Even though phone
calls, emails, SMS and online chat are such important parts of the way we
transmit ideas and information in today’s world, the most important conversations
and decisions are usually saved for face-to-face meetings. One major reason for
this is because facial expressions and movements are still so integral to human
communication. So much of what we think about others depends on what we see in
their faces.
The features on a
person’s face can change or determine how they are perceived, and we are all
subconsciously affected by these cues. Every time we see a face, we make judgments on that person's character and personality, and all this happens instantly and automatically in our brains.
Even when most of
us think that a person’s facial features shouldn’t matter, we rely on them far more
than we imagine, to decide things like how trustworthy, how friendly and how
dependable others are. In fact, there is
a lot of evidence that people in roles of leadership in business, politics,
military and sports, for example, are often given those roles based on their
facial features and not necessarily based on their ability.
