On first meeting, most people immediately evaluate you based on your trustworthiness, your perceived power and your ego. Here’s what we mean.
Picture: Blondin Rikard/Flickr
People want to figure out whether you’re a friend or foe, whether you can help them (and how), and where you fit in relative to them socially. Subconsciously, people are looking for validation that they are superior to other individuals or groups.
To make a better first impression, you must be (or at least appear) trustworthy and warm, demonstrate how you can be useful to them, and be modest so you don’t threaten their ego. As you become better friends, frame yourself as part of the other person’s group so they aren’t threatened by your progress and achievements.
A Second Chance to Make the Right Impression [Harvard Business Review]
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