When other people look at you, they see what they expect to see. If they have reason to believe that you are smart, they will see evidence of intelligence in your behaviour—whether or not there actually is any. If they have reason to believe you are dishonest, they will interpret a lack of eye contact or awkward body language as evidence that you have something to hide, as opposed to evidence that you are shy, distracted, or in gastric distress.
In a nutshell, people will interpret your current behaviour in a way that makes it consistent with your past behaviour, and they will tend to play down or completely ignore evidence that contradicts their existing opinion of you.
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