KINESICS

KINESICS

Facial expressions including smiling

Face is the index of heart. It is the most expressive part of the body and is also the one that is observed most by the audience. Persons‟ feelings and emotions get immediately transferred in to some form of expressions on the face. Facial expressions include the parts played by head, heart, eyes, nose, mouth and lips. Everyone, almost intuitively, recognizes the facial expressions associated with:
 Happiness
 Fear
 Surprise
 Anger
 Sadness
 Astonishment
 Bewilderment
 Contentment etc
Similarly, observers can easily detect smile, frown etc. In conjunction with nose and nostrils, ears, mouth, lips etc they are able to decipher many other expressions and movements very quickly. These thoughts, feelings and emotions may be either positive or negative – being able to read them from the facial and related expressions, managers and leaders are able to use the knowledge to their advantage. It is said that „every face tells a story‟ and managers and leaders must learn the kinesics to grasp that story quickly and react accordingly.
The muscles of the face have a nerve center in the stem of the human brain and it contains 7,000 to 10,000 nerve cells that are spread out in different parts of the face. The facial muscles that control a smile are similar to the muscles that control posture, voice tone and pitch, movements and expressions that are triggered by emotions from emotions of the heart (right side of the brain) or thoughts (from the left side of the brain).
Very often, facial expressions involve more than one part of the face. For example, an extremely aggressive person will have his lips closed tightly, eyes wide open, eyes and eyebrows turned down, teeth clenched and he will speak with his lips barely moving! Similarly, a defiant person will have his head and chin thrust forward, lips tensed up and pushed forward so that any person can see that he is in angry mood.

(i) Smiling face

Smile is a specific feature of facial expression. It is the most universal sign, common among all cultures. It has following characteristics:
 Ordinarily, smile is related to happiness of a person
 Smile is also used when we recognize a person or accept the presence of another person
 A smiling face often appears to be friendly and cooperative
 Oblong smile happens when lips are drawn fully back from the upper and lower teeth. It expresses politeness. It also conveys respect to the teacher or the boss
 A simple smile also shows love, interest or attention to a person or an object
 If used properly, a smile can make a tense situation friendly and relaxed
Smiling plays a very crucial role in human interactions:
1 Smile creates a lasting first impression. A smile says, „I like you. I am glad to see you‟.
2 Smile is a messenger of your goodwill; it brightens the lives of all who see it. For those who often see people frown, scowl or turn their faces away, smile is like a sun breaking through the clouds.
 It costs nothing but creates much – it enriches those who receive without impoverishing those who give.
 It happens in a flash but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever!
 One is not dressed for the day if he has not worn his smile. Nobody needs a smile so much as those who have nothing to give.
 Smile creates happiness at homes, fosters goodwill in business and is the countersign of friendship.
According to an old Chinese proverb, „A man without a smiling face must not open a shop‟.

(ii) Laughter

It is another allied expression where face plays a very dominant role. Laughter has been classified in to different types:
 Humorous laughter
 Social laughter
 Ignorance laughter
 Evasion laughter
 Embarrassment laughter
 Apologetic laughter
 Anxiety laughter
 Derisive laughter
 Joyous laughter