired to scan for warmth and competence instantly. You know, that whole Amy Cuddy insight that we've both used for years.

Exactly. But the built environment plays a part too. You know, we talked about this.

Lighting, acoustic, scent flow, those aesthetic choices, their emotional cues. They say you're welcome here, you know, or you're not.

And then you add the human layer. Front of house teams who can read a room in seconds, who set the emotional tone for an entire organization.

You know, they really are the unsung heroes of workplace culture.

And today we've got one of the best joining us finalists in the corporate reception of the year awards, Charli Baber. She lives and breathes those first seven seconds. And you know, I really can't wait, Tristan, to get a perspective,.

How fast is seven seconds?

To understand just how fast seven seconds really is, think about this in seven seconds, Usain Bolt, at peak speed, could run around 70 meters down the track. A hummingbird can flap its wings more than 350 times. That's faster than our eyes can even register.

Light travels around the earth seven times, circling the entire planet again and again before you've taken your next breath.

And in Formula one, a full pit stop takes under two seconds, meaning in seven seconds, the team could service a car three times and still have time to spare. So when we say people form a first impression in seven seconds, it's not a lot of time, it's a blink, it's a breath, it's a heartbeat.

Bolt could be 70 meters down the track before your reception team even says hello. Humans judge quickly because we always have. In prehistoric times, it kept us alive. Today, it shapes how we see workplaces, leaders and experiences.

Our brains haven't evolved out of snap judgments, they've just repurposed them.

Mike, given everything we've just said about how hardwired these snap judgments are, that people walk into a building already scanning for warmth, clarity and competence, how do you lead and support your front of house teams to overcome those preconceptions? And what does great front of house management look like in a world where the first seven seconds can define the whole experience?

I think there's two words we can apply to that one, and that is emotional intelligence. You know you can only control yourself when it comes to first impressions.

You can't control the reaction and the interpretation of another human being.

What you can do using self awareness is think about how you come across, how you speak, the words you use, the tone in which you do it and the body language in which you put into that interaction. They're the bits that you can control. And you're absolutely right in what you're saying. We as a human race are incredibly judgmental.

And, you know, that does come back to our evolution.

Like you've said, you know, our fight and flight tendencies back back when we faced risks and we were reading a situation and we got that sense that something wasn't quite working or quite going right, that still exists now.

We call it flow now, which is that idea of being self awareness, being having the ability to preempt the future, having the imagination to think about different ways in which a situation can right through to how we react to that and enact our decision. That's well founded in a lot of scientific research in terms of how our brains operate.

That limbic system, when it evolved, gave us that ability to become more self aware. So when it comes to the kind of what we deliver in the lobby and how we create an experience.

You're absolutely right because people do formulate 90% of their opinion in the first seven seconds. The rest of the interaction is validating what you originally thought.

It's interesting though, when you look into this whole seven second rule, it's not actually an exact science, but it's sort of perceived wisdom shorthand. Some studies say it's seven seconds, some say one second, some say a tenth of a second. But the point is the same.

People judge unbelievably fast and those first moments become the lens through which everything else is interpreted.

82% Of employees say their perception of workplace quality is shaped before they reach their desk, influenced by reception, wayfinding, front of house behavior and lobby design. You know, that's a huge amount of responsibility on the shoulders of our front of house teams.

So what do you look for when recruiting for such vital roles?

Again, when we're looking to recruit, self awareness.

I know I keep talking about this because it's a really prevalent thing that self awareness and the ability to connect to other human beings is what we look for in people. It is peer to peer, people to people interactions. You know, at the very core of it is how you are greeted. Now, I walk into a lot of lobbies.

That's part of my role. And I've seen everything, Tristan, you could ever imagine.

I've gone into lobbies where I've walked up to a desk, is quite low down, the person behind the desk is looking at a computer screen, not even aware that I'm there in that situation. And yes, I am formulating my opinion of that person because I'm waiting. Are they going to look up and actually see me?

