Page 138 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

You Fit In • 119

I’m not looking for a face-splitting “permagrin” or a “mouth open
like a freshwater trout,” nor the use of “happy faces” or other such codes
or “emoticons” in your correspondence. Just do a “half-smilette,” where
the corner of your mouth turns upward. Do this, and then just breathe
in and out several times to get the feel of it.
Get away from the dour, empty face.
The confidant facial expression is inviting, shows basic humanity,
and hopefully reflects a life well lived. Nondroopy faces look cooperative,
optimistic, relaxed, and like things are “sinking in” instead of “bouncing
off.” In addition, they produce positive feelings in the brain for both the
giver and receiver.
Just think of your smile as an inverted scowl—if that makes it easier!
Individuals who lack confidence are stingy with smiles—as if they’ve
already used up 12 of their 20 allotted ones for the day! (Or like Louis
L’Amour wrote about a gunfighter, “A 20-foot stare in a 10-foot room.”)
There’s the story that’s told about a much-sought-after Southeast
Asian guru who people traveled long distances at great effort to join in
meditation study. Once there, the advice he gave his followers was: “Sit
and smile.”

A mouth:
Everyone has one, and they are all good and bad at different
things.
When you open it, you are telling the world who you are.
When you keep it closed, you do the very same.
It’s the only body part that can speak for itself.
—Rembrandt, oral health advertisement

Think about a friendship or romance in your life. It likely started
because the person smiled at you. The smallest facial expression can
change your life. It can be lifesaving too. Next time you’re a hospital
patient, make it a point to smile through your pain. Although this is unsci-
entific research, from first-hand experience, nurses will more quickly and