We all make assumptions about the people we meet. It may be human nature. It’s easy to suppose that like every other animal, humans need to make some kind of decision about what kind of person someone might be when they meet someone new. Are they kind? Do they have the same politics? Have they got a family? Do they understand me? There may be lots of questions swimming around, most of which you’ll never have an answer to – but you wonder.
If you start from a position of doing unto others as you would have done to yourself, you can’t – in theory – go wrong. Everyone has a clean slate whenever you first meet. That’s important because it’s where trust starts.