I've stood outside of a locked door because I don't have a pass to get in, just waiting. And I could see the reception is clear as day through the glass.

And it took her roughly around 30 or 40 seconds to even notice I was stood there before she opened the door again. That by itself is 23 seconds later of me formulating my opinion in that first seven seconds.

And it did change my interaction when I walked in of that being kind of spatial awareness, being, being acutely aware of what's going on around you and reacting to those moments. And that is a skill in itself.

So we do look for that when we're looking for people to represent amica, to represent our me because they are all really important components. And I've got enough stories I could go on and on and on all day about.

Actually, this is my experience, the worst ones were you're just looking down at someone and they barely even look up. And then when they do look up, their reaction is like you've just impacted their day and what they're doing in a negative way because you turned up.

The rebels, the misfits, the people who think different. And even now, every time I walk into an Apple store, I feel completely at ease.

You know, I'm calm, I'm curious to use one of my favorite words, you know, I'm energized. But walk into a typical electrical retailer and it's the complete opposite. It's overwhelming.

It's got huge, bright lighting, there's boxes stacked everywhere. There's so much noise in terms of design and posters and branding, you know, it's very confusing.

And there's a real sense that if I don't know exactly what I'm going to buy, then I'm out of place. Apple's engineered a totally different emotion experience. You know, the space is minimal, it's open, it's calm.

All the products are out on tables they're ready to touch. There's no clutter, there's no cognitive noise, nothing shouting for attention. And so your brain relaxes because the environment is easy to process.

That's what psychologists call cognitive fluency. And the staff are trained in hospitality psychology. Open posture, no hovering, no hard sell, just human warmth and gentle expertise.

It's designed to make you feel confident and welcome. So, Mike, it makes me wonder, what can corporate real estate learn from this?

How can workplaces borrow from hospitality psychology to create arrival moments that feel just as effortless and just as inviting?

Well, that's part of the journey we're on, really, in terms of understanding, lobby management and touch points and each interaction. What does that mean? How does it connect and how does it set someone up for their day?

So oftentimes, especially in the corporate world, you're the first person you're meeting. Is not our front of house wonderful hosts. It's security.

And often people see those as barriers to getting into the building because they're there for very specific purposes. Keep the people safe, keep the building safe, security.

But then when you go through, and even if you track through your touchpoint journey from, you know, from that handover from a Wonderful person on the door greeting you and welcoming you and being so happy to see you there today, right through to checking in and then over to your desk, getting your coffee and doing whatever. You know, all those interactions create multiple first impressions.

But we're looking at that from an individual point of view where we're talking corporately, actually, we want to control as much of that, that flow as we possibly can, but we rely on the individuals to bring it to life.

Yeah, I couldn't agree more.

And I think those organizations that consistently deliver a strong first impression experience see a 40% increase in customer and employee trust, satisfaction and perceived professionalism. So what tips do you have to ensure that we keep creating those wow moments for our customers?

Well, the wow moments, we call them memorable moments and that is first impression feedback that we track.

We decided that those small interactions, however meaningless or seamless in someone's eyes, it was just one conversation or it was a greeting or it was a, you know, a memory recount of I remember when you were here last time. How's the kids? Just those small, small moments, they disappear.

Once the interactions over, we put in a mechanism to track them and to record them because we wanted to understand what makes a great first impression. And since we kind of launched that, we've been doing it for around nine months now.

We've had over 500 separate bits of feedback from multiple locations up and down the country. And we rate it on a five star system because that's the area we operate within.

But what we found was we were, on average, we get around 5 star, 4.9 star in terms of that sentiment and how people feel.

And that's down, that's celebrating the individual and what they do to create a wonderful first impression with someone entering that building for the first time. And we have enough data now to be able to go back to and look at, to say, okay, what does it look like?

How do we quantify it, how do we take it forward, how do we bottle that? And then how do we develop the rest of our team and the rest of our company, no matter what area you're working with, to operate by the same notion?

