Power of Smile

The Power of Your Smile and Why Your Appearance Matters.

“People are sizing you up within the first 4 seconds of an encounter. They take you at face value in 4 seconds. Your physical appearance is the foundation on which you build your credibility.”

This, according to Ann Demarais and Valerie White, authors of First Impressions: What You Don't Know About How Others See You (2005).

When you walk through a door people experience what psychologists call… “The Threshold Effect”. Often and perhaps unfairly, people make judgments in those first few minutes about:

  • How wealthy you are
  • How smart you are
  • Can you be trusted
  • Your social status
  • Your level of sophistication

All of this based on your appearance! Be critical of how your appearance impacts you. This according to Gloria Starr, International Master Image Consultant, in her book Success Strategies.

What is your Halo Effect?

Threshold effects, and people sizing you up within the first 4 seconds of an encounter are based upon your Halo Effect. Your Halo effect is a subjective opinion that someone creates about you based on one outstanding trait that extends to influence the total judgment of how that person feels about you. It involves a person judging you by a single trait or characteristic. The dependence of this characteristic tends to slant their judgement about your total personality even if it is inaccurate. Once a person has formed an opinion of you based on a single trait, he, or she, is likely to see you in the same light again and again.

First impressions are also based on Halo Effects. Your first impressions carry significant social outcomes, because the first impression overrides all subsequent impressions.Charles Feng of Stanford

University in Looking Good: The Psychology and Biology of Beauty (2006) reports that in society, attractive people tend to be more intelligent, better adjusted, and more popular. Research shows attractive people have more occupational success and more dating experience than their unattractive counterparts. One theory behind this halo effect that is accurate -- attractive people are indeed more successful.

Negative Halo Effect

‍Could It be that your single most outstanding trait is a negative one?

A single undesirable trait can cause someone to subsequently judge you to have many poor traits. Allowing a single weak point or negative trait to influence a personʼs perception of you is called a Negative Halo Effect. This according to L. Zebrowitz, and J. Montepare in Social Psychological Face Perception: Why Appearance Matters (2008). The overall effects of a poor appearance can undermine your self image and discourage social interaction.

The Power of Your Smile.

The Most Critical Component To Your Attractive Appearance.

Since the face is the exposed area of the body, your smile constitutes a most prominent line. The smile becomes an important component in the presentation of a person favoring social acceptance. A non harmonic smile decreases the beauty of the face. Hence, your smile is one of your most important facial expressions that demonstrates friendship, pleasant sensation and appreciation. This in Esthetic Analysis of the Smile. Brazilian journal of Oral Science (2007) authors S. Giulliana, et al. Dana Aspach reports in How to Look Younger. Money Over 55 About.com Guide, that one of the critical and correctable factors to increase earning power is to pay attention to your teeth. At a minimum, whiten them. If necessary, consider veneers. A great smile and good teeth can take 10 years off your look, as well as help you appear credible and more trustworthy; important when youʼre looking for a new career.

In his book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” Dale Carnegie talks about the “big secret of dealing with people”. Interestingly, the very first chapter of his book is devoted to the importance of a smile. The chapter discusses the importance of using the smile to create good, positive first impressions. The all important need of humans to have success and meaningful relationships is based on the smile. He states how smiling can create good social relationships ultimately lead to success in life.