For me it happens if the other person is just kind of being there with me in the moment -- NOT if that person is obviously trying to fill the moment with smiling, looking me in the eyes, shaking my hand, asking me a bunch of questions, filling the 'dead air' with articulate 'wit.' Regardless of a person's appearance, if the person is understated in manner, I'm immediately more comfortable and engaged.
For me it happens if the other person is just kind of being there with me in the moment -- NOT if that person is obviously trying to fill the moment with smiling, looking me in the eyes, shaking my hand, asking me a bunch of questions, filling the 'dead air' with articulate 'wit.' Regardless of a person's appearance, if the person is understated in manner, I'm immediately more comfortable and engaged.