About smiles and their power

So there he was. In Paris, in this beautiful city with its very special charm. As an art lover, he was drawn straight to the Louvre. Fortunately, it was not completely overcrowded on Monday morning and he had the opportunity to look around. And there he saw it, the relatively small painting in its glass case. Because the Louvre was almost empty of people, he could step right up to it. How beautiful she was. And her smile. How mysterious and enchanting. Mona Lisa, what's going on inside you, he thought to himself....

Indeed, Mona Lisa's smile enchants people to this day. But it is not at all necessary to be able to smile like Mona Lisa in order to enchant others. "Oh tonight, you killed me with your smile," sings Rae Garvey in the song of the same name by Reamonn. When Jeanne Moreau mistakes a passage in the song "Le tourbillon de la vie" while filming for the movie "Jules et Jim", she smiles so enchantingly that the director decided to include the scene in the movie despite the wrong lyrics. 

The power of smiling

Generally, smiling people are seen as more likeable, intelligent and honest. However, this is not the case in every culture and in every situation. Sometimes a smile can also underline a person's insecurity. Furthermore, in some states where there is a lot of corruption, a smile is less trusted than in states where corruption is less of a problem. There are also cultures where smiling people are seen as less intelligent. If smiling people are considered more intelligent across cultures, they are more likely to be women* than men. 

Furthermore, smiling is not always a natural emotional movement; a smile can also be put on and thus appear quite unnatural and grimace-like. 

However, these culture- and situation-specific findings might play a role in job interviews, for example.

Smile at all costs?

There is the Russian proverb ‘Улыбкa, бeз пpичины - пpизнaк дypaчины’ (Smiling without a reason is a sign of stupidity).

A polite, sincere smile certainly makes you likeable. However, there is no need to smile without a reason. Don't feel forced to smile and don't expect others to smile either. This is especially true if they come from a different culture than you. 

Do you like to smile? Do you like it when other people smile at you?

Today we smile sincerely at you. 

Your alugha team

 

#alugha

#wespeakearthish

#multilingual

 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smile (15.06.2022, 09:16)

Krys, K. et al. (2016). Be Careful Where You Smile: Culture Shapes Judgments of Intelligence and Honesty of Smiling Individuals. Journal of nonverbal behavior, 40, 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-015-0226-4