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BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

THE HALO
EFFECT
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1 Warm up
In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. When you meet someone new, what is the first thing you notice about them?
2. Do you think you act any differently with someone if they are good-looking compared with if they
are not?
3. Do you think good-looking people find life easier than less attractive people? Why/why not?

2 Focus on vocabulary
Part A: Match the vocabulary to the definitions.

1. evaluate (v) a. a pointed, often curved, part that is found on the heads of
certain animals such as goats
2. correlation (n) b. a situation where two things are connected and one affects the
other
3. trait (n) c. decide on the quality of something by testing it

4. attribute (v) d. a circle of light just above the head of someone who is very good
to others or is important in some religions
5. horn (n) e. the act of communication between two beings

6. interaction (n) f. a certain aspect of someone’s personality

7. credentials (n) g. the training, experience or qualities someone has which makes
them suitable for a particular task
8. halo (n) h. say that something is caused by something else

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THE HALO EFFECT

Part B: Complete the following sentences with the correct words from Part A.

1. There are a lot of different people in the sales team, but a lot of them have similar
- such as being competitive for example.

2. He always says he his success to hard work, but the fact that his father owns the
company doesn’t hurt.

3. There’s a guy coming next week to our work stations and check that they are not
causing us physical problems.

4. It was a very brief , I only saw him to say hello really, but he seemed really happy
and well.

5. I was going through my grandfather’s belongings at the weekend and I found this old rhino
. I’ve no idea where he got it from!

6. I offered the job to Dhruv. He seems really easy-going and definitely had all the right .

7. The boss can’t stop telling everyone what great work you’ve done. We won’t need electricity soon,
we can just work by the light of your .

8. I think there’s a definite between Sandra taking over as CEO and the number of
people who are leaving. She’s really not a nice person to work for.

Now in pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What do you think are the most positive traits of your personality?
2. What credentials do you have to do your current job?
3. Do you think there’s always a correlation between how hard someone works and how much
money they make? Why/why not?
4. Do you enjoy having a lot of interaction with people during your work day?Why/why not?
5. How do you evaluate the quality of your own work?
6. To what would you attribute any problems your company has had?

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THE HALO EFFECT

3 Watching for details

Watch the video (00:00-03:45) about the Halo Effect and tick all of the following jobs which are
mentioned.

psychologist nurse

teacher doctor

manager commander

officer researcher

4 Understanding the video

Part A: Decide if the following statements about the video are true (T) or false (F).

1. The halo effect is when we have a positive attitude towards something and attribute qualities to
it that it does not have.

2. Frederick Well conducted a study on leadership skills.

3. The results of the evaluation showed that those who did well physically didn’t perform as highly
when it came to leadership.

4. The problem was that the subjects of the study found it difficult to look at individual qualities
separately, and just saw individuals in generally positive or negative terms.

5. There were people whose performance was seen as poor no matter what they did.

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Part B: Check what you remember and tick all of the following sentences which describe what happened
in a study in school.

1. 4,500 students were sorted into three groups according to their

looks.
2. Students who were rated below average looking were often seen as
being more intelligent.
3. A school of 4,500 students were given a test to complete in class.

4. Marks were compared between classes taken face-to-face and those

taken online.
5. Students who were rated as average looking had more friends.

6. 4,500 students were put into six classes based on how good looking
they were.
7. Students who were rated as more attractive performed worse in a
virtual classroom according to results.

Now check with your partner if your choices are correct.

What is the meaning of ‘rule of thumb’?

a. a rule based on scientific research and observation

b. a rule based on general practical experience that’s not precise

c. a rule based on what people say is true

5 Skimming for gist

You are going to read an article about the Halo Effect. Match the following titles to paragraphs A - D.
There are more titles than paragraphs.

1. What causes the Halo Effect?

2. What effects can the Halo Effect have on companies?
3. How to avoid the Halo Effect
4. Which countries have more problems with the Halo Effect?
5. What is the Halo Effect?
6. What problems can the Halo Effect cause?

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The Halo Effect

In the workplace

A.

There are a variety of decisions we all have to make in our working lives. When it comes to people, we all have
instinctive preferences that help us navigate these decisions as to who we want to work with, who we trust, and
who we don’t. This allows us to make choices more quickly, a vital tool in any work environment. However, when
relying on our natural inclinations too heavily, we can be prone to manipulation from factors we’re unaware of.
The Halo Effect is what happens when we give our first impressions about someone too much importance in the
way we evaluate them later on.

B.

