Page 49 - ConvinceThemFlip

2
Neutralize
the Fight-or-Flight
Response
The first few seconds of an initial encounter
between two people are driven by instinctive
reactions. Each person makes unconscious,
unthinking appraisals that center around their safety:
“I do/don’t feel safe with you,” “I do/don’t trust you.”
The animal instinct for survival makes us superalert at
a subconscious level on first contact, and for a split sec-
ond, as the body enters a heightened state of awareness,
a mental shield goes up to protect it. As you peer out from
behind this shield, you decide just how much it’s safe to
reveal—and how fast you are prepared to reveal it. The
impressions formed at this stage can set the mood and
color of expectations, and rev up the imagination to make
snap judgments—right or wrong—about the person we’re
encountering.