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Get Noticed, Find More Meaning, and Make a Bigger Impact at Work Through Job Crafting

Speaker:  Stephanie Slocum, PE
Founder at Engineers Rising, LLC

Event Hosted by SE Impact

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Join us for a special opportunity to improve your standing and satisfaction at work.

SE IMPACT in conjunction with ENGINEERS RISING offers a Complimentary session, when we welcome Stephanie Slocum, PE, from Engineers Rising, LLC, to present…Get Noticed, Find More Meaning, and Make a Bigger Impact at Work Through Job Crafting.

Session Description:

Job crafting leads to a more impactful and satisfying career. In this webinar, you’ll learn what job crafting is and how you can use it both for yourself and for those you manage and mentor. You’ll hear the story of how our speaker, Stephanie Slocum, accidentally stumbled upon this concept, and then used it to earn a promotion, write a book, and start a company. At the end of this presentation, you’ll do an exercise where we’ll guide you the process so you can start applying it when you go to work tomorrow.

Access the session recording

To view the recorded session, including Q&A, please enter your information below. After submitting your information you’ll be redirected to the recording page, and you’ll start receiving our SE Dynamics Newsletter on a monthly basis.

If you have any questions, please contact:
Brian Quinn, PE – (616) 546-9420
[email protected]

Note:  Session was conducted live on June 12, 2019

We’ve all heard the expression, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”  But how important is that initial impression?  Science shows that our first impression of a person is often hard to dislodge.  Many studies have shown how quickly first impressions are formed and also how difficult they are to change even when conflicting facts are presented.  The bad news is many of these first impressions are strictly based on appearance, but the good news is we do have some control over our destiny.

In the August 2016 session of SE University, Annie Kao, PE, gave a presentation on Effective Communication Skills for Workplace Conversations and Meetings.  Annie talked about the importance of first impressions and what we can do to be in control of our own impression on others.

First, our voice has a huge impact on how others perceive us.  In 2014, a study at the University of Glasgow showed that participants largely agreed on their initial impressions of audio recordings of men and women saying the word “hello.”  Participants overwhelmingly agreed on sorting the voices to have various personality traits, such as trustworthiness, aggressiveness, confidence, dominance, or warmth.  Knowing this, we can be more aware of how our voice may be affecting our relationships, especially if you work in an office that does much of its correspondence over the phone.  Controlling our tone and intensity and conveying a pleasant attitude through our voice can be effective tools, especially in difficult conversations.  Annie recommended listening to this TED talk by Julian Treasure which addresses the use of our voice and its effects on others.

Not only does our voice help form an opinion, but our body language can affect the opinions of others.  If you are talking with someone who is very energetic and passionate, you tend to feel more passionate as well.  On the flip side, if you are taking to someone who seems uninterested and yawns, it tends to make you feel tired as well.  This phenomenon is caused by “mirror” neurons in our brain that cause us to mimic the energy of those around us.  We can use this to our advantage to help elevate our initial impression on others.  Speaking with confidence and passion can inspire those around you and leave a positive impact.

Using these skills, we can do our best to improve our initial encounter with others.  Confidence, whether fake or real, can convey competence and strength to those we meet.  It is important to practice these skills daily, especially when conversing by phone, as initial impressions begin with “Hello.”  Make that first word count, and you will be on your way to making a great first impression!