Personal Management
& Grooming
By Mahwish Iram
Lec 2
What is impression formation ?
• Process of perceiving, evaluating, & forming descriptive judgement of
others and is fundamental to person perception (Baron,2012)
3 Substages of impression formation
• Cue selection & weighing
• Trait Inference
• General Evaluation
Impression Management
• Erving Goffman first presented the idea of impression management in
1950 , who studied how people present themselves in everyday life
• Impression management is the sum total of actions we take – both
consciously & Unconsciously – to influence how others perceive us.
• We often attempt to manage how people see us to make us more
likely to achieve our goals
• People use impression management to align how we’re seen with
what we want
• It has positive and negative effects, depending on the authenticity &
ethics of behavior
Impression Management
• Impression management is an
attempt to control the
perceptions or impressions of
others
• Targets are especially likely to
use impression management
tactics when interacting with
perceivers who have power over
them and on whom they are
dependent for evaluations ,
raises and promotions
Cont.…
• Individual attempts to control or guide others impression by changing
or fixing his or her setting, appearance and manners
• Impression management is the process in which one person influence
others.
• We use IM a lot in the world of
business
Importance of impression
management
• Sales & Marketing professionals want consumers to focus on the good
aspects of their products or services
• They remind people about their desirable & attractive features
Types of Impression
Management
• Constructive – helps in the formation of self identity
• Strategic – helps in the attainment of some interpersonal goals
Impression Management
Techniques
Impression Management
techniques
Impression management techniques are can be used in variety of
situations from job interviews to networking events
Self promotion
You proudly talk about your skills , experience & achievements. This way,
you show others your value worth in the organization
Conformity
Being accepted by larger group. In order to conform you have to (Implicitly
or explicitly) uphold the social norms & expectations of the group.
For example a manager tells his boss you are absolutely right on your
reorganization plan for the regional office
Impression Management
techniques
Excuses : Excuses are explanations for a negative event
given in order to avoid (or lessen) punishment and
judgment.
For example, you might hear people blame traffic when
they’re late to meetings.
Apologies : admitting responsibility for an undesirable
event and simultaneously seeking to get a pardon for the
section
For example employee to boss “ I am sorry I made a
mistake on the report please forgive me”.
Impression Management
techniques
Flattery : Complementing others about their behaviors or achievements
in an effort to make one self appear perceptive and likeable
Example New sales trainee to peers “ You handled that client complain
so tactfully , I could not have handled that as well as you did”
Associations : enhancing or protecting one’s image by managing
information about people and things with which one is associated
Example a jobs applicant says to an interviewer, what a coincident ,
your boss and I were roommates
Impression Management
techniques
Favor A method of seeming helpful and considerate to the target
individual
• Used by helping others with an intention to be considered as a
friendly person
• In virtual world , there is limited scope for face to face interaction but
people use favor to build a good impression
Impression Management
techniques
• Acclaiming : Public recognition of someone's accomplishments often
goes a long way towards building rapport, you applaud them for their
skills and success. It can help incentivize specific behavior
How do you practice impression
Management
• Know yourself
• Be mindful
• Manage emotions
• Remember etiquette Rules
• Be Self-confident
• Be positive
Why is Impression Management
Important ?
• Being noticed ( e.g. Confident, interesting, attractive ,sincere)
• Invitations (e.g. Interviews, meetings, conferences etc.)
• Reputation of job and product knowledge
• Networking
• Friendships & Relationships
