First-Impressions are Important in Writing too

Let’s face reality for a moment. Let us realize that unless we are writing material for one of the very well-known mega-corporations like Coca-Cola, Amazon, Google, or Walmart, our writings will probably not be as recognized and accepted.

How do we overcome such difficult realism? 

The first thing we must understand is exactly how first impressions work. I say first impressions because technically we are strangers to our audiences. The chances of them knowing us, feeling comfortable with us and our material are far less than what they have known. The mega-corporations are people’s lighthouses, it is their reference points to all things, it’s simply what they know and what they can compare other things with.

If we consider writing to be a diffusion of communication among strangers, we can grasp the reality that first-impressions truly mean everything. I do not mean that the writer does not know his/her audience, in fact, the reader will know just about everything about his/her intended audience. Instead, what I mean here is that writing whether its design is to provide information, tell a story, to promote a business idea or product, or to persuade people toward certain points of view, all require a certain understanding and level of relationship fundamentals. Relationships, through our most basic understanding of them, must contain certain levels of trust and transparency, especially when considering maintaining productive relationship progress.

Just like in any face-to-face encounter, writer to reader encounter requires first-impression understanding. Not just an understanding, but also the ability to transfer into writing the thoughts and ideas of making the best first impression.

No matter how many books I read, I always stumble around during the first few sentences or paragraphs until my internal filter has settled and recognized the pattern of the writer. All writers have unique personality’s, tones, rhythms, and emotional signatures to be found in their words, as they would be found during a face-to-face verbal/nonverbal encounter.

It is the skill and the unique understanding of the writer who can provide his/her audience with the transforming verbal and nonverbal cues of clear, and effective writing, so that all intended audiences can relate.

Let us now look at the stages of first-impressions so that we can understand how we can better break-the-ice when we write as strangers, to strangers.

There exist 8-stages during the first-impression encounter. All are important.

1.       The Filter: The filter is a natural process whereby people scan their environment searching for reassurance (comfort). In writing, this is equal to a reader’s glance at the writer’s headline and/or first few sentences. This is the initial point where first impressions are formed. The mind will attempt to automatically establish

reassurance by evaluating the consistency of emotional impressions while comparing with senses and experiences.

2.       Initial Approachability Recognition: This is the natural process of determining and perceiving approachability, or the act of commitment. The mind will establish an initial impression of the basic emotions. The mind will continue to establish reassurance by evaluating the consistency of the emotional impressions while comparing with senses and experiences.

3      .Recognized Approachability: At this point, the mind has determined the need, want or desire to commit to the encounter.

4     Recognized Encounter: This is the point when the commitment of the encounter has occurred.

5       The Medium: This is the point when the reader has comfortably recognized and accepted the pattern of the writer. Understanding and relationship patterns strengthen and begin.

6  .    Imprint Evaluation: Once the reader has acknowledged and accepted a comfortable status by recognizing the pattern of the writer, the reader will begin the process of judgment. It is at this point where positive and negative orientation is assessed, interpreted, judged, and imprinted on the mind as an emotion.

7   .   Conclusion: The end or closure of an event or process. Here, the reader has completed downloading and interpreting the writer’s unique personality, tone, rhythm, and emotional signature patterns. The reader now understands what’s being said and asked of them, and stores this content into their mind.

8       The After Thought: The final stage or process of closure, and further reassurance. This is the point of no return, where the emotional imprint has been stored into the mind as a memory and can be retrieved for use at-a-later time.

Once the encounter has been imprinted on the mind as an emotion, there it will stay until retrieved for later reference. Ensuring that the right emotion will be imprinted on the mind, comes from the ability of the writer to do so. A writer who does not understand how to successfully make first impressions may inadvertently provide an avenue of negative emotional imprinting. To ensure readers receive the right emotional imprint, understanding the 8-stages of first-impressions is a great start.

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