What Do Your Facial Expressions Say?

Are you aware of your facial expressions? Do you wonder what your facial expressions communicate? Through a recent conversation, I became aware that my facial expressions weren't necessarily expressing what I thought and felt. I was actually surprised when my co-worker said to me "Sometimes it's hard to read you," and I asked "What do you mean?" She said "Why did you make that facial expression." "What facial expression?" I asked confused. She said "You made a smirk." I gave her a perplexed look and then she said "Well, not a smirk, it's more like a grin, why did you make a grin when I mentioned the article?" I had to think about it for second. We were discussing an article about social media. She mentioned that the article was about Hispanics and their traditional uses with the internet prior to social media compared to their interactions online after the social media boom. Why did I grin? Well, I'm a collective listener. I listen, collect information, and then react. So, as she was talking I found what she was saying prevailing. My way of communicating this was to make a smirk, wait, I mean a grin without interrupting her. However, obviously my facial expression was an interruption because it communicated that I was amused or was laughing at her comment which is the meaning of a grin (without further interpretation beyond it's definition).

Amusement or laughter was far from what I was trying to communicate. In my mind I was thinking that's interesting, let me listen to the rest of what she has to say, then I'll ask questions and make comments. This topic made me aware of my facial expressions and what they may communicate. I decided to do take a quick dive into facial expressions and discovered there are many ways to express emotions using our face and simple gestures such as raising an eyebrow can have a strong communication message depending on the context of the conversation. Some expressions I came across were: so funny, bliss, not sure I believe you, so shy, I'm ashamed-so sorry, pain, and then I came across the expression I was thinking but didn't convey-"that's interesting" According to Aquiziam.com the expression of that's interesting is expressed by " The "quizzical" facial expression of a person who is paying close but cautious attention to what is said or displayed. The face is relatively neutral although there is a hint of a frown that tends, in this case, to suggest concentration rather than disapproval. The eyes are open and fixed on the subject and the lips are relaxed. This is the intelligent expression that a lecturer would like to see on the faces of the students in the hall. If the person depicted had a hint of a smile or nodded their head from time-to-time, this would indicate approval of the communication."

Maybe my facial expression wasn't that off. It does say a hint of a frown or smile indicates interest. Since I was only expressing the facial expression I cannot comment on my grin since I could not see it. However, this will make me think more before raising an eyebrow, smiling, squinting my eyes, making the wrinkles on my forehead visible, etc.

Facial expressions can communicate strong messages as seen below from President Obama

Click here to watch a very amusing video from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon highlighting Obama's many facial expressions and comically what they mean: http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/blogs/2009/07/obama-facial-expressions/

As a lesson learned or remembered we should all be aware of our facial expressions as they have the power to communicate emotions, thoughts, understanding, agreement/disagreement, and opinions.

Monica Camacho, Junior Strategic Planner