The degree to which we find someone attractive can obviously affect our first impressions, but in the office, there
are other factors at play. For example, if you meet someone and they have the same tastes in music, or they
make you laugh. Maybe they are wearing a jacket that you really like, or they’ve been endorsed by someone who
you know and respect. Perhaps they perform a fairly simple task particularly well early on in their job? All of
these things can lead to us giving that person credit for being a better performer than they actually are based on
evidence.

C.

When the Halo Effect colours the view of decision-making at management level, or in Human Resources, it will
invariably lead to unequal treatment of employees, particularly when it comes to performance reviews. This could
easily, and perhaps understandably, lead to resentment from those who don’t feel its benefits. Worse still, the
flip side of the Halo Effect: the Horn Effect, could affect employees who, for whatever reason, are viewed in a
less favourable way, even if it’s nothing to do with their performance and feel as if they are constantly swimming
against the tide. It can also lead to a lack of diversity in the workforce if particular traits are indirectly highlighted
as being desirable. You don’t have to look far for tales of people getting promoted partly because they went to
the same university as the hiring manager or play golf at the same club.

D.

There are steps you can take to make the performance reviews process fair. Firstly, make sure that it is standardised
and everyone receives the same questions with scores that are balanced evenly. The scores need to be based on
measurable aspects of the job, not opinion. A further method is a 360 review where feedback on performance is
taken from different departments, colleagues and possibly customers that the employee interacts with. This will
greatly cut down on the possibility of the manager’s view alone being the deciding factor. There’s also performance
management software which can track feedback over a period of time. This could be useful in a situation where a
worker has more than one manager to report to, either at the same time or over a period of time, and the feedback
varies considerably between them. This will help HR to identify if there’s a difference in the performance or biases
involved.

Sources: HR Daily Advisor, PerformYard, Psychology Today

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6 Reading comprehension
Part A: Complete the following sentences with no more than three words.

1. Our natural with people help us decide who we want to communicate with and
who we don’t, which helps us navigate through thousands of social interactions.

2. When we give our s too much power, we can let them continue to inform the way
we think about someone, despite not having the evidence to back it up.

3. If you share similar in culture such as films, comedy, and music with someone,
then it’s easy to have an overly positive view of that person.

4. If a person is recommended for a job by a close colleague who you , then this is
another reason for giving that person a lot more credit than they may be due.

5. by managers and human resources staff can be altered by the Halo Effect.

6. The main issue with the Halo Effect in companies is when it results in by management
of people in their team.

7. Left unchecked, it can create a complete as managers consistently hire similar

people.

Part B: Which of the following measures does the article suggest to combat the effects of the Halo
Effect in performance reviews?

1. Asking staff to write their own feedback and getting the team to
review it to see if they agree.
2. Having feedback from multiple staff that the person under review
interacts with.
3. Ensuring that the questions that all employees are asked are the same.

4. Making sure that the reviewer is of the same gender as the person
under review.
5. Having feedback given by different managers each time.

6. Using software to monitor an employee’s performance over time to

see if issues are long or short-term.

7 Talking point
In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Do you think that The Halo Effect may have been a problem in any places where you have worked?
Why/why not?
2. What other situations do you think the Halo Effect may be a problem in other than in the workplace?
3. Who have you met in the past who may have had the Halo Effect on you? Why did that happen?
4. Can you think of anyone you’ve worked with who created the Horn Effect with their manager?
Why was that?

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8 Extended activity/Homework

Part A: Scanning for vocabulary. Find vocabulary in the article on page five which has the same
meaning as the following definitions.

1. knowing something without thinking or studying it (adj., para. A)

2. a feeling of wanting to do something (n, para. A)

3. behaviour that is aimed at changing the way others think or act without them
realising it, often in a way that is dishonest (n, para. A)
4. publicly support someone or something (v, para. B)

5. recognition for doing something positive (n, para. B)

6. a feeling of unhappiness are anger with a situation that you think is not fair
(n, para. C)
7. being attractive to people (adj., para. C)

8. a feeling which strongly prefers one side of an argument or groups of people

over others without being balanced or logical (n, para. D)

Part B: Write about someone who had the Halo Effect on you.

Consider the following questions:

• Why did you have very positive first impressions of them to begin with?
• What did you give them credit for that they weren’t really doing?
• Did you change your mind about them? Why/Why not?
• What would you do differently if you were in the same situation again?
• What sort of people are most likely to create The Halo Effect with you? Why?

You should:

• write at least 200 words,

• check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.

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