170 W H A T EVERY BODY IS SAYING
BOX 46: THE FACE AND FEET SHOW LIFE IS SWEETNot long ago I was waiting for a flight out of Baltimore when the man next
to me at the ticket counter received the good news that he was being
upgraded to first class. As he sat down he tried to suppress a smile, since
to gloat over his good fortune would be seen as rude by other passengers
waiting for an upgrade. Based on his facial expression alone, to declare
he was happy would have been a marginal call. Then, however, I over-
heard him call his wife to tell her the good news, and although he spoke
quietly so those seated nearby couldn’t hear the conversation, his feet
were bouncing up and down like those of a young child waiting to open
his birthday gifts. His happy feet provided collaborative evidence of his
joyful state. Remember, look for clusters of behavior to solidify your ob-
servations.relaxed and comfortable, facial muscles relax and the head will tilt to the
side, exposing our most vulnerable area, the neck (see figure 60). This is
a high-comfort display—often seen during courtship—that is nearly im-
possible to mimic when we are uncomfortable, tense, suspicious, or
threatened (see box 47).
INTERPRETING NONVERBAL
BEHAVIORS OF THE EYESOur eyes have been called the windows of the soul, so it seems appropri-
ate to examine these two portals for nonverbal messages of emotions or
thoughts. Despite music lyrics such as “your lyin’ eyes,” our eyes do ex-
press a lot of useful information. In fact, the eyes can be very accurate
barometers of our feelings because, to some degree, we have very little
control over them. Unlike other areas of the face that are far less reflexive
in their movements, evolution has modified muscles in and around the