Last impressions count

Published: Saturday, 28 February 2009

When you leave someone after an interaction, do you leave them present to their own greatness? Do you leave them feeling completely validated, appreciated and respected? Even if they’ve just made (what you deem to be) an unwise decision for your project? Asked (what you think is) a really silly question? Said something really inappropriate?

What sticks with someone isn’t, “how great were they at the start when they wanted something from me/ were judging me to see if I was an appropriate contact to hold on to”, it’s “how great were they after they got it/ didn’t get it/ found out more about me”.

It’s not how you play the game of ‘first impressions’ anymore. In the world of the Internet, Big Brother and the constant bombardment of twitter updates, Facebook wall posts, SMSs and Skype, you’re always giving an impression.

Be on your best behaviour. Whatever you do there is always someone watching, you are always teaching, and someone is always learning.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Complaining is silly

    Either act, or forget. Talking about someone else behind their back makes no difference to them, and all the difference to you. Your friends have to...

  • Officeworks

    Officeworks got in touch to film this short content editorial piece. They filmed a Robogals workshop in Melbourne, our Jevaroo robot in action and an...

  • No overnight success: Geoffrey Rush

    When I was touring schools with Geoffrey Rush and we were answering questions in front of hundreds of kids, lots of them said, "I really what to be...

  • Non-profit founder critics

    Why are people so critical when young people start non-profits? Time and time again, I hear people say, "there are enough non-profits out there....

  • Are you a knowledge junkie?

    Knowledge junkies are people who love to learn and accrue knowldge.  They’ve read all the books, registered to all the web communities, heard of all...

  • Hardy Group interview

    The Hardy Group invited me to speak with them about healthcare, robotics and leadership.  Here I am riffing about those topics!

  • create magazine cover

    I spent the summer working out of the Engineers Australia Victoria office with 20 university students.  As a result they put me on the front cover of...

  • You’re not a failure, you just haven’t found your passion

    When I was 17, I came 3rd in an international Japanese speaking contest. However, I don’t do anything about my Japanese studies now. The year prior, I got...

  • Foxconn H.Spectrum Taiwan and M.A.P CEO Philippines

    On 28 August 2016, I was invited to Taiwan by Foxconn to speak at the H.Spectrum by Yonglin Healthcare Startup Conference.  I gave a 15-minute...

  • Obviously successful

    "We would have bought your company." "You just got lucky because it was the right time for that kind of thing." "All the elements in the industry were...