Imagine you are attending a graduation ceremony and the man giving the keynote speech walks with hunched shoulders up to the podium. His hair has dreadlocks and stands up in several places. It looks like she quickly grabbed her clothes from the bargain bin at the local Goodwill Store. He's wearing a striped sports jacket, plaid golf pants and white athletic socks with his bright orange Bronco Crocs. Based solely on this information, will the public listen carefully and be inspired by the knowledge this man has to impart? Could his words have the same impact on this particular audience as a speaker who confidently stepped to the podium, head held high, hair neatly combed, suit meticulously tailored, and shoes polished to a shine? Most likely not because human nature takes over and first impressions are formed. First impressions are powerful and can be difficult to overcome. Research shows that first impressions are formed within moments of an encounter and may take many additional encounters to overcome (Tongue, 2007). Observers use many different criteria, such as personal beliefs, verbal cues, nonverbal cues, and aesthetic cues, to form first impressions. However, content has little to do with the impact of a first impression. Appearance has the greatest impact on first impressions. In fact, only 7% of an impression comes from the actual content of a message. Another 35% of the impression comes from message delivery; tone, inflection and pitch. This leaves, a very high percentage, around 55%, of an impression that is formed based on visualization, of how one appears (Jeavons, 2007). Imagine that looks are the deciding factor rather than knowledge. This is h... middle of paper... s” is one of many tools that can be used to gain the necessary understanding of human behavior to be able to put first impressions aside and work towards a common approach. objective.Works Cited Babcock, MK (1989). The dramaturgical perspective: implications for the study of person perception. European Journal of Social Psychology, 19(4), 297-309. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Clark, D. R. (2010). First impressions. Retrieved September 9, 2011, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/impress.htmlClark, D. R. (2011). Leadership and human behavior. Retrieved September 9, 2011, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadhb.htmlJeavons, S. (2007). Take command of the room with strong body language. American Salesman, 52(4), 28. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Tongue, S. (2007). Every day brings a first impression. Nursing Standard, 22(4), 62-63. Retrieved from EBSCOhost