It was a first impression gone bad.
Malcolm Gladwell, best-selling author of “The Tipping Point,” allowed his usually-short hair to grow long and curly for the first time in a long time. When he did so, he noticed a couple of things:
- He started getting speeding tickets
- He was singled out for extra scrutiny by the TSA as he made his way through airport security
The icing on the cake for Gladwell, though, happened when a rape was committed near the New York City neighborhood where he lives. Armed with an artist’s sketch, police spotted Gladwell and started questioning him. The perpetrator depicted in the sketch had long, curly hair. Other than the hair, he shared no other features with Gladwell. In Gladwell’s opinion, it was obvious that he and the person depicted in the sketch were not the same person. Still, it took him 20 minutes to convince the police that he wasn’t the man they were looking for.
What made the “first impression” of Gladwell become so firmly entrenched in those police officers’ minds? Why was it so hard for them to let go of the impression they had formed based on just slivers of information? Out of these questions, Gladwell’s next best-selling book, “Blink,” was born. In it, Gladwell describes how the phenomenon called, “thin slicing” allows us to make decisions based on a bare minimum of information.
“Blink,” is fascinating reading. For those interested in communication and first impressions, it’s invaluable. It arms us with information that we can use to:
- Craft more effective messages
- Be more mindful of how we jump to conclusions (thin slicing)
- Make better first impressions
Posted by briancastelli 
