For this wellness visit, I selected a new doctor. I walked out of my new doctor’s office feeling delighted and enriched. In a word, my doctor “wowed” me. My doctor did five specific and incredibly simple things to give a great impression and experience. These five things that she did with eloquence can help you make an enriching and memorable impression with parents, students and visitors.

1. Break the ice

“What made you choose me?” the doctor asked. I loved that she asked that. I told her that I was literally surfing the web and liked what I saw on her website. We chatted about her background. I learned that she didn’t even start medical school until she was 46. That fascinated me! We talked about the fact that it’s never too late to be who you were created to be. When meeting parents, students and visitors for the first time, take a few seconds to break the ice with sincere interest and warm conversation.

2. Show genuine interest in your customer

My doctor faced me squarely, kept confident eye contact, nodded appropriately, and showed genuine interest in everything I said. Whether I was talking about my upcoming keynote, my son’s basketball game, or my daughter’s last debate competition, she listened with interest and added meaningfully to my remarks. Honor your customers with genuine interest in them and what they have to say.

3. Establish rapport

My doctor started building rapport from the moment she walked into the exam room. She nailed rapport by showing genuine interest in me and by asking me, “What do you do?” When I told her I was a keynote speaker on the customer experience, she shared with me that she designs and conducts patient experience training for doctors. We had so much in common and the rapport was amazing. One of the best ways you can build rapport with your customers is to get them talking about themselves. 

4. Share something about yourself

Part of rapport building is to be open enough to share things about yourself. When I talked about my kids and their busy schedules, the doctor talked about her grandkids and the fact that she coaches soccer. Her openness was a surprise, and it gave me a glimpse into her personality. I saw her as a nurturing and super cool grandmother, and not just a physician. Continue building rapport (suggestion 3) by sharing something about yourself.

5. Make your goodbye memorable

After I left the exam room I headed toward the exit, which was just past the checkout desk. My doctor was sitting there holding a picture frame with her two beautiful grandchildren. She was waiting to show me her pride and joy! I took the framed photo in my hands and admired her sweet little grandkids. We talked about the blessing of children and how busy their activities keep us. It just made my day that my new doctor felt comfortable enough with me to share a photo of her babies. Find a creative way to make your goodbye memorable. A warm smile, sincere eye contact, or another element of sharing can help make goodbyes memorable.

When you focus on making memorable impressions, you leave everyone with whom you interact feeling delighted and enriched. In doing so, you’ll improve the perception of the service experience and consistently make people feel good!