Recent studies have found that first impressions are very difficult to forget. Studies presented at the annual meeting of  The Society for Personality and Social Psychology  in Texas, United States show that people have a very difficult time forgetting the first impression they get from people they have just met and that people tend to easily “judge others by their cover.” .”

Building a good impression is very important in relationships, both friendships and more formal relationships such as business and bureaucracy. Impressions can arise when two or more people communicate and interact with each other. So, how do you communicate well?

According to KBBI, communication is “the sending and receiving of messages or news between two or more people so that the message in question can be understood.” When communicating, a good message is one that the listener can digest and understand. Therefore, the series of words used in communication should be adjusted to the needs of the listener.

In direct link communication, there are several aspects that play an important role, including words, voice, and visual aspects such as appearance and body language. Words play only a minor role and must be supported by sounds in direct communication. Good words if delivered with an inappropriate voice or intonation will make the words lose their power. For example, good morning greetings delivered with an angry intonation, motivational sentences delivered with a shout, and so on. Therefore, sound plays an important role in direct communication.

Apart from words and voice intonation, visual aspects have a more dominant role in direct communication. The visual aspect consists of appearance and body language. Appearance can support communication because it can increase self-confidence and politeness. However, appearance is not the dominant thing in the visual aspect.

The most important thing from the visual aspect is body language. Body language is communication conveyed through gestures, facial expressions, eye gaze, body posture and body movements. Positive body language will show a high level of receptivity to the listener.

Body language can also be used to create a warm impression on listeners, so that listeners can digest information more relaxed and calm. This warm impression can be created through simple habits such as smiling and paying attention to the listener’s eyes.

In general, messages can be conveyed through a series of words, while impressions can be created through nonverbal communication. Therefore, a  public speaker  or anyone who will convey strong ideas to listeners needs to combine good speaking skills with good body language.