Brainhack

5 Make a Better Impression

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Will Rogers

In a study of 130 diner restaurants it was discovered that simply using high-quality cutlery, normally reserved for banquets, resulted in customers willing to pay 15% more for their food compared to people eating the same meal with lower quality utensils.

The research, carried out by a team from Oxford University, also showed that people eating with heavier cutlery thought food was more artistically plated and tasted better.

“It is likely that the positive or negative values that we attribute to the cutlery gets implicitly ‘transferred' to our judgments of the food – a phenomenon that is often called ‘sensation transference',” said Charles Michel who led the research.

This same “sensation transference” is exactly why having a good firm handshake isn't an old fashioned idea, but is actually something you will be unconsciously judged upon.

Of course, for women a firm handshake is not as important, but you could try knocking your coffee over.

“Making a mistake or being a little clumsy makes you more endearing.”

It seems making a mistake or being a little clumsy makes you more endearing. Perfection creates distance and gives off an unattractive air of invincibility.

This theory was tested by psychologist Elliot Aronson. In his test, he asked participants to listen to recordings of people answering a quiz. The recordings included the sound of the person knocking over a cup of ...