Non verbal communications, first impressions and stereotypes

I was reading this morning about some research on non-verbal communications. They did a study, at MIT I believe, of individuals pitching business plans. Those who provided the most energetic and compeling presentations, as measured by cues unrelated to the actual content, did the best. I told this to the kids... We also spoke about first impressions, and how most people judge others during the first few seconds that they meet them. I told them that is why they should behave very well during the 1st day of school, so that all their teachers form a good impression about them.

P told me how he knew right away that a certain old man was nice. I asked him how he knew and he said that old men are all nice. This got us talking about stereotypes and their risks. I don't think I managed to get my point across to P & N that not all old men are nice... Oh well, I'll need to think about how to revisit this topic of stereotypes...