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The easier path is obviously most convenient but sometimes the small extras speak huge volumes and make a positive impression. At times, we are on autopilot through our life and don’t think about the intricate things that others will pick up on. For example, we try to connect with many people on Linked In, a professional network system. I get a number of requests daily and I would say majority say: “Hi Sam, I’d like to connect with you on LinkedIn” This is the standard default Linked In message that comes up when it comes to trying to send a connection request. If I don’t know you and you use the standard request, you will not connect with me.

What impresses me are the requests where someone has taken the time to personalize it and it might be that we met at an event or had a brief chat. How about something like this instead: “Hello Sam, I enjoyed our conversation recently and it would be great if we could connect on Linked In to carry on our relationship.” What impresses me even more is when they actually put in a part of our conversation that was most important. It tells me that you value our relationship and you were an active participant.

Let’s say that you don’t know someone and you are interested in meeting them on Linked In. I would suggest you send them a personal note and it might be worded: “Dear _______, I value the experience you bring forward and have accomplished in your professional career. There is much I could learn from someone like you and if convenient, I would like to connect on Linked In (or something like that)”. Now I am sure that there are many times where your Linked in request will go unnoticed or not acknowledged and that is life; however, you are more likely to connect with someone just by doing more than the obvious…the person might be intrigued enough to accept because you were just a little bit different.

This is only one example. Take the time to be a little bit different and doing things that others might not be doing. If you are in a meeting and finishing up, pick up your cup and saucer and put it to the side. If you are in a grocery line up and someone only has one item and you have 9, let them ahead of you. Open the door and share a smile. It does not take much but the gesture goes so far. This has been one of my successes in life because you are taking the time to acknowledge someone else…we don’t do this enough because our lives are too busy. Slow down a bit and handle people with care and watch what happens. Making an impression is made by a whisper not by yelling.