We (co-author Michael Lovas and I) have written quite a lot about first impressions. In particular the series of subconscious assessments that go on when we first meet someone. We know that the first thing that goes on is the “am I in danger?” assessment.

Every time a stranger looks at you, he or she makes a split-second determination as to whether you are friend or foe. Also among those split second assessments is an analysis of your attractiveness, likeability and credibility.

According to Princeton researcher and professor Alex Todorov, we are “hard wired” to quickly draw these inferences.

“The link between facial features and character may be tenuous at best, but that doesn’t stop our minds from sizing other people up at a glance. We decide very quickly whether a person possesses many of the traits we feel are important, such as likeability and competence, even though we have not exchanged a single word with them. It appears that we are hard-wired to draw these inferences in a fast, unreflective way.”

For more on first impressions, and in particular what people are “reading” to make these assessments, check out our book Axis of Influence – How Credibility and Likeability Intersect to Drive Success.

For more on Alex Todorov, check out All Things Considered, June 9, 2005 – Scientists Search for Winning Look. Forget political polls. Scientists usually can tell whether political candidates will win or lose by testing voters’ reactions to the contestants’ faces. A study in the journal Science shows that voters chose the face that looks more “competent.”

Professor Todorov’s Princeton Website ]]> http://www.axisofinfluence.com/Blog/first-impressions/feed/ 0 http://www.axisofinfluence.com/Blog/first-trust-then-likeability-then-credibility/ http://www.axisofinfluence.com/Blog/first-trust-then-likeability-then-credibility/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:46:37 +0000 pamholloway http://www.axisofinfluence.com/Blog/?p=33 Both Likeability and Credibility begin with the other person’s first impression of you. The first impression is a mental activity that goes on behind the scenes in your old brain. This mental activity takes place in a split second and because the old brain doesn’t have a lot to go on, it uses your face, your demeanor, your clothes and other immediate impressions to decide whether or not you can be trusted.

We know from the research that trustworthiness is the first decision the old brain seeks out and that makes sense because remember the old brain is, well…. old.  It’s still operating in a world where giant predators with enormous appetites were looking to snack on your body parts.  Survival meant quickly being able to size up a situation and choose the appropriate response. Even though you’re not really operating in that world anymore, your old brain still thinks it is.

So in order to increase your credibility and likeability, you have to pay attention to the old brain and get through the trust gate.    It’s a process – First I decide if I trust you, then I decide if I like you.  If I like you, I’ll pay attention long enough to see if I find you credible. The more you can do in those first few seconds to enable the other person to trust you, the better the odds you’ll make it through the likeability and credibility gates.