As the famous saying goes, you never have a second chance to make a first impression, and, for better or worse, those first impressions tend to stick.

This is because of a phenomenon known as the primacy effect.

First impressions are the initial opinions that people form the first time they meet another person.

Such judgments occur very quickly and are based on the immediate, limited information that is available.

The first impressions people form are often based on immediate observations about characteristics, such as how others look, how they act, what they say, and their general attitude.

However, people also bring their own past experiences, expectations, biases, and misapprehensions to the situations when forming impressions.

While first impressions play an important role in how people feel about others, how they treat them, and the future development of the relationship, such perceptions can be biased and inaccurate.

Because first impressions can be wrong, it is important to remember that you should look at other information beyond your initial perceptions when you are making judgments about other people.

Human beings are built to size each other up quickly. These first impressions are influenced by a number of factors, such as facial shape, vocal inflection, attractiveness, and general emotional state.

People tend to get attached to their initial impressions of others and find it very difficult to change their opinion, even when presented with lots of evidence to the contrary.

As a result, it’s important to be aware of how one comes across to others during a first meeting.

Everything from clothing style and posture to conversational topics can be adjusted to form a better first impression.

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate.

Thank you …. Not only are people quick to form first impressions, they are also fairly accurate when the target presents them self genuinely. People are generally not good at perceiving feigned emotions or detecting lies upon a first encounter.

The rate at which different qualities are detected in first impressions may be linked to what has been important to survival from an evolutionary perspective.

For example, trustworthiness and attractiveness were the two traits most quickly detected and evaluated in a study of human faces.

People are fairly good at assessing personality traits of others in general, but there appears to be a difference in first impression judgments between older and younger adults.

Older adults judged young adult target photos as healthier, more trustworthy, and less hostile, but more aggressive, than younger adults did of the same photos.

Older adults could have a lower response to negative cues due to a slower processing speed, causing them to see facial features on young adults as more positive than younger adults do

Physical appearance gives clear clues as to a person’s personality without them ever having to speak or move.

Do you want to add a word or two?….

Women tend to be better than men at judging nonverbal behavior.

After viewing pictures of people in a neutral position and in a self-chosen posed position, women were accurate at judging the target’s levels of extraversion, emotional stability, openness, self-esteem, and religiosity.

The combined impression of physical characteristics, body posture, facial expression, and clothing choices lets observers form accurate images of a target’s personality, so long as the person observed is presenting themselves genuinely.

The “beautiful is good” effect is a very present phenomenon when dealing with first impressions of others.

Targets who are attractive are rated more positively and as possessing more unique characteristics than those who are unattractive.

Beauty is also found to be somewhat subjective so that even targets who are not universally attractive can receive the benefit of this effect if the observer is attracted to them.

Your Comments……

The saying “You only have one chance to make a first impression” holds true in many situations, from job interviews to sales calls.

How can you make sure that you start off on the right foot in any of these scenarios?

First impressions matter so much because they happen fast.

We make judgments about other people in a nanosecond. And once that impression is formed, it’s very, very hard to change it. Simply put, your relationships and interactions will be a lot easier if you’re able to immediately start off strong.

A strong first impression gives you more latitude to be human.

What should you actually say?

And what’s the best way to follow up?

If you are a small business owner, then you need to manage the art of the first impression. If you don’t, you could miss out on major opportunities to boost your brand in a variety of ways.

First impressions are more than just moments, they can affect your company in your sales, marketing, hiring, and other endeavors.

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