Body language for dummies analysing facial expressions: Chapter 4

Facial expressions exert a powerful control over the type and amount of communication between individuals. Open facial gestures in which your eyes are engaged, your mouth is relaxed, and your head is tilted with interest are safe and inviting. Make sure your facial expressions are open and match your verbal expressions. When people want to void expressing what’s going on inside, they create the opposite facial expression with their pliable facial muscles and skin which indicates that they are masking their emotions. A jutted jaw and protruding eyes indicate anger and annoyance.

People respond positive to positive behaviour. Facial displays of genuine unadulterated, free-flowing happiness can’t be missed. When you’re experiencing pure joy your eyes involuntary twinkle, the laugh lines at the outside corners of your eyes deepen, your cheeks raise and as your lips pull up at the sides and separate you expose your pearly white teeth. Insincere smiles are easily spotted. You need more than a pulled back lips showing off your pearly whites to convince someone your feeling happy. If your eyes aren’t engaged with your mouth-that is if your lips are pull back in a smile and your eyes are dull, listless or averting the other person’s gaze- you’re sure to be spotted as insincere. To spot a genuine smiles look at the fleshy part of the eye between the brow and the eyelid. If it moves downwards and the end of the eyebrow dips slightly, the smile is for real.  

Someone’s who feeling blue has facial features that are slack and sagging. Their eyes are dull and lifeless and the sides of their mouth are probably cast downwards. Lips frequently tremble when someone experiences feeling of grief or sorrow. Disgust and contempt can be shown in varying degrees, but the general look involves the mouth grimacing while the eyes narrow. The nose wrinkles, the chin drops or lifts a fraction and the head turns slightly to the side. Expressions of fear and surprise are closely connected. In both expressions the eyes widen and the mouth is opened. The differences are subtle and found primarily in the attitudinal shape and position of the eyebrow, eyes and mouth. An expression of surprise unlike a fearful expression is open and colourful. From the whites of your eyes and teeth to the redness of the inside of your lips and your mouth, which you expose as your jaw drops, a person can tell you’re genuinely surprised. When you’re surprised or startled your eyebrows shoot up in an arch and, horizontal wrinkles appear across your forehead. The whites of your eyes become more noticeable as your eyes widen and jaw drops leaving your mouth in a slack position.  When you’re full of fear your eyebrows rise and pull together in a crooked curve. The centre part of your forehead wrinkles and, while your upper eye-lids rise exposing the whites of your eyes, your eyelid becomes tense and rise too.  

Showing interest- you tilt your head in a certain direction and nod in agreement, eyes widen taking the information in and mouth may be slightly opened. The open position indicates interest. Whether, the interest is romantic, intellectual, spiritual or just plain friendly. The eyes are engaged the head may tilt or nod and the body leans forward as if getting immersed in the subject.