Tell me about a time you completely misjudged someone when you first met them.

A natural way to answer

When I first met my now-good friend, I assumed she was unfriendly because she was so quiet. I later realised she was simply reserved and took time to warm up. Once I got to know her properly, I saw how thoughtful and loyal she was. It taught me not to rush to conclusions about people.

Key phrases to use

• wrote off — decided someone was not worth your time or attention, often too quickly“I wrote him off before I'd even spoken to him properly.”
• judge a book by its cover — to form an opinion of someone or something based only on appearance“He looks rough, but don't judge a book by its cover.”
• putting on a front — pretending to feel or be something you're not“He seemed confident, but he was putting on a front.”
• jumping to conclusions — deciding what is true before you have all the facts“Let's not jump to conclusions before we hear her side.”