AD| Something as simple as a smile actually has a great deal of depth, believe it or not. Take the example set by BBC News, for example, who in 2017 covered 19 types of smile wherein only 6 were for happiness. Each toothy grin, mischievous smirk, or noisy belly laugh communicates a separate meaning, with an abundance of nuance to be tapped into thereafter. Even if you don’t quite realise it, you are constantly communicating something about yourself with every twitch of your lips.
You may also be reading into other people’s feelings more than you might know when they spare a smile too! With so many ranges of emotions and purposed portrayed from smiles, it’s worth considering how crucial yours could be. So, let’s explore this further. Just how important is your smile?
A Sign of Compliance?
Many women have endured that incredibly patronising moment where they are told to ‘smile more’ by some random person on the street. It’s understandable to be irritated by this remark. After all, it’s unhealthy to adopt a mindset whereby you owe anyone anything, particularly a smile to a stranger. Some people keep such things reserved for the special people or moments in their life, or simply don’t want to walk around looking gleeful without an actual reason to be.
There’s nothing wrong with having your guard up or being neutral with people you don’t know. Therefore, your smile can be a sign of submission, particularly if you hand it out to strangers on the street like a dancing monkey. Some even argue that, for women, looking unapproachable on occasion can be a great asset, and if that’s the way you want to go about things, that’s valid. In the end, using your smiles at your own discretion is all that can reasonably be expected of you.
A Mood Setter
A smile can be infectious, and there’s a lot of power in that! Louis Armstrong was partially right; "when you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you". If the more open sort, then smiling can be viewed as putting yourself out there, thereby encouraging others to follow suit and do the same. If you can be the people’s champion in that regard, people may come to view you as a beacon of positivity, and the go-to for a good time!
If you smile when meeting someone for the first time, you’re almost guaranteed to have them return the favour. Most people like to be around happy individuals, hoping their upbeat energy will be infectious enough to give them a lift somewhat. If you can provide that, you’re winning.
A Personality Highlight
In any social engagement, a smile can lift everything up, allowing your personality to sing in all its glory. If you’re more inclined to smile in social settings, you might find you make more friends, or even have better luck with potential romantic partners. Your smile demonstrates a degree of openness, and it can also be the ultimate wordless compliment. After all, you are showing that you are happy with the company you’re keeping in a very organic way, free from the dilution of words.
To electrify your smile even further, you could consider something like the Crest Whitening Strips from EuroWhite to give your chompers some extra shine. While every smile is a lovely smile, if you’re self-conscious about your own, these fluoride toothpastes and 3D Crest Whitestrips might just help you clamber over a few hurdles. You’ll have less anxiety when you know you’re looking your personal best, enabling you to thrive in any social situation imaginable.
A Tension Reliever
Just as much as your smile can set the mood of a social scene, it can also defuse any unwanted tensions that come from others later on. It sometimes takes a skilful smile to counter negative vibes. After all, everyone is aware of at least one person misery guts in their life killing vibes left and right. Much of dusting these people down and turning their attitudes around can come from your smile. It communicates that you’re above their drama and they should be too, without launching tirades and being confrontational!
Being able to smile through someone else’s negativity can also influence the ‘Debbie Downer’ also. If you’re being bullied, a grin from you could be enough to let them know that their efforts are wasted on you. You could be splitting up a fight between friends, and the smirk can be a signal that their squabble is rather pathetic. Use it wisely, and your smile can turn ugly situations into harmless, forgettable instances.
A Cunning Disguise
The phrase ‘grin and bear it’ has lasted a great many years for a reason, and there is no harm in taking it literally once in a while. A smile can not only defuse other’s confrontations, but also your own. Bored at a friend’s party? Smiling is likely the polite way to conceal your true feelings about the matter. Irritated by a very temporary acquaintance? A grin might just be enough to get you through the encounter unscathed socially.
Sometimes, a smile can be worn like a mask, seeing you through awkward or unfavourable situations sooner rather than later. Of course, you shouldn’t conceal your feelings in times of true distress, and getting help should be at the top of your agenda in such scenarios. However, for the more trivial, mind-numbing matters in life, grinning and bearing it can prevent sticky scenarios becoming more uncomfortable.
A Professional Tool
Smiles are incredibly useful tools in professional settings, enabling people to ease up and relax when important matters are being discussed. Even the job interview stage benefits from a warm smile. Whether you’re the interviewer or the interviewee, smiling tells the other parties that you’re pleasant and comfortable under pressure. Of course, nobody wants to work with soulless drones all day, so if you can offer a smile, it’s just a signal that you’re positive, upbeat, and happy to be there.
It’s not just about interviews either. Client meetings, monthly performance reviews, customer facing roles; the smile takes the sting out of all of them. You will notice that most shop staff you have dealt with in your life have had a smile on their face, as in that context, it is incumbent with their role and a large part of how they engage customers.
Ultimately, when you’re selling a product or service, a wide toothy grin is a tool in your arsenal.
