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Welcome to the Tero International Monthly eZine
How many times have we overlooked the shy person in the corner, only to later uncover brilliance? Or what about that time when you entered the room for a luncheon, and the guest speaker turned out to be the person you'd seen earlier and had assumed they were in the wrong place? It's not uncommon to be guilty of letting the look of a person alter your sense of who they are, without even meeting or greeting them.
Our perceptions are strong and are formed in as little as two seconds according to research. This eZine offers an insightful view about some of the factors that form a perception and a personal look into what your usual perception is and should be. The Q&A debates the right to look the way we want, and the sidebar displays some common and easily read body language.
What perception greets you? The answers can be found below.
Also, be sure to scroll to the "What's New?" section to find out about Tero's Fifteen Year Celebration Open House this month. You're invited!
Ask Tero
This section contains questions asked of the training professionals at Tero. Do you have a question for Tero? Let us know! If there is a topic or question you would like to see addressed in a future eZine, please make suggestions so we can give you the resources you need. Thank you for the continued responses we receive each month.
Question: Shouldn't I be judged on my character instead of how I look?
Tero says: Character counts and is most important. However, we know from research that people do not assess character when first meeting someone. The initial impact of the first impression is based 55% on what they take in visually, and 38% on vocal expression. The remaining 7% is based on our words (usually the transmitter of our character quotient). To be sure people do accurately know your character traits, you will want to make sure your visual image reflects and communicates well for you, as it will be the first determination.
Question: Sometimes it feels awkward to greet a friend or colleague with a handshake. When would it be appropriate to simply greet with a "hello" instead of a handshake?
Tero says: The handshake is under-used and undervalued in our casual U.S. environment. When you take the time to make eye contact, square your posture with someone and then appropriately shake hands, you communicate far more than a simple hello. You demonstrate that you value the other person, and you value being in their presence. A good handshake makes a lasting positive impression. Nothing announces as loudly your genuine respect and observance of others.
Feature Article - First Impressions, Lasting Impressions
Is a first glance keeping you from getting a second chance?
It's no secret that first impressions can form lasting opinions. Research consistently reveals that favorable first impressions and a polished image can serve as competitive tools. It also indicates that many are sabotaging their success when their appearance is not congruent with their expertise and abilities.
If you want to be taken seriously, it's time to take a serious look at the impact your appearance has on the way you are perceived by others.
Professional Development Activity - Evaluate Last
It is human nature to form perceptions quickly based on immediate value judgments. Often times the fact that we do this means we may evaluate incorrectly and react based on the judgment, rather than on reality. A useful perception checking technique is described below. If you become a master of it, you will also be a master of positive and genuine interactions anywhere in the world.
When confronted with something new, if we can observe it without evaluating, chances are we can describe it. Then we have the ability rather than judging to consider all the possibilities that may explain what we are seeing or experiencing. That is the interpretation phase. We can then evaluate more clearly and correctly. The tendency to evaluate behavior from another person or culture as good or bad is to make a judgment based on our own cultural or personal bias. Evaluation has been called the third stage of how we attribute meaning. The first two, description and interpretation lead naturally to it. Different attitudes about food or drink for instance can cause misunderstanding as we evaluate them. If your cultural or personal programming encompasses the belief that people should eat neatly and quietly, you may find eating habits that are noisy and communal difficult. You might evaluate someone eating noisily as "rude" or "uncivilized". This would clearly be judging, rather than describing. It would be skipping the interpretation phase in which thinking of possible reasons the behavior is occurring (possible cultural difference?) might clue in to why it is happening, and keep you from jumping to assessing from solely your own programming. The goal in responding to difference is to observe, describe and interpret. Yet it is our inclination to go right into evaluating. Ways to decrease the tendency to evaluate are: Source: Adapted from Tero's curriculum for World Class - How to Succeed in the International Arena Resources
Email Attachment Tip
Following our last eZine, where the sidebar mentioned that large email attachments can hinder the recipient's response, one reader submitted a helpful resource for those of you who have large email attachments that need to be sent and received. The resource is www.yousendit.com. Basically one loads the file(s) on to the www.yousendit.com website and the file is stored for one week. An email is sent to the recipient stating that a file is available for their download. The recipient goes to the website and downloads the file by either Saving or Opening the respective file. The recipient has 7 days to download the file or the file will need to be uploaded (sent) again. A hundred downloads can be obtained from the sent file which is useful for multiple authors or students in a class, etc. where one wants more than one person to have access to the information.