So do you think organizations should actively script and train for that arrival experience or do you leave it more up to the individual's skill set?

I think there needs to be service standards in place that create a benchmark for us. No, I don't think it should be scripted.

I think we, you know, we hire the right kind of people with the right level of intelligence from emotional view. There's A whole trust element that forms part of that too. And when you look at. And it's an old concept, Arabian's Law.

So he came up with this concept where it broke down to three specific elements, which is the words that we use, our tone of voice, and our body language. And then he. He actually applied a percentage to it. So he's saying that 77% of our communication is around the words that we use.

So he said that roughly around 35% was our tone and the way in which we talk. And then the rest was body language. That is the psychological signals that we are picking up.

And what he's really saying there was is on the balance of probability that you are being truthful in our communication. But if something is off, then it sends a signal to a psychologically that something's not quite right.

And this goes back to your scripting thing that if we. If we try to model people and mold them into what we think, it wouldn't be right.

So what other microbehaviors do you feel are crucial in modern workplaces?

I think there's some other elements. So, you know, rather than focus on the workplace, let me focus on the lobby as well, because I have been talking about that.

One thing I have recognized actually that affects the micro moment is barriers. Now we have barriers in place. The barrier, the lobby is built as a barrier.

A reception desk, by and large, with a large computer screen right in front of you is a barrier to interpersonal conversation and connection. So for me, I think one of those micro acknowledgments through the use of body language is where you stand to have your conversation.

And if you can remove that barrier, that divide between you and me, I think that goes a long way from a first impression. Moving around the desk, speaking to someone you know, I know in ourselves how important body language is.

And that those warm signals that you get from someone where you can actually openly see someone talk, and that includes standing up as well and creating that experience. So you're not looking down at someone when you're talking, or indeed them looking up at you.

I think, you know, other micro acknowledgments for the workplace is, you know, nod, small waves, I'll be right with you. Just as you said there, mirroring body language. Now, we do do that, but being consciously aware of mirroring, not subconscious.

So subconscious is when we. We feel a mood and we mirror that mood.

So if you start talking lower and you're a bit more down and stuff, I will talk lower too, and I'll Be a bit more down and you're, you know, I think it's, be more conscious of that. So you create the energy in the pace in which you want them and then observe their subconsciousness following you on that journey.

Now, we can control that brilliantly and it's highly effective when it's done naturally and when it's done softly, they won't pick up on it. But what they do find is their mood starts to lift. Because your mood is good.

And, you know, I don't know if you've noticed this, especially in the workplace where there'll be a conversation between colleagues and they subconsciously bring each other down by talking about what a bad morning they've had or what a bad day they're having. And then they validate that with, yeah, and I'm having a bad day too. And then they both walk away feeling quite bad.

Now, I'm not saying that you should go, no, no, no, it's a great day, but it's acknowledging that situation and going, but how do we turn this around in a more subtle way? And I think that's incredibly important. But you know, our front of house teams, they're experts in this area.

They absolutely know how to guide someone to lift their day up and just give them that little bit of a smile. I think spatial awareness is what I'm talking around, around barriers.

And of course you' clothing and grooming, because that's another judgmental factor.

If you're looking a little, you know, not quite as professional, you know, or your shirt's hanging out, whatever, that does set an impression in someone's mind. But these are things that we can control.

That's a brilliant point, Mike, and it leads us perfectly into our next conversation.

Because while we can talk about the theory and the psychology, there's nothing more powerful than hearing from someone who delivers these first impressions every single day. Charlie is a finalist in the Corporate Receptionist of the Year Awards and she's right at the front line of workplace experience.

She knows exactly what those first seven seconds feel like. The pressure, the emotion, the expectation. Charlie, welcome to High Five. It's great to have you with us.

Hello, it's nice to be joining you both.

Charlie, I'm going to fire in with the very first question for you. Question is the essence of what you do. What do you believe a truly great first impression is in a corporate environment?

