Expert reveals the one question to ask to make a great first impression in 9 seconds

There should be one focus when you meet someone new.

By Tod Perry

It’s essential to make a great first impression with someone, whether it's a job interview, buying someone a drink at a bar, or serving someone a meal at a restaurant. The problem is that people form a concrete judgment of someone in just seven seconds, which can be incredibly hard to shake.

“Human beings are built to size each other up quickly,” Psychology Today says. "These first impressions are influenced by a number of factors, such as facial shape, vocal inflection, attractiveness, and general emotional state. People tend to get attached to their initial impressions of others and find it very difficult to change their opinion, even when presented with lots of evidence to the contrary.”

While it can feel impossible to combat such a snap judgment, Sally Hogshead says that when we interact with people for the first time, we should only have one question on our minds: “How can I add value to this person?”

🏉 ASICS tackles UK girls’ sports dropout crisis with revolutionary gym uniform redesign

The athletic brand calls it “The Undropped Kit.”

By kat hong

When 64% of UK girls abandon sports before their 16th birthday, the ripple effects extend far beyond empty stadiums and playing fields. This staggering dropout rate represents more than a million teenage girls in the UK who will carry the physical and mental health consequences of inactivity into adulthood—and shockingly, one of the most overlooked culprits is something seemingly simple: what they’re required to wear.

ASICS, in partnership with Inclusive Sportswear and mental health charity Mind, has revealed the “Undropped Kit,” a groundbreaking reimagination of school PE uniforms designed specifically with teenage girls’ comfort, confidence, and participation in mind. This shift represents more than just athletic wear or style; it addresses a public health crisis hiding in plain sight.

THEY DID IT. 🥹

📺 A Gen Zer used only tech from the 1990s for a week. Here's how he felt at the end.

"I want to step back into the digital world with some mindfulness."

By Annie Reneau

Those of us who are old enough to remember the '90s can recall how quickly it seemed like technology was moving at the time. Now that era seems quaint and slow in comparison, which has many people—even those who weren't alive then—yearning for those simpler times.

As convenient as modern smartphones, computers, and the like are, they've added layers of complexity and noise to our lives, prompting some people to question whether it's worth it. Even young people who have grown up immersed in digital screens are taking a step back and wondering what life would be like without modern tech.

One Gen Zer, who goes by Lucky Boy, even went so far as to experiment with ditching all of his devices and only using technology from the 1990s for a week. No laptop, no iPad, no smartphone, no Kindle. No Spotify, no online gaming, no streaming movies.

↔️ Folks on 'left' and 'right' share one thing they respect about one another. It's giving hope.

As one person wrote, "This is the most mature comment section I’ve seen."

By Annie Reneau

The United States feels on edge right now, with passions running high and partisanized rhetoric ramping up in the days following Charlie Kirk's assassination in Utah. For non-extremists, it's disheartening to see people on both "the left" and "the right" being painted in sweeping brush strokes filled with vitriol.

Most of us don't live like this in our everyday lives. Most of us don't live at extremes and are capable of nuanced thought. We acknowledge that the world's problems are complex and know that we aren't always going to agree on every solution. While we may disagree, sometimes vehemently, we don't paint half of our fellow Americans as the enemy.

A woman in Utah, Ashley Rankin, was feeling overwhelmed and confused about the state of the country when she decided to make a video plea for compassion and understanding. "While recording, I zoned out for a second and my face perfectly captured how I felt in that moment," she tells Upworthy. "I dropped the words and thought, rather than telling people to spread love, hope, and compassion, I want to see what they will do, when presented with the opportunity."