Leading with Presence
Have you ever stopped to consider that your very presence is an implied promise to the world? Every time you show up, whether in a meeting, at a social gathering or even online, people form expectations about you. Most of the time these expectations are unconscious and unspoken, but they are powerful. They shape how others perceive you and interact with you, and they are very difficult to change once formed. Your first impression creates an unspoken agreement with others about both who you are and how you will behave.
You may not think of yourself as “making promises” when you walk into a room or start a conversation, but you are. Even before you say a word, people place you into categories, often without realizing it. The way this happens is both fascinating and alarming, because once the invisible promise of a first impression is created, every subsequent judgment about you gets filtered through it. If you are seen as trustworthy, your missteps are forgiven. If you are judged as untrustworthy, your positive contributions will often be overlooked.
The Science Behind Instant Judgments
Research by Dr. Alexander Todorov, a professor of Psychology at Chicago’s Booth Business School, shows just how fast these judgments take place. Within 200 milliseconds, less than the time it takes to blink, people form impressions of someone’s character based solely on the face. What is striking is how confident people feel about their snap judgments, even though studies show we are often wrong.
Why do we continue to feel accurate when we are not? The answer lies in confirmation bias. Once an initial perception is formed, we instinctively interpret every new piece of information in ways that reinforce that first impression. When someone is seen as untrustworthy, even small neutral actions can be taken as proof of deception. When someone is seen as trustworthy, behaviors that might otherwise trigger suspicion are often excused away as harmless. This pattern is not unusual but rather the dominant way humans make sense of others.
From Bias to Real-World Consequences
These first impressions are not just curiosities of human psychology. They have tangible and sometimes life-changing effects in the real world. Research demonstrates this across politics, work, finance and justice.
In one study, Swiss children were shown photographs of political candidates running for French elections. Without knowing anything about the individuals, the children could predict the winner nearly 70 percent of the time after just a few seconds of looking at the faces. This demonstrates how visual impressions are tightly linked to perceived fitness for leadership, even though the choice had no real information behind it.
The professional world plays out the same way. CEOs whose faces were judged as more “competent” often earn higher salaries than those perceived otherwise, regardless of actual ability. Attractive women experience a version of this bias as well, enjoying what has been called a “pretty privilege” premium. Studies also reveal that loan applicants deemed to have trustworthy-looking faces are not only more likely to receive loans, they also secure them at lower interest rates.
Perhaps most troubling are the findings in the justice system. Prisoners convicted of the same offenses are judged differently depending on whether their faces look trustworthy. In murder cases, those labeled as untrustworthy-looking face a significantly higher likelihood of receiving the death penalty compared to defendants with more trustworthy features. Perceptions we form in under a second can lead to outcomes as severe as life or death.
Even when we know about these distortions and biases, the human mind still defaults to them. Our judgments happen beneath our awareness and our behaviors reflect those biases, whether we want them to or not.
Designing Trust by Taking Control of Impressions
Although all of this may sound disheartening, there is good news. We do not have to leave our reputations entirely at the mercy of unconscious snap judgments. While some implied promises flow from factors we cannot change, such as our past track record, our titles or the societal biases at play, much can be influenced and shaped. By being intentional, we can design, polish, test, practice and perfect the implied promises we give off when we show up.
To begin, it helps to recognize that everyone enters a situation with multiple implied promises attached. A leader brings the expectation of authority and direction. A salesperson carries the expectation of persuasion and expertise. A team member has the expectation of reliability and contribution. These expectations differ depending on the social context, but they all begin forming in those first fleeting moments of interaction.
One way to shape that perception is through visual cues. Human faces convey immense amounts of information in an instant. Science shows that warmth matters deeply in trust formation. A Duchenne smile, one that includes the eyes as well as the mouth, is read as genuine and increases perceived trustworthiness. People judged as happier are often considered more trustworthy. Equally important is appearing well-rested, since tiredness can signal lower competence and reliability.
Of course physical appearance is also mixed with societal biases. Computer-generated images of “trustworthy” faces often look more feminine, baby-faced and lighter skinned. This reflects cultural patterns of associating women and children with trust over men, and associating dominance with distrust. While bias cannot be eliminated through individual effort, awareness of it helps leaders and professionals understand the forces at work in first impressions.
Beyond the face, body language and demeanor matter enormously. Confident individuals tend to move with what psychologists call temporal control. This looks like speaking with a slower, more measured cadence, pausing deliberately, and using gestures sparingly. Eye contact is another factor, with a general pattern of eight blinks per minute being associated with trustworthiness. That being said, cultural variations matter. What signifies attentiveness and integrity in one culture might appear disrespectful in another.
One trap to avoid is allowing anxious body signals to undermine your overall presence. Jittery movements, constant self-touching, or darting eyes can communicate to others that something is hidden. Even if these behaviors are rooted only in nerves, they are interpreted through the filter of trust or distrust already established. Gestures such as crossing arms or touching the face may have personal or cultural meaning outside of dishonesty, yet in first impressions, they create doubt.
The First Promise You Make
When you walk into a room your first impression arrives before your words. It is the silent promise you make about how trustworthy, competent and dependable you will be in the relationship. You cannot completely control how others receive you, but you can absolutely influence the promise you send. By being intentional about your way of showing up, from how you stand to how you listen, you increase the likelihood that your integrity and character will be seen clearly.
What makes this so essential is that trust functions as the foundation of all relationships. Without trust, collaboration falters, opportunities are limited and leadership fails to inspire. With trust, people give you the benefit of the doubt, forgive small errors, and commit more deeply to your shared goals.
Shaping your first impression is not manipulation. It is about ensuring the silent promise you make to others reflects who you truly are. It means aligning your external presence with your inner commitment to honesty, care and respect. When what people perceive matches the reality of your character, trust flows naturally.
Think about the most trustworthy person you know. Chances are they do not merely tell people they can be trusted. They design every interaction to demonstrate trustworthiness in tone, demeanor and presence. Their promise is lived, not spoken, and because of that it endures.
Your implied promises are being delivered whether you choose them or not. The opportunity lies in designing them intentionally so that what arrives first sets the stage for everything that follows. By shaping the unspoken promise of a positive first impression, you make it far more likely that others will see you clearly, trust you more readily and engage with you more deeply. And from that trust, everything else becomes possible.
If you’re ready to unlock the power of trustworthiness and become the leader your team and clients need, we invite you and your team to join the 2026 Trust Advantage Leadership Cohort. Together, we’ll practice the habits that build trust, elevate your influence and transform your leadership journey.