You can hear a smile (and a frown) | Working Principles

Working from home 100% of the time, as I do, most of my communication is voice only – sans video.

Even when I am on video my visual attention is on the material that is being presented, not on the faces of the other people.

Yet, still, I am conscious of the emotional countenance of the other people participating in the gathering. You can hear the shape of people’s faces.

This post is titled “You can hear a smile” for a good reason, it was also a deliberate choice to use the word “countenance.” I’m not saying that what I am hearing is whether someone is in high spirits, or even low ones, what I am hearing, and responding to, is the tension in the facial muscles. Try it sometime, you sound different when you smile, likewise, you can tell when you take on a frown.

Does it matter? Yes it does.

People are more likely to want to work with someone who smiles, we are attracted to a smile. Likewise, we are wary of a frown and a scowl.

A smile gives people the impression that you are confident and confidence communicates success.

Smiling can also reduce stress further enhancing your meeting experience. Surely low stress meetings are preferable for everyone. I don’t know whether the opposite of this is true, but I suspect that a glum, or angry, face will increase the stress in a meeting.

There have been times when I’ve not been looking forward to a meeting where I’ve made the conscious decision to smile through it. It wasn’t easy to wear a smile, but I was determined to do it and I’m sure that it made a difference to the positive outcome. Even a forced smile can help you to be and to remain positive.

You can hear all of that. Even if you aren’t conscious of it, you are hearing it and responding to it.

Try wearing a smile tomorrow, it will make a difference to your day.

“You’ll find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile.”

Charlie Chaplin

“Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile and a grateful heart.”

Zig Ziglar

I don’t know anything about the countenance of the people attending the meeting but not speaking. Personally I’ve never seen the point of attending a meeting into which I’m not going to contribute. I wonder how many hours are spent by people attending meetings? Perhaps that’s a subject for another day.

Header Image: This is the view across Derwentwater from just above Lodore Falls on a glorious calm sunny autumn day.