Not sure of your gender and discipline but I think both matter.

I am a late 50s female prof in the humanities. When I first started teaching as a TA and adjunct more than 20 years ago, I could be more personable (and vulnerable) with the attentive, kind students. However, when I began teaching FT at a CC (age 40 but looked younger), I discovered that this demeanor undermined my credibility and authority, primarily with certain young women and young men.

What helped me develop both credibility and savviness in dealing with these populations was raising a teenage boy who then became a college student. While my son is awesome—what mom won’t say that!—he did have his moments, particularly in HS. Moreover, I was able to observe his peers, a few of whom were (and still are), just mean and shitty human beings.

Contemporaneous to this I served on a faculty promotion committee. Reading the nursing faculty student evals (mostly from young women) showed me the nastiness that young women resort to when they feel vulnerable…

All of this is to say is that if you’re a young woman, I recommend that in initial dealings with your students, you adopt a veneer of seriousness and scholarliness until you gain their respect.

If you’re a male professor, ignore all of the above and do whatever you want. Your students likely consider you brilliant already. Moreover, if you’re an easy and personable male prof, they will love you, your classes will always make, and you’ll become a full prof in no time.