How to Fix an Expressionless Face

One thing that distracts from the speaker’s message is a boring expressionless face.

A boring face is one of the trickier body language quirks to spot.

With waving arms, it’s easy to detect.

Have you ever seen a speaker like that?

As they were delivering a great message, their arms were flailing all over the place.

How did that make you feel?

Chances are you were distracted.

The beautiful message was drowned out.

With a stone face, it’s difficult to spot.

It’s something that the audience notices but doesn’t notice at the same time.

Despite the speaker delivering a great message, the audience thinks:

‘No clue why, but I didn’t feel the talk.’

I’ll share why an expressionless face, also known as a stone face, happens and how you can fix it.

What Causes a Stone Face?

A stone face happens due to physical or emotional reasons.

The physical reason is that we aren’t normally that expressive.

Our faces are pretty stoic for the most part.

The emotional reason is because of nerves.

When we are nervous, we make our bodies smaller.

We are more restricted.

When we are comfortable with someone, our arms are moving boldly.

When we are nervous, our hands remain in our pockets.

The nerves are permeating the face as well.

This leads to a stiff face without much expression.

An expressionless face subconsciously bothers the audience.

You could be saying something hilarious, but if the face is stiff, then the message will sound serious.

The opposite is also true.

The message could be serious, but if the speaker is saying it with a smile on his face, the audience will smile.

Facial gestures are important.

Path 1 to Fix an Expressionless Face: Stretch Your Face

“Stretch my face.”

^This is the command I want you to issue to yourself.

As soon as you give this command to yourself, the brain will generate a unique exercise.

When I issue the command, “stretch my face”, I automatically think about getting my palms and gently massaging my face.

Others think about yawning very widely & expressively.

And others view “stretch my face” as scrunching their face (like they smelled something nasty) and letting it loose.

I want to avoid giving too many instructions on how to stretch your face.

Instead, let your internal compass direct you.

Path 2 to Fix an Expressionless Face: Smile & Hold

A smile:

• Shows poise.
• Makes the speaker feel calm.
• Allows the audience to feel calm around the speaker.

Plus, the smile loosens the speaker’s face.

A smile requires a lot of micro muscles to be engaged.

Any bozo can smile for a quick burst.

It takes skill to smile and hold onto it.

Try smiling for 1 minute.

Initially, it’ll feel easy.

But by the 20-second mark, there will be a slight burn.

At the 35-second mark, there will be a strong burn.

Hold it anyways.

Once you hit the 1-minute mark, let go.

The face will feel loose.

A Few Tweaks Go a Long Way

Working on facial gestures may feel like overkill.

For a lot of speakers, it is.

If you’re a newbie speaker, focus more on your message and getting your butt on stage.

But if you’re a veteran speaker, now is the time to focus on the tweaks.

Thus far, you have demonstrated a great message, courage to get on the stage, and an engaging humor.

Still, something is missing.

What is it?

Watch your tapes back.

The arms seem to be fine, you’re boldly walking around the stage, and you’re looking at all segments of the audience.

What’s missing?

Look at your face!!

Is it stiff?

If so, then try stretching out your face prior to a talk, or smiling and holding for some time.

A loose face makes it easier to match your face with the talk.

If the facial gestures don’t match the theme of the talk, then something will always feel off.

When the facial gestures beautifully match the theme of the talk, then everything will feel right.

Study More Faces

An underrated way to improve your facial expressions is to look at other people’s faces when they talk.

One great way to improve our tonality is through our ears.

It’s difficult to play a beautiful song when we have no clue what a beautiful song sounds like.

Similarly, when we listen to voices we like & dislike, we can distinguish between tonalities we want vs don’t want.

There have been times when I asked a worker for some help.

‘Excuse me, do you know how I can get to the rooftop?’

Then the person gives me this concerned-looking face.

As if I said something wrong to them.

I’m startled.

Then the person responds back in a gentle voice:

‘Yes sir. You will take this hall down, take a left, and there will be an elevator that takes you to the rooftop.’

The mean-looking face is still haunting me.

That’s when I make a mental note of the face that I don’t want to exhibit when talking to others.

When we people watch, all data is good data.

Make a note of faces that are pleasant, and facial gestures that startle you.

It’ll be easier to match your face to your messages then.

Remove the Mustard Stains

After a while, a speaker just needs to make tweaks.

With perception, tweaks make a huge difference.

If there is a tiny mustard stain on a white shirt of the speaker, then it will distract the audience.

If the speaker focuses on making a tweak (remove the mustard stain) then he will tremendously improve his perception in the audiences’ eyes.

Similar with facial gestures.

Quit frowning, my friend.

Do you look mean?

Is your face stiff?

Watch the tapes back!

The data doesn’t lie.

If you have a stone face… stretch your face, or smile and hold.

Once the stress melts away from your face, the message will truly shine.

For more public speaking tips, get the Speaking Wizard eBook.

– ArmaniTalks