The first seconds of a talk: what 'thin slices' show
Does an audience's impression form within seconds? Classic nonverbal research offers data.
The study
Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal (1993, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology) show silent clips of a few seconds of teachers let observers produce judgements correlated with end-of-term student ratings.
What it suggests
Initial nonverbal signals — energy, openness, confidence — weigh on the overall impression.
The nuance
Small samples in a university setting; impression correlations measure neither content quality nor learning. (our executive and employee training programmes)
The limit of common practice
Improvising the opening and counting on warming up during the talk.
A practical check in Lugano
Script and rehearse the first thirty seconds, then show the filmed opening without sound to two colleagues and adjust. To go further: explore the Public Speaking & Impact training in Lugano, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.
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