First Impressions

Whether you are meeting interviewing for a job, meeting new clients, or being introduced at a social event, meeting new people can be daunting.

Your first impression makes a massive difference. "You never get a second chance to make a great first impression."

Psychologists have shown that most of us make judgements about another person we meet in under a tenth of a second- and that can often form how we treat them and how we get treated.

We often judge people based on their appearance and how much they appear to like us. (When we think someone likes us, we are more likely to like them back. If we think they don't like us, we tend not to like them and think of them as unlikeable).

Our clients are doing the same for us- they are judging us- can I trust this person? Do I like them? Are they competent?

So what can we do about this?

A psychologist called Todrov did an experiment, showing people computer generated faces and asked them to judge them based on how likeable, aggressive, competent & trustworthy they were (see image). They were given 1 second, 1/2 second or 1/10 second to judge. The groups with the different time scales all got generally the same answers no matter how long they were shown the picture. Those faces nearer the right hand side of the picture were judged as more likeable.

So how can we make a good first impression?

-Turn up on time

-Smile and show the person you like them

-Introduce yourself well

-Find common ground between you and the other person

To book in coaching or training on good communication, first impressions or preparing for a job interview, message us or contact office@multiplycoaching.com