Chapter 4
Facial Expressions
In This Chapter
Communicating your feelings when words are inappropriate
Recognising facial expressions that reinforce the spoken message
Masking emotions
Expressing a range of emotions
F
ace it. No matter what you say, people are going to believe the look on
your face rather than what you tell them. Try as you may to hide your
feelings, the curl of your lip, the glint in your eye, or the flare of your nostrils
gives the game away. Second only to your eyes, your face, when it’s moving,
is your most expressive feature.Facial expressions exert a powerful control over the type and amount of com-
munication between individuals. People make personality and other judge-
ments about each other based on what they see on their faces. Rightly or
wrongly, people believe that someone with an attractive face has many other
positive attributes.Sometimes letting your expression do the talking is more appropriate than
blurting out what you’re thinking or feeling. At other times you may need to
reinforce your spoken message with a physical gesture, or express emotions
when words fail you. Here’s where your face comes in handy.Communicating Feelings When Words Are Inappropriate........................
Take a healthy measure of lips, teeth, jaws, cheeks, and you can create your-
self a plethora of facial expressions. With more than 44 muscles in your face –
22 per side – you can communicate just about anything you want simply by
look alone. And sometimes a look is all you need.