In cataloguing facial deceit, Ekman also narrows down facial expressions to four reasons: cultural display rules, personal display rules, vocational requirement and the need of the moment. The author then proceeds to expound upon those four reasons at length. Identifying microexpressions is only one piece of the puzzle. Maybe it’s time to level up all of your people skills. Surprise is the fifth most commonly recognized facial expression and is generally associated with positive emotions such as amazement, delight, and wonder. It is generally characterized by the presence of a look of astonishment and the use of the upper muscles in the face. The fourth reason why people control their facial expressions is need of the moment.... The embezzler must falsely show surprise when the theft is discovered. The husband must inhibit the smile of pleasure on encountering his lover, if in the presence of his wife.

So when one person displays a fear microexpression, others around them will also open their eyes wider. This allows people around to be better prepared to seek out signs of danger. Discover the true feelings of your clients and partners, both in your professional and personal life. They can also be used to communicate a person’s feelings or attitudes, such as contempt for someone or something, or interest in something. Ekman P. Darwin's contributions to our understanding of emotional expressions. Philos Trans R Soc Lond, B, Biol Sci. 2009;364(1535):3449-51. doi:10.1098/rstb.2009.0189

What Everybody is saying is written by Joe Navarro and Marvin Karlins. Ex FBI agents, this book is about reading the people around you. There is a lot going around you at all times and this book provides you with a complete insight on how you can read the body language and gestures of people around you. The book comprises of ancient survival instincts that control body language, the right way to learn through thumbs, feet, and eyelids. You can effectively read nonverbal signs from people around you to make sure that nothing goes unnoticed around you. Without a doubt, this book is foundational for a robust understanding of reading/understanding people’s behavior at a much more deeper/comprehensive level.

For example, a person who is interested in something might have a raised eyebrow and a smile, while a person who is not interested might have a neutral expression.Montgomery KJ, Isenberg N, Haxby JV. Communicative hand gestures and object-directed hand movements activated the mirror neuron system. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2007;2(2):114-22. doi:10.1093/scan/nsm004

When we do this, we’re drawing attention to the fact that this person is not being very helpful. Other mouth facial expressions Pursed lips The face is the best indicator of a person’s emotions. Yet, it often is overlooked. Dr. Paul Ekman, whose research is the premise of the show Lie to Me, has done groundbreaking research on decoding the human face. He has shown that facial expressions are universal. Our mouth opens when we are scared because it helps us prepare for two things. First, it readies us in case we need to shout for help if we feel threatened. Second, it prepares us to breathe in a large amount of oxygen. This oxygen is helpful in case we need to run away…or fight the enemy! Why? According to marriage expert Dr. Gottman, contempt is the most destructive emotion and the number one predictor of divorce. It’s not all bad, though. If you correctly identify contempt, you can turn it around. Have you met Yami? She’s the one who constantly has a blank expression on her face. Aliens could land outside her café, and she wouldn’t look surprised.” GrimaceThe sight of the insurance-selling elephant would cause your jaw (the lower part of your mouth) to drop (or open). Examples, please!

The eyes are frequently referred to as the "windows to the soul" since they are capable of revealing a great deal about what a person is feeling or thinking. In other words, people in the US make the same face for sadness as indigenous people in Papua New Guinea who never have seen TV or movie characters to model themselves after. He also found that congenitally blind individuals—or those blind since birth—also make the same facial expressions, even though they never have seen other people’s faces. In addition, each of these expressions can be used to communicate a range of sentiments, such as happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust. There are some people in this world who somehow think they’re superior — that they’re better than everyone else. Unlike the surprise and fear microexpressions, the angry microexpression is characterized by lowered eyebrows. And there’s a reason why. In the 2019 issue of Psychological Science:Marchak FM. Detecting false intent using eye blink measures. Front Psychol. 2013;4:736. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00736 Just so we all know what eyebrows are, here are a pair of bushy ones: eyebrows.jpg by Jen | CC BY 2.0 Raise your eyebrows