*This article was first published on MEDIUM
Ever wonder why you didn’t get promoted? Are you still trying to figure out why you didn’t connect with that special someone and make a great impression? While we all think that first impressions are important, the evidence unequivocally establishes that making a first impression is actually vital to your professional and personal success! It is critical for you to completely understand why people react so powerfully to first impressions so that you can grow your personal and professional toolboxes.
First impressions are crucial for they play an influential role in dealing with others and how others look upon you. Importantly, first impressions are quickly formed and may use a relatively small amount of information as a basis. Harvard Research shows that not only is our first impression vital, but that assessment happens instantaneously. Those initial decisive judgments become foundational beliefs about other people and are extremely difficult to change. In fact, we have about two seconds before a person makes a complete judgment about whom and what we are through the use of non-verbal cues and body language. This fact was repeatedly confirmed by Princeton Researchers who also found that just a tenth of a second was enough to make judgments that did not differ significantly from the judgments made by other people who were given several minutes to make their assessments.
High Stakes Poker
Over the past 15 years, the professional poker world has seen seismic shifts in styles of play and theory but you don’t need to understand Game Theory or advanced mathematics to find nuggets of wisdom. One relevant old school concept that holds up today is the importance of your ‘image.’ Mike Caro, argued that, “In a poker game, you have something to sell. Specifically, you’re selling your best hands, and if you can make more sales, by getting more calls, you’ll earn extra profit. When you have something to sell, image matters.”
Whether you are selling a losing poker hand, an idea or your services, you have to be aware of and craft your image to enhance your position, not detract from it.
To do this effectively, you need to understand the Primacy Effect. The primacy effect is a psychological term for the very first impression you make, and other people make on you. First impressions tend to color or bias later judgments of a person. They do this in a way that is consistent with their initial assessments. Thus what someone first sees, hears, or reads about a person tends to serve as a primary reference point or anchor for later judgments.
Caro’s first rule of poker image is that you must be likeable. He argues that ‘opponents supply more profit if they like you.’ Considering people construct their opinion of you based upon their immediate first impression, presenting a likeable image in your personal or professional life is vital if you want to have a positive, beneficial or profitable relationship with that person. The take away here is that in order to succeed, you must find the image that works for you, and finesse it.
MAGA Hats & Primacy
Various studies concluded that, in addition to overall impressions, the primacy effect also affects specific judgments about others that includes how generally intelligent and successful we perceive others to be and how well we expect them to perform in the future. Asch also concluded that when one particular positive trait (e.g. intelligence) is believed to be possessed by a person you meet other positive traits are automatically associated to the individual as well (e.g. humane, well mannered, successful). This means that peoples first impressions conclude whether they think you are and will continue to be smart and successful or not.
The famous or infamous red MAGA hat in the USA – depending on your particular political opinion – illustrates the importance of image perfectly. Law Professor Jeannine Bell summarizes the divide in opinion best when she explained that, “Individuals who wear MAGA hats see them as supporting the idea that America should be made great again. It’s not necessarily linked with this idea of white supremacy. Others see the MAGA hats as the racial hatred that was invoked, at particular times, by members of the Republican Party. In that way, the MAGA hat is a very complicated sign.”
It is clear that the MAGA hat projects two vastly different images depending on the person who sees someone wearing it. Would you wear this controversial red hat into a job interview with the NAACP if you really wanted the job? Probably not!
Overall, these generalizations clearly bring about biases and may result in inaccurate or erroneous impressions. What other ‘MAGA hats’ do you ‘wear’ that project specific opinions, thoughts and values? It is vital that you consider this fact in order to improve your professional career. Always present an initial positive impression to avoid creating negative associations and biases that you will not be able to repair or overcome in the future.
Summing Up
People will decide what kind of person you are in less than 2 seconds. That instantaneous judgement will bias their overall impression of you, even as new conflicting information comes to light. So follow these two pieces of advice to ensure career success.
First, take Caro’s advice and be aware of everything you project at the poker table of life if you want the best outcomes! If you are going to wear your favourite ‘red hat’, be aware of your image and just as importantly, who your audience is if you want the most advantageous outcomes.
Second, take advantage of knowing who your audience is so that you can project the most effective image for success. People are going to judge you within two seconds, so take control of the narrative and make an effort to plan out what your first impression will be for every type of person, meeting or event.
