Face communicates most information
We have all grown up, having some idea about ‘general’ body language,
that we all demonstrate on a regular basis. While some of us a little
more better at reading other’s body language none of us have a
scientific knowledge about this very important aspect of human behavior.
A science much deeper than simple body language exists today and one
person who has been instrumental in the development of this area is Dr.
Paul Ekman. This body of knowledge was developed in the 1990s and is
referred to as ‘Micro Expressions. Dr. Ekman also identified seven basic
universal emotions. They are anger, happiness, sadness, fear, contempt,
surprise, and disgust.
Micro Expressions can be seen as certain expressions that last less
than half a second, occurring when people are trying to conceal or
suppress what they are feeling. Most people don’t notice micro
expressions; however research has shown that people can be taught to
spot these relatively easily. Its also accepted that these micro
expressions are not culturally sensitive, and thus represents human
emotions/feelings in general regardless of national or cultural
differences.
Why should one study micro expressions and the face?
The face is only one of the five channels of communication; however
it’s often the one that we gain the most information from. True felt
emotions and expressions occur involuntarily in one’s face, without
thought or intention. False ones have to be put up. The face is a dual
system, showing both that which is real and that which is made up, and
thereby sometimes making a ‘blended expression’. According to Dr. Ekman
who has done extensive research on the area of Micro Expressions, any
expression is likely to be false when they are asymmetrical - the
duration of expression is either too long or too short, or the timing of
the expression in relation to the speech is not synchronized.
The research tool developed to understand these micro expressions is
referred to as FACS - Facial Action Coding System. The FACS system was
first developed by Dr. Ekman of the United States. FACS is an
anatomically-based system for exhaustively describing all observable
facial movement. Each observable component of facial movement is called
an action unit or AU.
All facial expressions can be decomposed into their constituent AUs.
The manual describes the criteria for observing and coding each AU and
describes how AUs appear in combinations
The face can be a valuable source for the lie catcher, because it can
lie and tell the truth and often does both at the same time. Micro
expressions can have various applications within business, government
and personal contexts.
Within the context of Business (Private sector) there can be numerous
situations where an appreciation and knowledge of micro expressions can
be extremely useful. One such application would be in recruitment and
selection (Human Resource Management), as micro expressions can help
‘weed out’ those candidates, who have mastered the art of facing
interviews, and thus can be extremely ‘slick’ with their answers at an
interview, and says all the ‘right’ things to impress an interviewer,
but turn out to be a total ‘liability’ to the organization, once he/she
starts to actually perform, in his/her job role..A second area of use
would be in business negotiations, which may involve either a potential
supplier or a potential client, Thus, when a potential supplier, says,
that is the ‘rock bottom’ price they can offer, or when a potential
client says this the highest we can afford to pay, with a knowledge of
micro expressions, one can ‘know’ whether that is in fact true. An
appreciation of micro expressions can also prove extremely valuable when
dealing with compulsively deceptive people, such as certain sales
personnel, who are eternally giving ‘excuses’.
In short, managers would be able to know, the level of honesty
displayed by their subordinates, in any given scenario to be better able
to handle such individuals.
Government: For the public sector too, micro expressions can be
highly relevant. Customs officials, Inland Revenue staff, as well as
officers involved in law enforcement areas can find this immensely
useful. For those in the national intelligence and national security
this can prove to be a great asset, when executing their day to day
functions.
Those involved in negotiations within the government too will find
such a knowledge extremely useful. One should not also forget the
relevance and use of micro expressions in the political scene..
From the time we are born, till the time we leave this world, we are
all in different relationships with others. Thus an appreciation of
others micro expressions, can not only help one to know whether others
are being totally honest with them, but it can also help one to
appreciate the true emotional states of their loved ones and friends,
and thus be of some help and assistance, especially when such
individuals may want to withdraw to themselves (feelings of depression)
which may not always be, what they really require, at a time when they
are under such emotional stress.
However one needs to understand that facial expressions are only a
part of the total mode of non verbal human communications.
There are in fact five channels of communications, in total, that one
needs to master, in order to truly be an expert of non verbal
communication, They are facial expressions, body language, the voice,
verbal style and verbal statements. Each of these areas have a way of
communicating much more, than the actual spoken word that is used, when
one communicates with others..
For the very first time in Sri Lanka, Good 2 Great Consulting, an
organization specializing in Corporate Training and Management
Consulting has take upon themselves to introduce this new subject area
to Sri Lanka by organizing some workshops/seminars on Micro Expressions
and other Non verbal communication in December at the Cinnamon Grand
Hotel in Colombo.
The world famous FACS certified micro expressions expert, Stu Dunn of
New Zealand, will facilitate these sessions.
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