The Definitive Book of Body Language

The Magic of Smiles and Laughter

same as when a police car pulls up next to you at traffic lights

-even though you haven't broken the law, the presence of the

police is enough to make you feel guilty and start smiling. This

highlights how fake smiling is controlled and should always be

considered in the context of where it occurs.

Five Common Types of Smiles

What follows is a summary and an analysis of the common

types of smiles that you're likely to see every day:

1.The Tight-Lipped Smile

The lips are stretched tight across the face to form a straight

line and the teeth are concealed. It sends the message that the

smiler has a secret or a withheld opinion or attitude that they

will not be sharing with you. It's a favourite of women who

don't want to reveal that they don't like someone and is

usually clearly read by other women as a rejection signal. Most

men are oblivious to it.

The Tight-Lipped Smile shows she has a

secret and won't be sharing it with you

for example, one woman might say of another woman, 'She's
a very capable woman who knows what she wants', followed
by a tight-lipped smile, rather than saying what she was really