On their own, each of the above is a good example of why first impressions matter. This can provide you with greater latitude in how you perform your tasks and achieve your goals. They are more likely to trust that you can perform the tasks assigned to you and achieve the goals that have been set. If the first impression that you create includes competency, this will instill confidence in others of your abilities and skills. Other people will spread their good opinions about you.
This kind of social capital can have far-reaching effects on both your personal and professional life. Because of this, making a good first impression impacts your networking. People you meet are also more likely to remember you and recommend you to their friends and coworkers. They are then more likely to consider you a friend and open up to you. If people’s first impression of you is that you are friendly, competent, and trustworthy, they are more likely to feel comfortable around you. Because of our implicit biases and cognitive biases, we see the world and other people through our own set of filters and make decisions based on them.Īll of your relationships are affected by the first impression that you make. Whether they are accurate or not, it normally takes a long time and concerted effort to change a first impression.īecause they are largely subconscious, first impressions are very persistent. It can be very difficult to change someone’s first impression of us.įirst impressions last. Some of the qualities we try to gauge include a person’s friendliness, honesty, trustworthiness, and competence.Ī first impression becomes a filter that we use for all future interactions with that person. We form a not-always-accurate opinion about many of a person’s qualities when we first meet them. We form this opinion by quickly taking in information about a person, including their face, dress, posture, and tone of voice.
First impressions are the almost-instant conclusions we draw when meeting someone for the first time.