You can tell a lot about a person by their....

[gingersmom]

Originally Posted by tierre0

This may sound strange but you can tell a lot about a person if they don't interrupt you when your speaking to them.

I do a lot of interviews and talk with tons of sales reps, distributors and customers and I have always found that people who jump in before your are done either asking them questions, or explaining what your looking for is really annoying.

That bugs me, too, but in a different way:

I'm in sales, and I can't tell you how many times I'm on the phone with people who ask lots of questions but then stomp on the answer I'm TRYING to give them.

It becomes really obvious that they have zero ability to listen, and I wonder how folks like that can actually survive in the world.

It must be nice to be that self-important.

 

[valanhb]

...their smell.

I work front desk. Most people, you don't even notice how they smell - meaning they smell clean, fresh, or pleasant.

However, many of the delivery people smell like they smoke about 2 packs a day and never roll down the windows. Or like they're smoking pot under the same circumstances. Or the ones who obviously don't have A/C in their cars and are driving all day in the heat of summer. But there's a difference between just sweaty, and not showering for days. Hard-working sweaty smell can be sexy, BO is never good.

There are also people who come here for meetings that smell like they bathed in cologne.

A little goes a long way! Those guys are almost always the most self-important people who come in.

 

[sarahp]

Originally Posted by maddensmom

But you would wash your hands before we ate right??

Why does it matter, would you expect her to hand feed you?

I judge a person by the overall package. Whether their hair is clean, the way they greet you (overenthusiastic, slimey, genuinely pleased to meet you, indifferent), for women how much makeup they have on for the occasion (ie. TONS of makeup for a morning coffee), how they've dressed for the occasion (casual for a formal event, formal for a casual event), and how they interact with people.

So the first general impression is what I first go by, but it can change if I get to know them.

 

[crittergirl]

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

you can tell a lot about a person by the way they are towards animals.

- to me, i can tell a lot about someone by how compassionate/non-compassionate they are around animals.

I'm with you on that one!

That is one of the things that I love so much about my SO! I would never be with someone that did not like animals!

 

[lemur 6]

You can tell a whole lot about a person by the way they walk. The kind of shoes they wear also have a bearing on this. People who strut about, take big steps, make loud clacks with their shoes (or wear loud clicking shoes) tend to be extroverted, confident, generally outgoing, firm handed, and can get very heated/violent. People who wear softer shoes, take smaller steps, walk slow, sort of creep around, tend to be shy, secretive, perceptive, reflective, sometimes they can be deceptive. People who "bounce" when they walk tend to be a touch childish and playful.

It's all part of body language. There's a whole scientific/psychological field dealing with how humans and animals posture themselves depending on their mood, personality, and motives.

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by Lemur 6

You can tell a whole lot about a person by the way they walk.

Does it throw everything off if the person limps or walks weird?

And what if they're just in a hurry?

 

[swampwitch]

Originally Posted by Lemur 6

...People who strut about, take big steps, make loud clacks with their shoes (or wear loud clicking shoes) tend to be extroverted, confident, generally outgoing, firm handed, and can get very heated/violent. People who wear softer shoes, take smaller steps, walk slow, sort of creep around, tend to be shy, secretive, perceptive, reflective, sometimes they can be deceptive....

Either that's a very gross generalization, or I'm the exception to the rule. I always wear very quiet shoes, because I don't like to announce my arrival with my feet. Yet I'm definitely not introverted. I'm confident, honest, and outgoing, and I walk very fast. I'm not shy or violent in the least!

I just like quiet shoes!

 

[lunasmom]

For the most part I'm notice the clothes. I read people based on how they dress.
If they're super fashion oriented and have the latest styles than my judgement passes that they are leaning toward the superficial end. They're concerned about what other people think about them so they try to compensate by dressing in style all the time.

If they dress well, but not overly fashioned, then they care about their appearance and themselves (but not in a selfish manner).

If they're underdressed all the time (I.e. including running to the store in a pajamas at 1:00pm in the afternoon) then they don't care about themselves and they probably don't care about a lot about appearances or much else in their life.

The next thing I notice is when I'm talking to them. Like everyone else said, if you interrupt me a lot you obviously care more about what you have to say rather than what I have to say and I probably won't be friends with you.

 

[stacyd1987]

For guys, how good their shaving is. It shows how much they care about their appearance.
For girls, if they have wrinkles in their clothing or not. That shows that they're not lazy to not care about their appearance and laundry.

 

[valanhb]

Originally Posted by StacyD1987

For girls, if they have wrinkles in their clothing or not. That shows that they're not lazy to not care about their appearance and laundry.

Or that they just hate ironing.

(Sorry, I'm one of those people who does sometimes have wrinkled clothes. Not because I don't care, just that I have to choose my clothes in relative darkness since DH doesn't get up at the same time, so I may not notice little wrinkles.

)

Here's another one...

You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat the "help" - whether that is the receptionist in an office (on the phone or in person), the wait-staff in a restaurant, or any other blue collar job.

I was reminded of this when I guy strolled into the office at 2:02, for a 2:00 meeting. The man he was meeting with stepped out to grab lunch and was running a few minutes late. He was visibly irritated that T. wasn't there waiting for him. Instead of taking a seat in the waiting area (we have chairs), he started walking around my desk and demanded to know where the conference room was (even though he was already walking to it by the time I got around my desk). What a jerk!

 

[gingersmom]

Originally Posted by lunasmom

If they're underdressed all the time (I.e. including running to the store in a pajamas at 1:00pm in the afternoon) then they don't care about themselves and they probably don't care about a lot about appearances or much else in their life.

Either that, or they care a heck of a lot more about comfort than what other people think of them.

Based on a LOT of these responses, you all would come to completely wrong judgements about me!

For example, we already know I get dirty fingernails. I also do not wear make-up, or do my hair, or wear fancy shoes or clothing OR jewelry. I walk really fast with a purpose, and I wear quiet shoes or go barefoot - which means my feet are usually dirty.

I have never had a pedicure in my life and I never plan to.

I have gone shopping in the middle of the day in my flannel PJ bottoms with a T-shirt and my UGGs.

My teeth are a nightmare and I spend thousands just to ATTEMPT to keep them. I am not proud of my smile - I was a smoker for 24 years and had poor nutrition for half that because I was so poor when I was raising my child. (She ate first, but yes, I bought my smokes before I would eat - that's the result of the addiction that I have now happily broken free from.)

I don't EVER iron clothing and I don't care if I have wrinkles on my clothes as long as they aren't TOO bad - my face has wrinkles, too!

I'm sorry, this is NOT meant to be a slam to anyone, but if people want to judge who I am as a human based on those superficialities, then those are people I really don't care to have in my life!

I'm really finding this thread amusing!!!

Who I REALLY am is not reflected by my appearance whatsoever. I have an IQ that got me into MENSA, I have survived hardships that most people would rather die first than try to live through, I am a volunteer fundraiser/event organizer and have helped to raise over $250 K for those less fortunate than myself over the last 7 years.

I think you can tell a LOT more about a person by the books they have on their bookcase than you can by the way that they appear physically or superficially.

 

[lemur 6]

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

Either that's a very gross generalization, or I'm the exception to the rule. I always wear very quiet shoes, because I don't like to announce my arrival with my feet. Yet I'm definitely not introverted. I'm confident, honest, and outgoing, and I walk very fast. I'm not shy or violent in the least!

I just like quiet shoes!

Oh I never meant it as a rule. I used a very key word, "tend". Of course there are always exceptions to the rule. Even in your case though it tends to make sense since you have a mix of the two extremes and your personality sounds pretty balanced.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Does it throw everything off if the person limps or walks weird?

And what if they're just in a hurry?

Yep, limping would throw a monkey wrench into things. Walking in a hurry... there's different ways people do that too. There's those who sprint, those who jog, those who powerwalk, and those that just take their time no matter. Each of them says something about a person.

 

[maddensmom]

I didn't mean for anyone to be offended by this thread.

Whether we mean to (or want to) or not we all make some sort of judgment or assumption about people the first time we meet them. Thats why first impressions are so important. Of course you SHOULD get to know that person before holding them to your judgments or assumptions.

I didn't mean to make it sound like I wouldn't ever socialize with someone who has dirty fingernails, thats just one of the first things I notice about people. I have a couple of friends whose nails are always hideous (for no good reason) but they are very good friends. It bugs me, but it doesn't mean that they are bad people. I wasn't being a snob!

I don't immediately put someone off because of their appearance, I guess I should have titled this thread "The first thing I notice about a person is their..." because thats really more of what I meant.

 

[pekoe & nigel]

Originally Posted by miao_kitty

You can tell a lot about a person by their feet. I don't know why it is but I ALWAYS look at a person's feet. What kind of shoes they wear, if their shoes match their outfit, if their feet are gross or whatever.

One day I went to work wearing one black shoe and one brown shoe. It was early in the morning and dark when I left okay?! So what does that say about me?

Originally Posted by valanhb

You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat the "help" - whether that is the receptionist in an office (on the phone or in person), the wait-staff in a restaurant, or any other blue collar job.

I totally agree. I find it intolerable when people think that they're "above" certain other people, and if someone is rude for no reason (well, not that there's ever a reason to be rude) I know that they're not a person I would choose to spend any time with.

 

[katkisses]

You can tell alot about a person by there...

HOUSE! You can see how they spoil their fur/skin kids, their level of cleanliness, and if your super nosey you can find out what movies they like, foods, ect, ect... You will also be able to tell if this is a very busy person or someone who stays at home....

 

[theimp98]

lol really folks, you cant really judge anyone by there looks.
the outside is just that. It does not really tell you what is really in there.

lol Even my wife said that if had not gotten to know me on the internet first,
she would never have talked to me, AS that i did not look like her type.
as she said, i look scary.

 

[cococat]

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

I've learned that when I make snap judgements about people, it really says more about me than it does about them

That is great! I agree, but I really can learn a lot about someone by eye contact

 

[pekoe & nigel]

Originally Posted by KatKisses

HOUSE! You can see how they spoil their fur/skin kids, their level of cleanliness, and if your super nosey you can find out what movies they like, foods, ect, ect... You will also be able to tell if this is a very busy person or someone who stays at home....

I love seeing a person's house for the first time. I always feel as though you can never really understand someone until you see where and how they live. (Also, I'm just generally nosy about things like that...

)

 

[menasmom]

I think you can tell alot about a person by the car they drive.
I drive a Ford Focus Hatchback, and to me it says I'm practical, no frills, and don't give a sh*t what people think. (And I don't spend as much on gas as those who drive the environmentally UNfriendly SUVs).

 

[swampwitch]

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

I've learned that when I make snap judgements about people, it really says more about me than it does about them

This is my favorite reply!