Have a Pleasant Facial Expression

Having a pleasant facial expression is a small change that can have a very positive affect on your life. It can be the difference between making friends, getting a job, starting a relationship, or getting help throughout the day. In order to have a pleasant facial expression, you have to first be aware of your face. After that, you can make small changes to make yourself have a pleasant facial expression more consistently.

Steps

Being Aware of Your Face

  1. Know how your face naturally rests. Resting facial expressions aren’t always a direct correlation of how you’re feeling. Many people simply have a serious disposition. This creates an uninviting demeanor. Take a picture of your resting face and look at the expression.
    • Would you be comfortable starting small-talk with someone who shared your expression?
    • If you were on a bus and asked to introduce yourself to someone, would this expression be one to interact with?
  2. Ask other people. Looking at a picture of your face will produce biased feelings. The best way to get a sense of your true resting facial expression is to ask others. If comfortable, ask strangers. Your family and friends have grown accustomed to your face and can typically sum it up with, “it’s just your face.” Asking strangers what kind of emotion you convey through your face will give you the most truthful reactions.[1]
  3. Learn to use the muscles of your face. The easiest way to do this is to learn to wiggle your ears. Look in the mirror and start practicing. You’ll likely notice that you raise your eyebrows, squint your eyes, and open and close your mouth a lot. These all use different facial muscles. Keep practicing until you can wiggle your ears because this shows awareness and control over your facial muscles.
    • Knowing how to make small adjustments to your face will help you control muscles to create a pleasant expression.
  4. Know your nervous habits. Nervous habits can prevent you from showing a pleasant facial expression. Biting your nails, or having a nervous facial tick can be seen as unprofessional because you look uninterested and distracted.
    • If your facial tics, including nose wrinkling, eye blinking, squinting, grimacing, or mouth twitching, are a constant and uncontrollable issue, it is possible to reduce them overtime through hypnosis.[2]

Making Changes

  1. Practice at home. Look in the mirror and practice your facial changes at home. Take note of the way you notice your mood change as you change your face. Remember which tricks make you feel most pleasant so that you can practice them during the day to keep a pleasant expression.[3]
    • Take a pen and clench it in your teeth—imitating a smile. Do you notice yourself feeling happier?
    • Now take the pen and hold it in your protruding lips—creating a frown. It will create the feeling of being unhappy.
    • Practice vowel sounds. A long “e” forces a smile, “ah” imitates the expression of surprise. Both of these induce pleasant feelings.
  2. Look engaged. Notice the tilt of your head. Having a slight tilt to your head is a subconscious sign that you’re engaged and paying attention. This encourages a pleasant disposition.[4]
    • Avoid constantly checking your watch, phone, or how others are reacting.
  3. Soften your eyes. You want to have eye contact and crease your eyes. Creasing your eyes is different from squinting—it’s a good thing to practice in the mirror. The most inviting eyes are fully open yet relaxed.[1]
  4. Keep your mouth relaxed. Neutral lips or a frown-shaped pout is much less inviting. Keep a small parting of your lips to relax your facial muscles and convey warmth. With your mouth relaxed, turn the corners of your mouth up.
  5. Become pleasant within. If you’re forcing a pleasant expression, it can often be picked up on by other people. They’ll become suspicious. The best way to avoid this is to actually feel what you’re portraying. Take time out of each morning to think of reasons you have to be pleasant. Take a moment to appreciate them and carry this feeling throughout the day.
    • Think about friends and family.
    • Consider your recent accomplishments.
    • Start following positive quote Instagram pages.
    • Get a daily calendar with a cute animal on each page.

Being Comfortable and Smiling

  1. Smile when appropriate. Smiling has a two sided effect: you look more pleasant, and you feel more pleasant. Smiling makes others more comfortable because it gives you the appearance of being comfortable. When you smile, you tighten the muscles in your cheek which decreases the flow of blood to the cavernous sinus. This cools the blood flowing into your brain which leads to pleasant feelings.[3]
  2. Focus during uncomfortable situations. If you notice yourself in a non-pleasant situation, remember to keep your face pleasant. Simply placing the muscles of your face in the pattern of pleasant emotion elicits the feeling. In other words, facial expression influences your mood.[3]
  3. Have confidence in your appearance. Constantly fidgeting with your clothes or adjusting your hair every other minute will take away from your pleasant expression. People will read that you’re uncomfortable and begin to doubt your expressions. Carrying confidence to back up your pleasant expression will give you a demeanor that makes others comfortable and engaged.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.elle.com/life-love/how-to/a24/change-your-facial-expression/
  2. ↑ http://www.disabled-world.com/health/neurology/facial-tics-twitches.php
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/18/science/a-feel-good-theory-a-smile-affects-mood.html?pagewanted=all
  4. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2012/01/03/10-simple-and-powerful-body-language-tips-for-2012/
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