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In just one tenth of a second…

We make dozens of judgements about a stranger’s face.

…how attractive, likable, approachable, trustworthy, confident, competent, successful, influential, and dominant the person is.

Psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov from Princeton did a series of experiments in 2006 to figure this out.

They also found that looking at a face for longer doesn’t significantly change our impressions.

Other studies have found that various things influence how people see us — our expressions, eyes, jawline, posture, angle, lighting, and clothing.

(Source links are at the bottom.)

Let’s look at some of the findings:

Do:

✅ Big natural laugh or smile showing your teeth
→ more likable and approachable

✅ Smiling eyes (i.e. a natural smile; the Duchenne smile)
→ more sincere and trustworthy

✅ Squint your eyes slightly
→ more confident and comfortable (wide eyes show fear)

✅ Define your jawline with a shadow under it
→ more likable and competent

✅ Head-and-shoulders or head-to-waist photo
→ more competent and influential

✅ Wear nice clothes (especially dark suit and light button shirt)
→ more influential with a higher status

✅ Make your photo asymmetrical (e.g. looking away, rule of thirds)
→ more interesting and memorable

✅ Look where you want people to look
→ points the viewer’s eye (e.g. to a headline or button)

Don’t:

❌ Obscure your eyes with sunglasses
→ less likable

❌ Obscure your eyes with hair, glare, shadow, etc.
→ less competent and influential

❌ Zoom in for a close-up of your face
→ less likable

❌ Zoom out to show your full body
→ less competent and influential

Interesting note: Black and white photos didn’t have any significant effect — positive or negative.

Who’s your audience?

What’s your personality?

Maybe the teeth-smiling suit-wearing head-and-shoulder thing just isn’t for you!

…and that’s totally fine.

Your picture has to be consistent with your brand.

From my own experience in positioning and identity…

Now, let’s look at some excellent examples in the wild…

→ Amy Cuddy
Social psychologist, author, and speaker

→ Bill Gardner
Graphic designer, speaker, and author

→ Jessie van Breugel
Brand strategist and copywriter

→ Ross Simmonds
Marketer, speaker, SaaS & B2B tech investor, writer

I’ll give you my honest feedback.

👉 Contact me here.

🤖 Robert

P.S. OK Cupid found that men may actually benefit from looking away from camera — I wonder if it makes them seem less dominant and more approachable 🤷‍♂️

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Sources: