Everyone is guilty of judgeing on first appearances (Do You Judge on First Appearance?)

Member Name: jpegington

Product:	Do You Judge on First Appearance?
Date:	18/02/07 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It happens

Disadvantages: It is not always an accurate impression

When I saw this discussion in speakers corner, I thought that I just had to write a review on it. I would say that I am definetely guilty of judging on first appearances and would say that just about everyone does in some manner or other. For me the important issue would be to what extent you allow that first impression to guide your complete judgement of an individual.

What do I mean by that, well I am involved in sales. As such your first impression, both on the phone and in meetings is all important. Should you make a bad impression (by looking scruffy or not knowing their name, etc) then you can immediately make your job so much harder. It is possible to turn a meeting around, by being professional, however it is much harder. Therefore a first impression can make or break a sale.

It used to be said, that should you want to know about a man, then you should look at their shoes. Should they be polished and clean, then they are trustworthy, etc, while if they are scruffy then they can't be. This is an issue of a first impression (that I also do sometimes) but is not the whole picture. It is important to consider in some cases as if they cannot be bothered to polish their shoes, then should you trust them in other areas as well?

One example where I have without a shadow of a doubt judged on a first appearance was a number of years ago. I was looking for a new suit and went to a high street suit shop that I had used for many years as one of the sales staff there was very helpful. On this occaision I walked in and an overweight man with an extremely bad fitting suit (it really did not suit him or fitted him very well) asked me whether he could help me. I looked at him and decided immediately (from the first appearance) that if he could not find a suit that suited and fitted him, then how would he be able to help me. As such I walked out of the store and went elsewhere. Now, was I right to do so? In my opinion yes, I judged on a first appearance, but if he cannot help himself, then how would he be able to help me?

In other times I have taken a slight dislike to someone based on my first appearance, but once I got to know them, I realised that they were not like I first imagined at all, and indeed got on very well with them. The important factor is that you should not let a first appearance govern your decision making all the time, but give people a chance.

As for the issue of pretty people getting more attention over ugly ones, then I would say that in some cases this happens with everyone. I would say however that a strong character can also make a good or bad first impression and this is also something that is important to consider both in judging other people and in how you live your own life.

In conclusion I would say that first appearances do have an impact on how I judge other people, but I try not to let them have such an importance in my life. Rather I try to get to know people first before I make a decision on what I think of them.

Summary: It happens.