Impressions

The teachers told us to get in the bus because they were taking us to meet someone important. We teenagers rode the bus to a nearby town. All of us shook hands with the U.S. Senator. When it came my turn to shake his hand, he looked above my head at someone else. I knew I was totally inconsequential to the politician. He had other important things to do.

My sister in law told me she, as a high school sophomore, was taken to the home of a college coed. “The way she treated me in her nice home, her smiles, her handshake, the graciousness of her manners, I shall never forget. She made me, an insignificant teenager, feel so important.”

It isn’t the fancy clothing. It’s not about the expensive watch. The fancy haircut from the most expensive salon in the city won’t do it for you either. And it isn’t about the beautiful car parked outside.

The part of you that people will remember the best, the element they will never forget, is the way you treated them. The manner in which you spoke to them, the effort expended in dealing with them whether at work, at a business, or in your home. The respect you displayed toward them in your speech and in your attitude toward them. That memory of you will stay with them for the rest of their lives.