Why First Impressions Decide

Whether Projects Win

John Davies, CEO Davies

 

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At Davies, we have built our reputation on guiding developers through complex, high-stakes public processes. Across hundreds of projects, one principle has proven unshakeable: a community’s first impression of a project is the single most important moment in the entire process. It shapes perception, drives early narrative formation and determines whether the developer earns a fair hearing or fights uphill from day one.

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Our First Impression Program was designed around this reality. It is not theoretical. It is rooted in behavioral science and reinforced every time a new development enters a community without controlling its introduction.

 

Human beings make extraordinarily fast judgments.

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Within 100 milliseconds, the brain begins evaluating safety and intent. The amygdala scans for threat. The prefrontal cortex assigns traits like competence and trustworthiness. These reactions evolved long before zoning boards and planning commissions, however today, they shape public decision making in profound ways.

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Because of this wiring, the first information a community receives becomes the foundation on which everything else is interpreted. It is called “primacy effect” and it ensures early messages receive disproportionate weight. If people first hear a rumor, an accusation or a distorted version of the project, that becomes the frame. The “halo or horn effect” (meaning that if the first impression is good or bad) is then further information that strengthens that original impression, making later information easier to accept if it confirms the first view and easier to dismiss if it contradicts it. Once formed, confirmation bias does the rest.

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This is why the earliest hours and days matter so much for developers. A project introduced passively or reactively allows opponents, misinformation or assumptions to fill the vacuum. By the time the developer responds, the community is not evaluating facts. They are defending their initial impressions.

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Our program reverses that dynamic. 

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We help clients lead the introduction rather than chase it. That begins with disciplined sequencing, rapid engagement and a message architecture that reflects transparency and respect for the local context. The goal is not to overwhelm the community with data. It is to create a stabilizing first contact that humanizes the developer, grounds the conversation and signals that the project will be managed by credible, competent people who want to listen.

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A strong first impression sets the tone for everything that follows. It opens the door for real dialogue, creates a positive frame through which later details are understood and limits the influence of misinformation because the community has already encountered the project on solid ground. When that foundation is in place, the entire engagement arc shifts. Elected officials engage more confidently, neighbors respond with curiosity instead of concern and the narrative develops around facts rather than speculation.

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At Davies, we are in the business of creating these moments. We study the local environment, identify the right sequence of audiences and craft the first touchpoints with precision. We do this because the science is clear. Speed matters. Clarity matters. Being first matters. Developers who shape their first impression earn trust that lasts throughout permitting and beyond.

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Strong projects deserve strong beginnings. Our First Impression Program exists to ensure they get them.

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