First.

Okay. So technically, this is not my first post, but this is the first post which may be useful for you.

So I'd like to start with the assumption that everyone knows the famous saying...

"FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE LAST IMPRESSION."

Really? First impression is the last impression? Everlasting? Forever friendzoned?!!😂

I think not.

This is true only in one condition- when you're not going to meet that person again, then its literally the last impression!

So keeping that in mind, I think it is safer to have a better first impression, so as to have better chances of a second meeting. Hence the saying.

Psychologically speaking, first impression is the mental image a person makes about another person after meeting him/her for the first time. The accuracy depends on how good one is at observing others.

Believe me, human brains are made to size up other humans. That's what we do all day, all 365 days, either consciously or subconsciously.

But here today we're discussing about how to improve your first impression, so let the sizing up thing be subconscious for now😅.

There's a lot of stuff all over the internet about improving your first impression but they focus more on personality and attitude rather than the psychological aspects which, to my best belief, are most important.

Following are a few points to keep in mind while meeting anyone:

• People judge you: No matter how many 'f's you give, or don't, people are going to judge you, and you know it. That's how impressions are made. So if you're not suffering from that 'Antisocial Disorder' or as some prefer to call it 'Anti-idiot Disorder', start spending those 'f's.


• See from their eyes: Ever wondered when people make first impressions, what is their reference standard? There must be a baseline. Well of course there is one. People compare other people  to themselves. They constantly, subconsciously evaluate people, and however secular or open-minded one claims to be, people compare other people based on race, religion, gender, height, weight, clothes, money and of course, face. Not our fault though, our minds are designed to think in that way from the day we're born. So if you want to impress someone, make sure you're fairly above their baseline. 


• Make their impression: This is important. To know how fairly you're doing in the test you must know the benchmark score. Evaluate them, how do they look, what do they do, how do they walk etc. Now score them on a scale of 1-10 (zero not allowed😜). We'll further discuss how to evaluate others in the body language and sizing up sections.


• See your impression: Now, get ready to get embarrassed😂. As readily as you've evaluated them. Start evaluating yourself from their point of view. Score yourself and compare that to their score. Are you equal? Are you just touching the baseline? Or do you see yourself in those depths of friendzones which very few of the mortal humans have been able to explore?!😝. Because I have met very few people who find themselves above the benchmark. The problem is people start finding perfection in others hence they neglect their dark sides. We'll discuss this later in the how not to size up others and the personality classification section.


• Be the real you: It doesn't matter how many times you say that you have your own font, deep down inside you know, your handwriting is really bad. So stop giving excuses, be what you are, be who you are. Believe me, its really disappointing to find that someone is not who we thought them to be. Stop imitating perfection and people will find the unique you (even though everyone is unique).


• Nonverbals: Mind what you signal. The image below is called 'cortical homunculus'. In simple words, it shows which organ of your body gives away more nonverbal signals. Evidently, our hands are the most expressive ones. Some tips for improving nonverbals would be, do not shake someone's hands with both your hands, like politicians or priests, if you're not one of them. People dislike other people touching the back of their hand. Another one would be, do not hide your thumbs. Why? This will be discussed in the body language section with many more do's and dont's of nonverbals.


• Finally, I'd say stop thinking about what others think of you, which, for an untrained mind, is very difficult. But I believe it is better to have one friend who knows you rather than having many who have false impressions and expectations from you. But there's no point to this post if we were all such saints. So think, but think logically and systematically, for everyone sees, but a few observe.

By following the advices above you may lead a better social life, i.e., actual social life where humans meet other humans in real time and space and not via the internet. Because I know a lot of people who are the Tony Starks of virtual chatting but become Batman in real conversations😂.

Now I think you don't need a second chance to make a first impression;).

There's a lot of other stuff but they'll be discussed later under other topics. Don't worry, I'll remind you to refer this one when a subject of interest emerges. 

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Give your precious comments, share if you feel its worth it. My next one will be on basics of sizing up people.

Till then, take care👋

Pics Courtesy: Google Images