babyassface: How to make a good first impression, even if you look like crap.

February 10, 2009

How to make a good first impression, even if you look like crap.

Want to make a good first impression? Turns out it may not matter if you’re having a bad hair day, or if you have a big, unicorn-esque zit in the middle of your forehead, or if you show up on an interview in your pajamas with toothpaste on your face. (OK, maybe those matter a little.)

But according to a recent study at Yale University, physically touching something warm can help bring about a subconscious, feeling of warmth towards others. This warm feeling leads to a better first impression.

In the above-mentioned Yale study, 41 students were recruited for what was believed to be personality research. A lab worker escorted each participant up the elevator and asked for help holding her cup of coffee, either hot or iced, while she recorded the student's name on a clipboard.

Once in the lab, students were given a description of a fictitious person and asked to rate that person's personality traits.

Students who’d held the hot cup saw the phantom person as more generous, sociable and good-natured than those who had held the cold cup.

This didn’t hold true, if the hot coffee was spilled on the participants' crotches while driving.

Next the researchers gathered 53 different students. They had them briefly hold either a heat or ice pack, under the guise of product testing. Students were then asked to choose a reward for either themselves or a friend.

Students who held the hot pack were more likely to choose a reward for a friend, while those who held the ice pack were more likely to choose a reward for themselves.

The moral of the story: use this information to get ahead.

Want your boss to think warmly of you and choose to give you a reward? Tell him you’re running to Starbucks and you’d like to bring him back a beverage. (Just pray he doesn’t ask for an iced drink or you’re screwed.)

BTW, Ginger is also great for improving circulation, so if you have a lot of glad-handing to do, try drinking lots of ginger tea throughout the day to ensure your hands are warm.