How a Smile Tricks the BrainThe ability to decode smiles appears to be hardwired into the
brain as an aid to survival. Because smiling is essentially a sub-
mission signal, ancestral men and women needed to be able to
recognise whether an approaching stranger was friendly or
aggressive, and those who failed to do this perished.
The Definitive Book of Body Language
In over 30 years of studying the sales and negotiating process
we have found that smiling at the appropriate time, such as
during the opening stages of a negotiating situation where
people are sizing each other up, produces a positive response
on both sides of the table that gives more successful outcomes
and higher sales ratios.
Do you recognise this actor?When you look at the above photograph you'll probably iden-
tify actor Hugh Grant. When asked to describe his emotions in
this shot, most people describe him as relaxed and happy
because of his apparent smiling face. When the shot is turned
the right way up, you get a completely different view of the
emotional attitude conveyed.