First Impressions Are Not Always Right!

‘First impression is the last impression’, it is said. But, the writer begs to differ and points out that we should not be fooled by first meetings.

Usually in the first meeting itself we make up our mind whether a person is good or bad. But, many times such a belief proves wrong. Therefore, to understand any person we should give ourselves a little time.

For instance, a guy doesn’t look good on a particular day, when you first meet him and that’s why he gets rejected in an interview. Many times on the basis of our perception, we form certain views towards people without understanding them. There is a saying in English, ‘First impression is the last impression’. It is true to some extent, but it is not so spot on too, that should lead us to form our opinion about people.

It takes time!

There are many types of people around us. Some are very social and cheerful and are known as ‘extroverts’. These are the ones who become familiar with others in the first meeting itself. It becomes easy to understand these type of people.

But, some people are shy and silent and are known as ‘introverts’. According to psychologists, when we meet some one for the first time, we come to know only a few things about them and on the basis of our previous experience we begin to form our views, which may prove wrong many times. Hence, if in the first meeting, a negative image forms in our mind, then we shouldn’t believe it to be true, rather we should wait and try to understand that person with patience.

Circumstances play a role

Here I will narrate an incident to prove my point. One day, I went to meet a family who had just shifted near my house in the same locality. When I went to meet the lady, the moment I stepped on to the stairs, I heard her shouting at her kids on top of her voice. The moment I heard her voice, the first thought that came to my mind was, this lady must be arrogant.

But, later I came to know that, on that day, she was arranging the household stuff and her locker keys got misplaced. Her kids were at the same time asking her to watch TV with them. This was the reason she was scolding the kids. After knowing the truth, I felt very bad about my false perception and later we went on to become good friends.

It usually happens that we begin to form an opinion about a person, on the basis of our first meeting. Such perceptions do not always turn out to be true.

It takes time to understand a person

Every person has different layers of persona, which open up slowly with the passage of time. It is wrong to form an opinion about a person only on the basis of first meeting. It is better to give sometime to yourself to understand that person. It will help to form a balanced opinion about a person.

Some more pointers…

1) When you meet a person for the first time don’t get too much influenced by him or her, because some people are masters in the art of making a good impression on others . It is better to observe these types of people for sometime and then form an opinion about them.

2) If during a conversation a person continuously speaks about himself and do not give a single chance for you to speak, then don’t trust such people easily.

3) To understand introvert people, you should start talking with them, so that they feel comfortable. Only then, they would be able to talk frankly with you.

4) When we are tense, we don’t take much interest in meeting people. It develops a negative perception in our mind for that person. Therefore, we should meet that person again when we are in a pleasant mood and give the relationship another chance.

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Urvashi Vats

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