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don’t care what they think when I leave.”
Linus has made one of his rare mistakes.
In repeated studies, people shown a sequence of items—pictures of an apple,
pear, peach, prune, and pomegranate, for example—are most apt to remember
the apple and the pomegranate. They remember the first and the last items but
forget the middle.
Recognizing this special power of first and last impressions, advertisers
willingly pay premium prices for ads in the very front and very back of
magazines.
Teachers of writing also recognize this principle when they encourage writers
to put their strongest points at the start and finish of each sentence and
paragraph, and the filler in the middle.
The people who manage KinderCare facilities, a national franchise of child
care centers, recognize this Rule of Last Impressions, too. “If a child ends the
day on a happy note,” John Kaegi, KinderCare senior vice president for
marketing, once observed, “that’s going to carry over into the next morning and
the next day.”
The rule of last impressions is reflected in dozens of ways. Consider
apologies and forgiveness, for example. The last impression a person makes, by
apologizing, often obscures the person’s memory of the event that led to the
apology.
Each impression you make will—tempora rily, a t least—be your last. So
make it strong.
Risky Business
Joel and Judy Wethall are driving from Tampa to Disney World when they are
struck with hunger. They begin watching for places to eat, then choose a Burger
King restaurant.
Their choice seems odd; they dislike Whopper hamburgers. Why did they
choose Burger King?
Their alternatives were two unknowns: two local restaurants with nice
facades and hints of quality. Had they tried either restaurant, they would have
enjoyed juicier hamburgers, fresher salads, and friendly personal service, right to
their table.
What were the Wethalls thinking? What almost every prospect for every
service thinks. They were not looking for the service they wanted most but the
