1 ALWAYS START WELL

One of the biggest clichés of impact training courses is that, ‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression.’ Unfortunately, this strategic insight (which psychologists label ‘the primacy effect’) is all too true!

So, whether you’re an entrepreneur who’s about to make an ‘elevator pitch’ to potential investors, a new manager who’s about to say ‘hello’ to their new team, or a leader who’s about to deliver that uplifting keynote speech at the annual conference, make sure you get off to a great start.

This is because first impressions often have what Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Edward Lorenz called ‘the butterfly effect’ (i.e. a ripple effect that starts as something minor – like the flapping of a butterfly’s wings – and ends up as something major, like a tidal wave on the far end of the world).

That’s not to say you automatically have to leap to the other extreme and make a grand entrance like Cleopatra (who famously emerged out of an unfurled carpet at the feet of Mark Antony when they met for the first time!); it simply means that, if you want to ‘impress your way to success’ (as Vickers, Banister and Smith would say), keep reminding yourself that Shakespeare was only half right when he wrote the immortal words ‘All’s well that ends well’ …

2 USE ‘LISTENING EYES’

One of the most effective ways of gauging the impact you have on others is simply to listen with your eyes. Or, to put it another way, don’t just listen to what people say, watch what they do, too.

If you’re giving a business presentation, for example, be alert to your audience’s non-verbal clues. If one person happens to yawn, for example, it could be they’re just tired after an exhausting inter-continental flight. If everyone’s yawning, though, there’s a good chance you’ll need to change gear, instantly!

Presentation skills experts call this ‘Hooking The Curtain Up’, and it’s vital if you want to deliver more impactful presentations.

All you have to do is something – anything – to help break the pattern! Gently clap your hands together to emphasise your point (which will wake them up a bit) or throw a prop in the air (without hurting anyone) or give your delegates a question to discuss with the person sitting next to them. Put simply, make a switch. Even walking to a different part of the stage can help, too.

By the way, remember to listen with your eyes at the end of a work engagement, too, because – when it comes to impact – it’s not so much what you take away with you that counts … it’s what you leave behind!

3 SHARPEN YOUR ‘BRAND’

Like it or not, every single one of us is a ‘brand’.

That’s to say, from the clothes we wear to the words we speak, we’re the human equivalent of a packet of Oreo cookies, Nike trainers, or perhaps even a red Ducati motorbike.

Winston Churchill’s bowler hat, for example, was an indispensable part of his image (as was his bow tie and cigar). Likewise, Psy – the South Korean pop star – used a highly original and impactful dance routine in his Gangnam Style video to help turn his song into the biggest YouTube hit ever (watched by over 2 billion viewers as of May 2014!). And, if you think about it, even knights in shining armour used to wear coats of arms because, with their helmets on, it was the only way soldiers on the battle field could tell them apart.

In this respect, keep asking yourself if your personal brand is as impactful as you need it to be (or, if not, what you could potentially do to sharpen your offering).

After all, as Jim Rohn – the Genius personal development guru – once said, if you want to make real progress in business, you’ve got to ‘work harder on yourself than you do at your job’. Likewise, it’s also why Tom Peters – the infamous co-author of In Search of Excellence – argues: ‘The only job security [in the modern world] is to make sure that you’re more valuable tomorrow, than you are today!’ So keep building your own brand, or rebrand yourself if necessary, so you stand out as a core competent.

Whilst we’re on the subject of personal branding, however, please bear in mind that successful brands are built upon trust. Or, as Ian Robertson – the head of sales and marketing at BMW – said in a recent TV interview: ‘What is a brand? A brand is essentially a promise. A promise of innovation, a promise of outstanding design, a promise of safety …’ So, whatever you do in business, be as authentic as you can be, because it’s often nigh on impossible to rescue a brand that’s gone toxic, because people won’t trust it any more.

Finally, here’s a fourth top tip (a bonus tip) to help you UP! your impact.

4 DECLUTTER YOUR MIND

It’s often said – by management consultancies such as Kepner-Tregoe – that ‘effective action follows clear thinking.’

So if it’s Business Genius impact you’re after, it’s important to remember that high impact in business is virtually impossible if our thinking is all over the place. Or, as Chris Brogan and Julien Smith – the authors of The Impact Equation – put it: ‘Are you making things happen, or just making a noise?’

Also, here’s a bit of golden advice that productivity expert David Allen suggests in his book Getting Things Done: ‘Use your mind to think about things, rather than of them.’

In other words, create a trusted system (of folders and lists) to help you get what’s on your mind, off your mind, in a systematic and organised way. That way you can create some sharper boundaries between your thoughts, much like the barbed wire that Business Genius and Illinois farmer Joseph Glidden invented in 1874.

Once again, it might sound blindingly obvious but the ability to clear your head is vital if you want to sharpen your business impact! After all, sharper thinking didn’t do Glidden much harm. He became one of the richest men in America on the back of it!