Earlier this month, Susannah admitted that she can tell how a date will go within the first three seconds. Turns out, she’s only about four seconds faster than average at sizing up a potential mate. Linda Blair, clinical psychologist and author of Straight Talking, says: “‘It takes only seven seconds for us to judge another person when we first meet them,” explaining that this subconscious behavior goes back to our “primitive roots when we couldn’t afford to make wrong decisions.” Judi James, author of The Body Language Bible, agrees, and explains: “We’re looking primarily to see if we should feel threatened, but we also make several assumptions about attraction and personality. … Because we tend to be time-poor, we use assumption as a short-cut, meaning if you don’t get it right first time you might not get another chance.”
This not only spells potential trouble for the person we’re sizing up, but it can be disastrous for us when we’re the ones being judged. After the jump, a few expert tips for passing the seven-second test yourself. Keep reading »
