Microexpressions: How to Make Them Your Negotiation Superpower
Written by Katie Johnson, WIN Staff
How we receive and relay messages is heavily associated with body language and not speech. Anywhere from seventy to ninety-three percent of our communication is non-verbal. While most body language is easily seen and interpreted, as the act of leaning into a table vs. leaning back in a chair, there is one form of expression that happens in such a brief time frame that it is easily overlooked.
We often mask our real emotions. Especially during a negotiation. We’re told that to be an effective negotiator, we need to mask our true intentions. Put on a poker face. Don’t show your hand. Managing and regulating your emotions is an important strategy that can create a lot of value.
Yet even those in the utmost control of their emotional responses will release involuntary emotional “leaks”. These tiny exposés display in less than a second but can give you advantageous insights into what is actually going on in someone’s head. A momentary response, microexpressions occur before the brain can alter the emotions.
There have been longstanding theories of emotion that suggest that facial expressions provide enough information to perceive another person’s internalized feelings.
A person’s culture and upbringing can influence their expressions and body language. For instance, in America, it is normal to make eye contact and is usually seen as a sign of respect while in places like Japan and China, sustaining eye contact can be seen as a sign of disrespect or imposing a challenge. But in 1969, American psychologist Paul Ekman found that facial expressions are innate and universal. With over 10,000 different muscle combinations that make up facial expressions, there are seven key facial signals that can reveal what a person is truly feeling.
The seven key microexpressions:
Fear - eyebrows lifted, wide eyes, lips slightly parted and stretched towards the ears, bottom lip protruding downward
Anger - eyebrows down and together, glaring eyes, lips pursed
Disgust - nose scrunched, upper lip lifted
Contempt - one corner of the lip is raised
Sadness - eyes unfocused, upper eyelids droop, lips slightly turned down, chin puckered
Surprise - both eyebrows raised, eyes wide, and mouth open
Happiness - cheeks lifted, eyelids slightly narrowed, crow’s feet wrinkle around the eyes
These key microexpressions can give you an instant, honest window into how a person is feeling. Being able to detect these emotions can make you a much more effective negotiator and help you win more negotiations. They help detect deception, enhance your relationship, and can help you gauge how your proposals are being received.
This skill comes naturally for some but not for all. Luckily, just like any great negotiating tool, practice can help increase your emotional awareness. Just like becoming a keen active listener takes ongoing exercising, so does reading microexpressions.
Honing this superpower
A great place to start when trying to understand microexpressions is to first take time to practice the above microexpressions in the mirror. See how each of the muscle combinations alters your state of emotion. Become familiar with these expressions.
Because these expressions are so instantaneous it is nearly impossible to catch microexpressions when you’re trying to listen to your counterparty. Instead, focus on capturing microexpressions while you are speaking. Share a story. Describe what you want or take time telling a story about another counterparty who shared their concerns. Watch how they respond to why they are listening. Their reactions will be more honest during this time and you’ll be able to gauge their deepest feelings about your proposal.
Another effective strategy is to present a list of options. As you lay out each option, watch their facial expressions. Did one surprise them? Did one strike fear? Did one make them overly happy? It’s essential to remember that registering these emotional responses is just as important as how you decipher them.
Finally, don’t forget to focus on the face. Microexpressions are flashes that anywhere from one to four seconds so don’t feel you need to respond right away. Take a moment to register their expression.
Remember, microexpressions happen in an instant. Most people do not see or recognize microexpressions but with a little intentional practice, you can begin to recognize these spontaneous bursts of emotions.
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