Posted by Jen Star on July 22, 2005, at 20:34:50
hi all,
I've recently been reading some very interesting books by Malcolm Gladwell:"Blink"
"The Tipping Point"
(I tried to quote them to link...someone may need to help me in my attempts!)The books are easy fun reads and are fascinating. In Blink, MG discusses what is happening in your mind and brain in the first 2 seconds you see or hear something, and the times when first impressions are onto something and the times when they can get fooled by extraneous data and preconceived notions.
It made me think about MY first impressions of hearing and seeing things, and how often I am right or wrong about people.
I think the first things I notice about someone new are, in this order: Physical features (size, shape, color, clothing), then Body language (stance, gestures, carriage, facial expressions).
I THINK I can tell a lot about someone from their first gestures and body language. I teach classes in addition to doing other things. When new students come into the class, I notice how they move (with confidence? With caution? with aggression?) I notice where they sit, whether they greet me, and if they do, what they say and how they say it. I notice if they take handouts without being asked or with a prompt. And I notice all this sort of "in the background" because I'm very busy preparing and greeting people and setting up. some of it only sinks in later. But I have noticed strong correlations between a person's initial body language and how attentive they are in class, and how frequently they attend the class. I've also noticed a correlation in confidence and how well they do in class, and a correlation in interest level and where they sit.
Have you noticed anything about first impressions that seem to "work" to help you learn things? Have you read those books by Gladwell?
JenStar
poster:Jen Star
thread:531859
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050716/msgs/531859.html