A Special Way to Say Thank You
Administrative Assistant's Day is April 23. If you're looking for a special gift to say "thank you", consider the gift of knowledge. Training, once considered to be punitive, is now viewed as a treasured gift by many. If your Administrative Assistant seeks opportunities to learn and grow, a Tero gift certificate and a day or two away from the day-to-day workload to develop new professional skills may be a welcome surprise. Email training@tero.com or phone 515-221-2318 (ext. 203) for more information.
What's New at Tero
Tero's Fifteen Year Celebration and Open House
You are invited to celebrate with us on April 25th at the Tero Learning Center! Tero will be hosting an open house from 4pm-7pm. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be served. You'll be able to meander through the facility on an interactive "A Walk in Time" tour and have a chance at winning one of fifteen free registrations to a Tero public workshop.
This is a great opportunity to reconnect with your Tero classmates and to meet others who've been "Tero-ized".
Please RSVP to: training@tero.com and include "RSVP" in the subject line. All guests are welcome. Please indicate the number of guests in the RSVP.
Adopt a Duck. Help a Child.
Tero International is supporting Adopt a Duck. Help a Child. Imagine 10,000 ducks being launched into the lake at Jordan Creek Town Center and racing across the waterway toward the finish line. The inaugural YESS Derby Duck Race will be held Saturday, May 3, 2008 and is proudly sponsored by NCMIC Group, Inc. All proceeds benefit Youth Emergency Services and Shelter (YESS).
Prior to the event, ducks can be adopted for a chance to win prizes such as:
You can adopt a duck online at www.YESSduckrace.org. Please select NCMIC as the team for your purchase.
With your help, our efforts will benefit Youth Emergency Services and Shelter (YESS), an organization that has been helping children and families since 1973. YESS provides emergency shelter, respite, crisis care, counseling and therapy services to children from birth through age 17.
For additional information about the YESS Derby Duck Race, visit www.YESSduckrace.org. To learn more about YESS, go to www.YESSiowa.org. To learn more about NCMIC, go to www.ncmic.com
Image and Influence: Polishing Your Professional Look
IMPACT - How To Speak Your Way To Success
Time Management Through Goal Setting
Beyond Compromise: A Better Way To Negotiate
Click here to register for a public workshop Online Resources
Are you a graduate of a Tero workshop? Your feedback is important to us.
Click here to fill out an evaluation of how your Tero acquired knowledge has impacted your everyday work and life. This opportunity is available in each eZine or you can visit the Tero website at www.tero.com to give us your feedback.
Inspiration - Things to Think About
Perceptions and reactions form quickly. We can manage how people perceive us, but when perceiving others it helps to take time to ask ourselves why we are forming the opinion we are, and recognize if any personal filters or assumptions are getting in the way of truth.
An example of learning more than what is simply on the surface is provided by Dr. Stephen Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
One Sunday morning Covey was on a subway in New York. The scene was calm and peaceful - some people were reading newspapers, some were resting, some lost in their thoughts. Suddenly a man and his children entered the subway car. The man sat down next to Covey and closed his eyes, but the children were running around the car, yelling, throwing things and disturbing people. However, the father did nothing.
Covey was irritated and he could see that everyone else was too. He thought the father was taking no responsibility with his children, so he finally turned to the man and said, "Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn't control them a little more?" The man suddenly seemed to realize what was going on and replied quietly, "Oh, you're right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don't know what to think, and I guess they don't know how to handle it either."
By asking questions of yourself and others and challenging your assumptions and filters, you increase the probability of forming more accurate perceptions and caring interactions. The world would be a better place if everyone was able to simply and genuinely ask ourselves and others "why?" before deciding that we knew.
The Tero International Monthly eZine is written for the graduates and friends of Tero training programs. It is published by Tero International, Inc., 1840 NW 118th Street, Suite 107, Des Moines, Iowa 50325. Copyright 2008, Tero International, Inc. All rights reserved.
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