When you enter a room, if you focus attention on someone for a second or two before you start talking, they will feel important. Most of us know what it’s like to be welcomed with words, but without the eye contact that signals sincerity.

Imagine being greeted at reception by your lawyer, who is all flustered and says before standing still: “Welcome to...” – but doesn’t meet your eye until the “to”. It would make you feel like just another client being ticked off a list. It takes so little to somebody feel welcome, but we forget this far too often.

Busy people tend to walk and talk. Their minds are still back in the room, e-mail or phone call they’ve just come from – not in the room they’ve just walked into. There’s a lot at stake at the start of a conversation or meeting – this is when you make your first impression.