How does Perception affect us?

Anyone that’s worked with me over the years will know one of the words I use constantly is Perception. I used it on many an occasion, and I know some people that could almost guess when I was going to bring it up. But what does it truly mean, and why is it so important?

The Oxford dictionary gives a definition of the word as --

"The way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted"

In our working lives, and often in our personal lives as well, we all believe things should be “fair”, and everyone else should see us “for who we really are”.  Think about it though, realistically do you not create first impressions of others yourself??

I have always believed that you need to think how others “perceive” you and how you act, and by doing this you set up a situation so that hopefully other will actually see you for who you are as time goes on.

There are many simple examples in life, like the fact many people look at others with tattoos in a certain way and place them in a stereotypical bracket, unfair I think you’ll agree (especially if you have a tattoo!!) but no one can deny it happens. And I love my motorbikes, but many people have a negative image of what a biker is, something I am acutely aware of when trying to get a hotel late at night on a trip in all my bike gear!

The fact is if someone has tattoos’ that doesn’t define what type of person they are, just as all bikers are going to cause havoc and wreck the place!! However many people have these perceptions, and we can either moan about it and say it's unfair, or we can understand it and take some control.

Now, I am not condoning being false, or untrue to yourself, however we all need to be aware of how other view us, and most importantly take some responsibility for the fact we can help manage this perception for the better.

We have used this concept at many levels over the years, from customer meetings, to large events, and multiple levels of training. In all of these cases understanding how you, or what you are trying to do/achieve, is perceived allows you the chance to prepare and manage the situation in a more controlled manner.

Think about it, you only get one chance to make a first impression, looking at how we are perceived can really help make that one chance count.