Not All Smiles Project the Same Image

Source: Edhar Yuralaits/123 RF

People who smile are perceived as more sociable, more attractive, more honest, and more polite than people who do not smile. When people smile, their brains release endorphins, which makes them feel good about themselves. This good feeling reinforces existing relationships and sends a strong nonverbal “friend signal” to strangers. When you smile at someone, it is very difficult for that person not to return your smile. The simultaneous release of endorphins increases mutual attraction. If a smile makes you feel good about yourself and causes others to see you in a positive light, then it would stand to reason that a bigger smile would enhance your likeability quotient. Unfortunately, this is not the case. A smile is good but a bigger smile is not always better.

Perception Management

People evaluate others not only based on their perceived warmth and friendliness but also on their perceived competence and trustworthiness. The intensity of a smile determines whether a person projects either warmth and friendliness or competence and trustworthiness. For example, a full smile projects warmth and friendliness but less competence. Conversely, a slight smile projects less warmth and friendliness but more competence. Situations wherein you want to enhance interpersonal relationships or develop or strengthen rapport, use a full smile. In social situations, projecting warmth and friendliness is more important than projecting competence. In business interactions, use a slight smile, which projects less warmth and friendliness but more competence and trustworthiness.

Practical Applications

Store Exchanges and Refunds

Returning defective items to a store for an exchange or refund can be a difficult task. In this situation, you want to project friendliness and competence. As you approach the store clerk, issue a slight smile. This nonverbal signal sends the message that you are friendly but should be taken seriously.

Job Interviews

Job applicants can project an image of friendliness and competence during job interviews by issuing a slight smile when greeting the interviewer. A broad smile increases the applicants’ friendliness factor but diminishes their perception of competence. Employers want friendly workers but they place more importance on worker competence.

Social Situations

The chief aim of social encounters is to project an image of warmth and friendliness, which enhances mutual liking and a sense of community. Competence in most social situation is not the primary objective. Harker and Keltner (2001) found that women who display more intense smiles when photographed are more likely to be married by age 27 and are less likely to be divorced later in life. Broader smiles signal high sociability and a desire to maintain social relationships. Dabbs (1997, p. 46) found “that professional mixed martial arts fighters who displayed full smiles in pre-fight photographs were more likely to lose their match than those who smiled less intensely, presumably because smiles are an unintentional nonverbal sign of reduced physical dominance.” Therefore, in social situations, you must decide what image you want to display and then use the appropriate smile to help you achieve your social objectives.

Salespeople

The goods or services people want to sell dictate which type of smile to display. If you are a social services worker, event planner, or selling party items, you should use a full smile to project warmth and friendliness. If you are selling technical services or machinery, you should use a slight smile to project competence. The appropriate smile at the appropriate time can enhance your personal image or brand.

Custom Made Smiles

Smiles are powerful nonverbal displays. Different smiles project different images. Smiles are often the first nonverbal display people see when they first meet one another and serve as the foundation for impression formation. Custom make your smiles to ensure you send the right message.

For more information on how to build, maintain, and repair relationships, refer to The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Influencing, Attracting and Winning People Over.

References

Dabbs, J. M. (1997), Testosterone, smiling, and facial appearance, Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 21, 45-55.

Harker, L.A. & Keltner, D. (2001), Expressions of positive emotion in women’s college yearbook pictures and their relationship to personality and life outcomes across adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 112–24.

Wang, Z., Mao, H., Yexin, J. L., & Fan, L. (2017). Smile big or not? Effects of smile intensity on perceptions of warmth and competence. Journal of Consumer Research, 43, 787-805.