Jun5 2006
AskMen – How To Change People’s Perception Of You
Posted: Jun 5th, 2006 at 6:36 pm by chilumba
Being a African (and maybe just being a foreigner ) makes the people around me create certain perceptions and stereotypes. I have experienced it in US College/University, and recently in Coperate America. Its funny though that people who get to know me think otherwise – maybe at that point I have changed their mind or they have caught up. So when I read an article about changing the way people think of you on Ask Men, it provoked a thought to create this post.
The ‘National Geographic’ TV show does not help the situation. When they are portraying Africa, they seem to focus in the rural areas hit by poverty and without many resources. They show wildlife everywhere with snippet’s of Lions and Elephants. Because of that, many Africans are always asked questions like “Did you have Lions at your house hut?” or “How does it feel to wear shoes?”. But I guess we all have to educate the people we interact with one-by-one. I always call this “proving one-self”.
Here is a snippet from the article
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”- Warren Buffet
Other people’s perceptions are very important in business. First impressions are made within seconds and office gossip has the potential to damage a reputation almost beyond repair. Do you know how your colleagues perceive you?
who, me?
Have you overheard someone’s negative comments? Has your boss reprimanded you during your evaluation? Has a friend said something about your behavior? Perhaps people’s body language or tone of voice changes when you join a conversation, or maybe you just have a gut feeling.
If you want to find out how you’re perceived, ask someone you can trust and listen carefully to their comments, without taking offense.
Other people’s perceptions of you may be wrong, but rather than wasting time complaining, getting even or defending yourself, take action to change their opinion. Just keep in mind that your actions in the first few months at a new company or in a new position will set the tone for how others perceive you.
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