Rebecca Okamoto

I studied the science of first impressions.

I researched viral headlines and what made them so irresistible.

And then I discovered the secret of introducing myself perfectly in 20 words or less.

Fast forward about six months.

I'm having coffee with the executive director of a business development program.

She asks me, what do you do?

I answer her in one sentence.

I'm a communications consultant, and I help people with something to say but struggle to say it.

She leans in and says three magic words.

Tell me more.

Fifteen minutes later, she hires me to give workshops for new entrepreneurs.

But here's the thing.

I was the same person who blew that interview just six months before.

But this time, I got the job, even though I had way fewer qualifications.

And the only thing different between success and failure, between that door of opportunity opening or slamming shut in my face,

was my introduction.

From that point on, I started to see my introduction in a whole new light.

It wasn't just a way of grabbing someone's attention.

I thought about all those times when I would hear no, and my inner critic would tell me that people didn't see me or hear me because I wasn't good enough or smart enough.

But that was wrong.