Snap judgments count! Warmth and competence are the two critical variables that people use to assess your character and intentions. These two categories account for 80 percent of our overall evaluations of people and shape your emotions and behaviors toward them.
If you happen to be a really serious competent person, as I know you are since you are watching this video, and you are also someone whose temperament, face, and voice do not readily communicate gladness, delight, and enthusiasm, you might be wondering what you can do to warm it up some.
Let me give you a few ways to help you balance these two traits.
Display a sense of humor
Humor is inherently persuasive. Getting people to laugh or smile literally changes their neuro-chemistry.
Make fun of yourself
For instance, I was helping a physician born in India to develop a presentation. He gave many talks on HIV/AIDS and would open his talks with his melodious Indian voice. “Good afternoon! As you can tell from my accent, I am from Cleveland.” The audience ate it up!
A word of caution
Too much warmth can make you appear to be a lightweight and too much competence can cast you as cold and grim. Competent people are more effective when they are perceived to be warm.
Snap judgments and first impressions get no respect from serious people who want a logic to rule the world, but the human tendency to leap quickly to judgment about others is a fact of life.
We ignore it at our peril.