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Bertolt Brecht said: "It is not the play but the performance that is the real purpose of all one's efforts" (Schlenker, 1980, p. 39). The performance counts because it influences the audience's reaction. Those whose performance conveys an impression of power and status, for example, are treated with greater deference than apparently low-status individuals (Zander, 1982). Preferment accrues to people who inspire confidence, regardless of their qualifications and experience. It pays, therefore, to create the right impression.
People form impressions constantly, according to what they see and hear. We draw conclusions about people according to what newspaper they happen to be carrying, the manner in which they salt their food, the type of pen they use, and so on. The purpose of impression management is to ensure others perceive you as you want them to. Interpersonal relations are complex and unpredictable and therefore impressions cannot always be controlled (Heider, 1958). However, there are techniques of "playing to the gallery" which can create a powerful impression. These are discussed below.
ACTING THE PART
When His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales visited the author's home town a few years ago, the local press subsequently reported that the children from an infant school who had turned out to see him were disappointed that the Prince had not worn his crown. (One small fellow is reported to have been reduced to tears, so great was his unfulfilment.) Impression management, then, begins by fulfilling the other party's expectations or, better still, exceeding them (Goman, 1959).
Fulfilment often means acting out a charade. Imagine a visit to the doctor's surgery. In whom do you have most faith, the doctor who merely asks two or three questions, or the one who engages in much poking and prodding? In fact, most clinical conditions can be diagnosed on the basis of a few questions. Yet doctors who dispense with physical examination are perceived as negligent. Confidence is inspired not by possession of a postgraduate diploma, but by making a fuss of patients--a point doubtless well understood by successful Harley Street physicians. This explains why barristers often argue long and hard over hopeless cases. They know it is a waste of time and so does the judge. They do it to make the client...