Whenever you’re up to something important — be it the final interview round or a meeting with your boyfriend’s Nana — you want to make a great impression. In other words: You want to present a certain version of yourself: More likable, friendly, or professional, depending on the context. And that’s what impression management is all about. 

What is Impression Management?

Self-presentation, also called impression management, is our conscious and unconscious efforts to shape how others perceive us. We often adjust our behaviors, based on the social context and the people we’re around, to appear our “better selves”. 

The concept of Impression management comes from a sociology professor, Erving Goffman. In his work “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”, Goffman analyzes human behaviors through the lens of the “public self”. He examines all the conscious and subconscious efforts we make to conform to the expectations and norms of society (words, actions, body language, facial expression, etc.)

The main premise: Like actors on stage, most of us present a “character” to others, rather than reveal our true selves, to achieve different goals.…

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