First Impressions Aren't Always Right

You form an impression of someone when you meet them for the first time. First impressions can be good or bad.

Some are skilled at making good first impressions. Yet, in subsequent meetings, you begin to see insincerity.

Others may do poorly with first impressions. As time passes, the relationship strengthens, and fondness grows.

And so, first impressions aren't always correct.

People tend to ignore the fact that situations influences behaviour. Also, people tend to believe that a person's personality is the sole reason for their mannerisms.

In other words, what people do is who they are, also known as Fundamental Attribution Error. A person's behaviour is better explained by their personality and not the situation.

For example, an employee late for an important meeting is seen as "lazy". Yet, they met a car accident just before the meeting and showed up anyway.

You cannot know a person from one meeting. People are multi-layered and infinitely complex. You can never truly know someone until you spend time with them and hear their life story.

Next time, keep an open mind, have a few deep conversations and give yourself time to understand the other.

Inspired by Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast And Slow