Ultimately, I believe it's just putting someone instantly at ease. In my opinion, I think in, especially in corporate spaces, it can be quite intimidating.

You know, there's Lots of people, lots of space, sometimes lots of glass. You know, it's, it's quite an intimidating environment.

So it's that kind of feeling of, okay, I'm in the right place and someone's actually cares that I've arrived. And I think that's, to me, the heart of, of a first impression.

Now I'm gonna just ask us to take a step back, Charlie, because you've come on and we don't know much about you and the listeners listening probably don't know anything about you at all. Talk us through your journey of how you got here and how you became the very epitome of, of kind of guest experience.

What has been your journey to this point?

Surprisingly, I've not ever really been in a front of house role before. So this is my first, my first kind of role within Front of house and I've been in with it for about a year now.

But I've always been in customer service. So I started off as a customer service agent in a betting shop in Coral. I moved across. I've been a child's entertainer, I've worked in a bakery.

I've, you know, so my jobs have been very varied, but they've all been centered about around the people. And I don't think it matters what institute that you're in as long as your main focus is the people you can transfer that into in any job role.

So coming out of school and going into, into that, those areas of business, what was the underlining principles that a, you brought to the table? As in my natural approach, from a humanistic point of view through to what I've learned over all those years that I use right now, it's just seeing.

People step back, take a moment, notice people. That's. That's all it is for me, genuinely. It's. It's not seeing your job as a job.

You can tell right when someone wants to be in the room and when they don't, you know, you can tell the attitudes of someone who sees it as just a job. I think it's more about you being present in the space and people just want to be seen.

Ultimately, I think that's the absolute trick of it always that people just want to feel like they are seen and that we're here to just hear them out. And that's what I take from me throughout all my roles, is just taking an interest. And that's all for me is the basic of it.

Charlie, you, you lead a team as well. What advice would you, would you ultimately give them based on your ideology of being seen.

When it comes to my team as well, I've got, I've got someone that's quite new into the industry. She's 18. This is her first job. And then I also have someone who has had wealth of experience and in the later stages of her career.

I have the two difference of how, of how we try and pull in the guest experience. Someone that came with some bad habits and some. That's so fresh and new but quite nervous. So with, with, with Olivia, I tend to.

It's building up confidence. You are the energy. Ultimately we are the energy.

We set the tone, we set the feeling and it's just being confident in that, in yourself, in your, around your surroundings and being confident to approach and be that person that puts yourself out first.

And that's what I openly teach the girls here, is that you need to put yourself into that line of conversation and be the confident one and take control of that situation to make that the people feel seen and heard.

Brilliant. Now talk to me about the awards evening. You were a finalist at the Corporate Receptionist of the Year. How did you find the whole evening?

It must have been a hugely proud moment for you.

Mike would probably atone to this. I was gently pushed into applying for the awards. You know, it's hard to back yourself sometimes. Right.

The evening was amazing and it was, it was a, it was a shock.

But in terms of the whole process, it's quite a lengthy process and it, but it's very varied on how, how they go about the process, which I loved because it's not just based on an interview style where I think sometimes people don't succeed as well being brought out in interviews, especially if these are quite closed ended questions.

There was also an interactive group session and then we also was able to view a video and then talk through what we could have done to improve them first impressions and guest experience. And I learned so much about myself and that I terribly hate interviews.

But no, it was, it was an amazing experience and like I said, I learned so much about myself.

And it also helps you understand guest experience a lot more and the questions, you know, that they ask and that they build upon, I kind of see myself. You know, you get to look at who, who inspires you, you know, in your everyday life and you know what you want to be as well.

It also highlights improvements on what Brad like to get as a leader as well.

Brilliant. And is there one key takeaway that you're now sharing with your colleagues?

Personalize guest experience and be yourself. We are what you are, what ultimately is guest experience and first impressions. So back yourself.

Yeah, Just take control of the conversation and your environment and you can't really go wrong.

