We are often told to make a noticeable first impression as a way to achieve in life.
Or that a first impression lasts long in the memory and so it should always be a priority.
Even though it usually does, the truth is that a first impression is also often wrong. It’s too quick a snapshot and rarely provides the true picture. Something that a famous advert still talked about today captured superbly.
It’s 1986 and The Guardian newspaper in the UK wanted to cement its position as a paper that looked at every angle of the news unlike other publications. It also wanted to show that in striking style and commissioned an advert that highlighted the typical stereotypical entrenched viewpoints that filled society at the time. Their chosen representative of this was….the skinhead. The much maligned young person constantly tarred with a crime and violence and racism tag.
The TV advert began with one on a street corner seemingly running away from a group of youths following close behind in a car. The voiceover declared that an event seen from one point of view gives one impression. The angle changes to watch the skinhead sprinting towards a well dressed businessman carrying a briefcase accompanied by the voiceover saying, ‘Seen from another point of view it gives a quite different impression’ as the businessman turns expecting to be mugged. As viewers we all expected the same.
But then came the genius. And the truth.
Long held can be wrong held.
The voiceover now states, ‘But only when you see the full picture can you fully understand what’s going on‘. The picture angle is now different, from up above slightly as you see a pile of bricks being hauled up for a building site beginning to topple right above the businessman’s head. The skinhead was running not to escape or attack anyone, but to save the man’s life.
The ad ended in silence. The Guardian had made their point. A point not just to boost their circulation, but to make us all think in a way that had never been done before. As viewers we had all watched with a set first impression. One that was abjectly and factually wrong.
Our first impressions were based upon our long held beliefs. They are also loaded with bias from those beliefs and the influence of society and people close to us. And the trouble is we are too ready to hold onto them rather than being open minded at what we see or read.
Which leads to perhaps the most famous first impression error in history.
Not everyone is the same.
In the 1960’s Decca Records were one of the leading record labels in the UK and music. They signed such bands as The Rolling Stones and Amen Corner to their label and the held some 23% of the whole market in records sales. Decca was every group and signer’s dream to sign with.
That is what brought a small group of young British lads to their studios in January 1962 for their audition or commercial test as it was called. They had become a bit of a hit on the club scene and so word got out. They soon got to work and belted out fifteen songs to show their ability rather than the usual two or three numbers. The session was recorded and sent to the top brass. The young band members felt confident.
Decca management felt otherwise having heard the tape. Fairly quickly they rejected signing the band because ‘guitar groups are on the way out’ and they ‘have no future in show business’. Most other young hopefuls would have been dejected, not these fellas. They kept at it and were signed by EMI the same year…..playing the same music Decca said was very yesterday. The only yesterday would be a famous song of the same name they wrote and sang. That group were The Beatles!!
Decca fell for the blanket approach. They chose a first impression based on a general opinion rather than seeing and listening to what was in front of them. They failed to go beyond that initial reaction and wait or think a while. Their eyes and ears only supported the already decided bias i.e. guitar groups will no longer sell records. They never got past that impression. The Beatles were doomed before they started with Decca as a result.
Truth is we are all often Decca Records or viewers of an ad featuring a skinhead. We still do it today. Our first impressions are often wrong. They are too fixed and too quick to announce themselves.
So next time you see anything or anyone for the first time, don’t decide for the first time. Look for the back story. Wait to see what unfolds. Watch what really might be going on. Then you may well be rarely wrong.
Because the best impression you can ever make is not deciding about a first one!
References – Guardian advert – various. See You Tube – ‘The Guardian Points of View advert’.
The Beatles – see Wikipedia ‘The Beatles Decca Audition’.