Accuracy of First Impressions.

Life is based upon first impressions. From the moment we meet someone we begin to judge them based upon what they look like, what they where, or how they talk. This moment is called a "Thin Slice" and can take anywhere between any amount of time. It is said that the longer we are around someone the more accurate our first impression will be. For example if we are around someone for 2 seconds our first impression will be less accurate than being around them for 30 minutes. Another example of this would be a recent experience experience experience had walking into a company. For the sake of the company i will not give their name. I control part of their media and social media outlets helping them reach the community via Facebook, Twitter, and several other social media sites. As part of a routine meeting, i walk into the building towards the conference room. Now, let me explain the context. My job allows me to wear what i want and with that being said i walk in with a black hoodie without the hood up. Before i was able to get past the front desk they immediately stopped me, asked me what my business there was, and asked to search my bag. After doing some explaining they quickly apologized and told me that there had been several thefts within the last week. They also informed me that they both were new staff members and wanted to try their best to stop these thefts. As we can see their first impressions were based upon what i was wearing. Even before they were able to meet me they already had a pre-determined image in their minds. Many of us do this daily with who we see. We label people based upon what they wear, skin color, ethnicity, gender, and many other factors. These all tend to be wrong first impressions and typically are the opposite of what we think. Another example would be the case of Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent. As Susan, a middle aged overweight woman who doesn't fit the social norm of what it means to be "beautiful", gets up to sing the crowd she is instantly booed and hissed at. The judges are even laughing at how she wants to try and sing. They give her a shot and what happens is something truly amazing. She destroys the misconception in peoples minds and sings her heart out which, at the end, receives a standing ovation from both the crowd and the judges. We see that the first impressions is radically different from what we expect. So what does this mean for us? This means that instead of judging someone by our first impressions we need to create an accurate impression based on time well spent with the person. We need to get to know others before we can judge them.