So it's about having some confidence back in yourself. And who knows, they too could also be a finalist at the Corporate Receptionist of the Year. Fantastic.

Yes.

So as a leader, Charlie, and this is one of the final questions I want to ask you. You do tend to travel quite a bit. You do tend to visit different people in different locations.

What's the one binding principle you see from everyone you interact with in terms of their guest experience?

Everyone's so different. I think the defining factor is those small moments that are hardly noticed.

How you present yourself, your body language, those, you know, hidden tricks that go unnoticed but really make people feel a difference. So we're talking, you know, your body language moving with the customer, how you carry yourself throughout.

And that's ultimately what's shared across the sites, is that open feeling and guiding everyone together.

What do you think are the most important things your customers are looking for when they engage with you?

I don't think it's anything flashy. Sometimes, you know, we create a feel and we create the environment.

You obviously want to set a tone, but it is those subtle traits just to show that ultimate interest. Instant eye contact, that genuine smile, that passion of, I actually want to be here. And I. And I want you to be here too.

That's a brilliant answer. So I'm hoping Mike's teed you up for a high five moment that you might be able to share with us.

So is it a personal high five or is it one that you've witnessed someone else deliver?

So, weirdly enough, I was traveling site last week and I was on a train at Clapham Junction. We were just going, getting off the train and a dog fell through the traps. I know it was. And as you can imagine, it was chaotic.

It's a very. It's a very busy station, isn't it? Clapping Junction as well.

God, there's so many. There's so many exits in that. Yeah. And obviously, as you can imagine, it was absolutely chaotic. The couple were obviously in distress.

Everyone's screaming to stop the train and there was panic and. And there was just this one guy that just. Just somehow managed to calm the whole situation with just compassion, but this, you know, coolness.

He just took hold of the situation and calmed everything down. And I just was watching in a way of how he took control and managed to manage all these emotions of so many people in such massive experience.

And just. It kind of just tamed the whole thing. And I just thought it was such a brilliant management of that. Of that really scary situation.

And was he an employee, Charlie, or was he just a member of the public that stepped up?

He was one of the employees. Because even, you know, when I was witnessing, there was. There was an employee kind of not.

Not really knowing what to do, feeling a bit panicky, and he just took control of the whole situation. And it was just so impressive to watch because you put yourself in that situation and you've got a lady, she's crying, she's in distress.

Yeah, it was really impressive.

As a dog owner and a dog lover, I'm keen to know what happened to the dog.

He was fine, all rescued, all safe. And, you know, it was a German shepherd. I was so surprised how he managed to get down there.

Yeah, that's. Unless it was a puppy. That's a big old dog to fall.

It was just. Yeah.

So the dog was fine.

Yes. Everyone else, always restored, Always restored.

Apart from the millions of people that were all delayed because they stopped the trains. But, you know, I just want to pick that just a moment in terms of your high five and what a great high five it is.

So the uniform provided the authority to speak up, because that's your focal point that this person has. He's in charge, he's here. But when you said he corralled the crowd to calm them down and he commanded that, Charlie, how did he do that?

That's hard to do. How did he do it?

That's why it was so impressive. And it was more. It's, you know, as, you know, it's these. These subtle things that you. That are sometimes missed and you don't realize how.

It's a sense of feeling.

So just his calm body language, the way he was communicating, how he took charge and started delegating and ensuring and just asking the right questions. And again, it's that I am that validation of your feelings. I understand. But I've got you. And let's. You know.

And then obviously the solution was that obviously you saved the dog as well. So that. That always.

Well, that's the most important part of it all. On that first impression, how many other people do you think left that experience talking about this gentleman?

Everyone. And that's absolutely everyone.

Yeah. And that's the power of high fives, aren't they? That it's. It might be personal to you, but you're keen to share that or if.

If many people have been involved in that high five. Then equally they're going to share it. It's, it's got a, there's a real power to those moments and even linking.

It to first impressions. You know, sometimes we look at first impressions as that instant green at a front door, but your first impressions can be a multitude of situations.

