01Reading excerpt
The quietest person in the room
At a professional networking event, Daniel noticed a woman standing alone near the window. She checked her phone several times, avoided eye contact and gave only brief answers when someone spoke to her. Daniel assumed she was uninterested and unfriendly.
Later, he discovered that she had come directly from a hospital appointment with her father. She was tired, worried and trying to remain available for an important call. The behaviour Daniel had treated as evidence of personality was actually evidence of context.
First impressions may be useful starting points, but they are poor final conclusions.
The full lesson continues with comprehension, interpretation and discussion tasks inside CTS.
02Vocabulary in context
assumptiona belief accepted without complete evidenceHis assumption changed when he learned the context.
reservedquiet and not immediately expressiveShe seemed reserved rather than unfriendly.
misleadingcreating an impression that is not fully accurateBody language can be misleading without context.
reassessto examine a judgement againNew information made him reassess his opinion.
03Natural Expressions
take something at face valueaccept the apparent meaning without questioning it
read too much into somethinggive an action more meaning than the evidence supports
give someone the benefit of the doubtchoose a fair interpretation when the evidence is uncertain
on second thoughtused when reconsidering an earlier opinion
