Successful First Impressions

Introduction

It’s an old saying, but it certainly holds true. It doesn’t matter if you’re meeting your girlfriend’s parents for the first time. Or you need to interview for a job. Or you must give an estimate to a potential customer. Your first impression matters! No matter your age, the earlier you understand that you can control your first impressions with every individual, the more you will understand how you can create the life that you want.

The Basics:

Not every first impression equals the next. You shouldn’t approach them the same. Here are a few tips:

• 1 Research the culture of the individual or individuals you will meet.
• 2 Research the proper way to greet someone from another culture, and it will show respect to the other individual.
• 1 What kind of physical gestures are appropriate? Do they operate off a different hierarchy system than we do in America?
• 2 How should you say hello in their respective language?
• 3 If you don’t know the culture, that’s OK. The following information breaks down what would be considered respectful in America.
• 3 Use a firm handshake.
• 4 Look the man or woman in the eye when speaking with them.
• 5 Say hello and either introduce yourself or ask for their name.

Just understanding the four tips above will put you ahead of most individuals.

First Impression Psychology:

Research tells us that within the first 100 milliseconds of meeting a new individual, we form our first impression. The research also tells us that these impressions will usually last long-term and surprisingly have a strong influence on our long-term relationships with individuals.

Without us even realizing, and in the time it takes to blink, we start to judge traits like attractiveness, competence, and trustworthiness. Most of these judgments are based on facial expressions, posture, tonality, body language, and eye contact.

Tricks to Keep in Mind When Meeting New People:

1 Primacy Effect

This is our brain’s tendency to prioritize the first information we receive when meeting new individuals. Initial impressions can and will have a disproportionate amount of influence on our overall perception of individuals. Even if we are presented with new information that contradicts our initial impression, we will still follow our initial impression. Make sure to make every first impression a good one. Then you will instantly set yourself up for more success just based on the fact that you were proactive and prepared for everyone.

Easy Proactive Tips:

• 1 Be respectful to everyone
• 1 You never know who you will meet, so treat everyone with respect.
• 2 Introduce yourself or get the individual's name.
• 1 You need to remember someone’s name in the future, and this will always get you brownie points.
• 3 Dress respectfully.
• 1 You will be judged on how you dress.
• 2 You can dress freely, but don’t get mad if you are stereotyped.
• 1 Control your nonverbal cues, tone of voice, and the manner in which you speak, depending on whom you speak to.
• 1 You need to pay attention to their cues as well.
• 2 You need to watch people's true emotions as they are always projected through their body language or the way they maintain eye contact while speaking with you.
• 2 Focus on the other individual or individuals.
• 1 You need to let people talk about what they are interested in or passionate about.
• 2 You should allow them to open up, so the conversation will flow and build trust.
• 3 Remember rule number 1.

Keep the Primacy Effect in mind when you are meeting new individuals. Go with your gut, but remember to always have an open mind when it comes to judging individuals.

1 Halo Effect

This occurs when the overall impression of someone influences what we feel and think about their character. When you perceive someone as attractive, this might lead you to believe they are also kind, regardless of their true traits. Or if you seem confident, people might assume you are smart and successful. Remember this when you meet other individuals. When you understand and implement the knowledge from both effects, this can help you in all of your future first impressions.

The Neuroscience of First Impressions:

Above, I spoke about how our brains form impressions almost instantly upon meeting someone new. Studies have shown that we can judge people’s competence, likability, and trustworthiness within a few milliseconds of meeting them. This rapid neural process involves a few areas of the brain.

1 Amygdala

• 1 Assesses potential threats and processes emotional reactions.
• 2 Processes fight or flight and plays a huge role in storing emotional memories.
• 3 Causes memory of (good or bad) emotionally-charged first impressions and influences future interactions.

2 Prefrontal cortex

• 1 Located in the front part of the frontal lobe of the brain behind the forehead.
• 2 Referred to as the CEO of the brain because it’s responsible for higher-order thinking, like:

• • Decision-making
• • Social behavior
• • Self-control
• • Emotional regulation
• • Planning and reasoning

• 1 Anaylzes facial expressions, tone of voice, body language, clothing, and posture.
• 2 Works with the amygdala to process emotional signals and helps decide if this person seems trustworthy, competent, or likable.
• 3 Allows a person to adjust their behavior depending on the setting—whether they’re in a business meeting, social event, or first date.
• 4 Considers social expectations, cultural cues, and social dynamics.

Conclusion:

First impressions don’t depend on fate. They have a science to them, and like everything else, the more repetition, the better you will become. Here are some simple key takeaways:

• 1 Control your energy.
• 2 Become a rockstar listener.
• 3 Remember to control your body language.
• 4 Relax…you’re a cool individual.

Source:

How Many Seconds to a First Impression? – Association for Psychological Science – APS