So to the gentleman at Clapham Junction, if you ever do hear this, well, thank you, you are our high five for saving the German shepherd but also controlling the crowd in what could have been absolutely chaotic. That went from bad to worse. So well done.

Yeah, 100%.

And thank you to you, Charlie, for your amazing insights into what it actually takes to deliver fantastic front of house services for your customers. And there's some great tips there for all of our listeners to take up and enact within their own workplaces.

Yeah, and thank you for having me on, guys. I've really enjoyed it.

Our pleasure.

But did you know there's some more obscure first impressions as well that, that psychologically exist as well. Smell beats. 85% Of people said their first impression was more positive if someone smelled good even before they spoke.

Did you also know that there is a handshake bias? A firm handshake signals confidence and it actually activates the same brain regions linked to trust and cooperation.

Meaning your grip can unconsciously prime someone to see you as more reliable. Clothing shortcuts. People form impressions in under 30 seconds and clothing is one of the fastest cues.

So even sort of choices like wearing darker clothes can make someone appear more competent. Wearing lighter tones are linked to friendliness.

Now, in terms of all of that, I've got some real life examples of where first impressions have failed. Would you like to hear some of these?

Absolutely.

Okay, so here, here's one from recently.

So in other words, voters decided who looked competent before hearing a single policy, a word, body language, anything. And that impression actually carried through to the ballot box. I think that's amazing.

That's one second to look at a picture with 70 accuracy of competence. What's your view on that one?

Well, that's probably why most political parties have a real reluctance to tell you their policies, whereas they're hoping to get through on personality alone.

Absolutely. And here's the thing, here's how they did it. And this was ran by a Princeton psychologist called Alexander Todorov.

And of course his colleagues as well. And they called this a striking experiment. So timing. They had less than a second to decide. It was literally a blink speed impression.

Those gut level judgments predicted the actual election winners about 70% of the time. And voters, they weren't consciously analyzing policy or speeches in that moment.

Instead, their brains were relying on facial cues, symmetry, expression, and sort of signs of confidence to decide who looked like a leader. And that just tells you how actual judgmental we really are as well. So that was one study that was actually done. But here is.

You want to hear some funny historical first impressions?

Absolutely, yeah.

1807, Napoleon and the Tsar Alexander met. And at that first meeting, Alexander Napoleon tried to impress Alexander with grand gestures.

Instead, Alexander mocked his height and flamboyant uniform behind his back. Their alliance was actually doomed. So on that one, which is weird because Napoleon wasn't that small. He was pretty average for. For the time, I think.

Yeah, I read an article, I think the last week or so, which tried to dispel that myth that he was short. I think it was the British press at the time were quite keen to mock him and reduce his grandeur, reduce the threat of his. His prowess.

So they, they mocked him and made him a little tiny Frenchman.

And that first impression is yours because everyone who hears about Napoleon immediately goes to that perception that he is small, when in fact, he wasn't. Have we got time for a couple more?

We've got time for one more.

Another one for a younger generation there.

Well, Wild arrived in New York flamboyantly dressed in velvet and lace. Customs official asked if he'd had anything to declare. Wild quipped, only my genius.

The crowd left, but many Americans thought him arrogant and ridiculous at their first impression of him.

It shows you again just how important those first impressions are. There you go.

What really strikes me is how intentional great first impressions are. They're not accidental. They're actually designed, rehearsed, and delivered with real care.

And they change everything. They set the tone for belonging, trust and confidence.

They influence whether people feel valued, whether they feel part of the culture, you know, whether they even want to come back.

And as we've heard today, from psychology to design to the lived experience at reception, those first seven seconds, they carry incredible power.

So the challenge for every organization listening is this. What impression are you creating? And what impression do you want to create? Because the gap between the two, that's where the work begins.

Thank you for joining us for this episode and a massive thank you to our guest, Charlie, for sharing insights. We'll see you in the next episode of High Five.