We’ve all been taught that people make a subconscious judgment of you within 7 seconds and decide if they can trust and respect you.
In 2006, Harvard research shortened that window to 1/10th of a second for someone to form an opinion of you.
Now, as a society, we are driven by video and multi-media images more than ever. Our brains can process and recognize an image in 13 milliseconds. Yes that’s 13/1000th of a second.
That means you must always be on your toes. Smile before you get out of your car. Introduce yourself with energy. Look people in the eye and hold your head up high. And never, ever think that you won’t be seen, noticed or judged. You will be remembered by the way you present yourself. Sadly, no one is exempt.
Need an easy icebreaker? Think of your favorite happy thing and make your personal action, reaction to response to it.
For me it’s Mary Poppins. I smile before making eye contact with anyone. I say hello first. When asked how I am I respond with a simple “perfect” or a light-hearted “I’m just like Mary Poppins…practically perfect in every way.” Usually, it starts a dialog that ends with me telling whoever it is that someone must believe it first. At worst, it generates a smile. Most of all, I am presenting an image of someone well put together with something positive to say.